St. Patrick Prayer

Thanks for the great story from Vienna, Carrie. Anyone is welcome to keep those "Eyes fixed on Jesus" stories coming.

Drew asked about a website for The Lord's Pantry. I don't think they have one. If you call the church office you can get a phone number for Dale and Elsie.

I normally don't even remember St. Patick's Day, but it's on my mind today. His Breastplate prayer is a gem. I’ve pasted a translation below that is minimally modernized. It reminds me that when we pray we are being cheered on by the great cloud of witnesses distant from us in many ways, but near in Christ. I like the thought of being cheered on by our ancient Celtic forebearers. I imagine them primitive in some ways, but tender in Spirit. Perhaps you, too, will find inspiration in Patrick’s great prayer of spiritual warfare. Praying this prayer is a way to "keep our eyes fixed on Jesus," while praying for God's participation in our lives.

The Lord is with us,
CO

"St. Patrick's Breastplate is contained in the ancient Book of Armagh, from the early ninth century. along with Patrick's authentic "Confession." St. Patrick is said to have written this prayer to strengthen himself with God's protection as he prepared to confront and convert Loegaire, high king of Ireland. I see in it some similarities to Paul's exhortation to "put on the whole armor of God" (Ephesians 6:10-18), except that it is much more detailed. I recommend St. Patrick's prayer to you as a wonderful prayer of spiritual preparedness." (This is taken from, and you can read more at: http://www.joyfulheart.com/stpatrick/breastplate.htm)

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.
I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort, [i.e., at home]
Christ in the chariot seat, [i.e., travelling by land]
Christ in the poop. [i.e., travelling by water]

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

Eyes on Jesus

As we approach the Easter celebration and commemoration of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection I’m encouraging us to "fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God," (Hebrews 12:2). I've given an example below. I'd like to hear from any of you if you have an example. They don't have to be as long-winded (yawn) as mine. But, hey, how is it working for you to remember to "fix your eyes upon Jesus?"

I was invited to join the team at The Lord’s Pantry last week. The Lord’s Pantry distributes food to about 150 needy families per week. This is a big operation that is staffed 100% by volunteers. It is run by Dale and Elsie who are well enough advanced in years to have great-grandchildren. They have been doing this every week for 20 years. You might want to pause and think about that for a bit.

Here’s what it looks like. At 6:30 a.m. on Friday mornings the sawhorses and plywood are set up for an assembly line in the fellowship hall of a generous church in Commerce City. Canned goods are pulled from the storage room. There is a pile of 300 loaves of bread that was donated that morning. 1500 pounds of flour is on the way. Someone is rounding up a bargain on fresh produce.

For the next couple of hours groceries from different sources, and people, drift in. It is a merry band. Everyone pitches in dividing up the food to make precisely 154 bags of groceries, which is the number of households they are serving that day. Some of the volunteers will be beneficiaries. Most of the bags are delivered to shut-ins in the immediate neighborhood. A volunteer leads in prayer and we bag groceries.
Bob and I leave to deliver 32 bags of groceries. Bob has been doing this for a long time. He is a Commerce City native and a retired school teacher. Our stops are brief, but Bob exudes genuine care to every single person. He makes each visit personal. He knows everyone by name, their history, their circumstance in life, their family. Every recipient can’t wait to see Bob. They love this man.

I can’t help but think of Jesus telling us that when we serve the least of these we serve Him. I can’t help but remember that James said that pure religion includes taking care of widows in their distress. I don’t know what a worship service or a Bible class would look like with these 40 volunteers from a lot of different congregations, but it looked like church to me. It was being with Jesus. It was great.

By the way, a corporate sponsor is matching any donations made to The Lord’s Pantry in March and April. You might want to talk to Dale or Elsie Quillen about that.

CO

Many, many times I have turned to the Mary and Martha passage from Luke 10:38-41 and found inspiration. In brief (Too brief really. Might was well read it yourself.), while Martha was taking care of the guests, her sister, Mary, was sitting with Jesus. Martha complained and Jesus said to her, “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.”
We can all identify with Martha. There are many things to do, and who will do them if not us? There is work to do and, yes, we get worried and upset about those things. Sure, I wish I was on retreat, walking in the woods, praying, worshipping, reflecting on Scripture, repairing a house in Haiti. However, there are other demands barking at me. There is work to be done.

Here is a little prayer I heard recently that helps me retreat in the midst of a workaday world:

“Lord, may I remember the One thing as I attend to many things.”

I’ve found it helpful to stop from time to time in the course of doing many things and center down with this sentence prayer. Then reengage the responsibilities before me.