You may have noticed that I am not with you this weekend.  I want to thank Fr. Gerald and Fr. Rafael of Jesus the Good Shepherd Parish for covering all the Masses this weekend so that I could get away for some vacation.  I will actually be back tomorrow, October 9.
    Where did I go?  I am in Ireland; Dublin to be precise.  It has been 32 years since I was last in the land of my ancestors.  I am visiting my cousins, who through the marvel of Facebook, I keep in touch with.  Three of them (Declan, Sean, and Frankie) play in a band called Big Digger.  They of course all have “day jobs,” but their band has been becoming more popular.  Mostly they are a cover band playing Rock and Roll.  My one cousin, Declan, is going to retire from the band at the end of this year, so I thought I better get over to hear them perform before that.  I am traveling with my sister, Ann Marie, and besides going to see Big Digger and visiting family, we are also taking in some of Dublin’s and Irish history.
    Most people know that Ireland was converted by St. Patrick, and some may even know that Patrick was not Irish himself.  He was born in England, and his father was a Roman citizen (but this does not mean that he was Italian, as some misguided friends try to tell me.  After all, St. Paul was a Roman citizen too, but he was clearly Jewish).  As a young teenager, Patrick was kidnapped by some Celt pirates, taken to Ireland, and sold as a slave.  As a slave he lived in Ireland for several years, mostly working as a shepherd, before he was able to escape and return to England.  He then studied to become a priest, then as a bishop so that he could be sent back to Ireland to proclaim the Gospel.
    Back in Ireland, Patrick faced many difficulties and trials.  On several occasions attempts were made on his life.  In fact, St. Patrick’s most famous prayer, is the result of one such attempt.  It is commonly known as the “Breastplate of St. Patrick” or sometimes as “The Deer’s Cry,” and most people only know one verse from it:
Christ, be with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit,
Christ where I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.
    The prayer is longer, and is often called by the Irish “The Lorica of St. Patrick.”  “Lorica” is the Irish word for “breastplate,” and it comes from the occasion in which it is said that St. Patrick composed the prayer.  He and some of his followers, wanted to go to Tara, the home of the Irish High King, in order to proclaim the Gospel.  They became aware that there was a plot to ambush them along the way.  St. Patrick composed the Lorica as a morning prayer, to spiritually wrap themselves with for protection.  During their journey to Tara, they appeared as a mother deer with her fawns to those waiting in ambush.
    There are several translations of the Lorica of St. Patrick, but here is the one that I say every morning:
I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me for ever.
By power of faith, Christ's incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan river;
His death on the Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;*
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of the cherubim;
The sweet 'well done' in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,
The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,
Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.