Hymn attributed to St. Patrick of Ireland, 387-460 AD
Intro: The coming of Patrick to Ireland about the middle of the fifth century initiated the “most peaceful invasion and lasting conquest of all.” This hymn is attributed to Patrick and certainly reflects many of the themes found in Patrick’s thought. The version we have today was likely written in the late 7th or early 8th century. The hymn is a celebration of the wisdom and power of God both in creation and redemption. It is an excellent example of a lorica — a “breastplate” or corslet of faith recited for the protection of body and soul against all forms of evil — devils, vices, and the evil which humans perpetrate against one another. The name of the hymn derives from a legend of an incident when the High King of Tara, Loeguire resolved to ambush and kill Patrick and his monks to prevent them from spreading the Christian faith in his kingdom. As Patrick and his followers approached singing this hymn, the King and his men saw only a herd of deer and let them pass by. The word ‘cry’ also has the sense of a prayer or petition.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgement of Doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of the Cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of the resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In prediction of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendour of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.
I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak to me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me,
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From every one who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in a multitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.
Christ to shield me today,
Against poising, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So there come to me abundance of reward.
Christ 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 when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye of every one who sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.
This translation of an Old Irish poem attributed to Saint Patrick first appeared in Stokes and Strachan’s Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus in 1903; it was republished with small alterations by Kuno Meyer in his Selections from Ancient Irish Poetry (1911). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
For an audio song version visit The Deer’s Cry on YouTube performed by Rita Cconnolly with the Curtlestown Choir directed by Evelyn Deasy, accompanied by Shaun Davey on pedal harmonium, Gerry O’Beirne, Mathew Manning, Moya O’Grady and David O’Doherty at Powerscourt House, 2009. SHAUN DAVEY adapted the words of St Patricks Breastplate as translated by KUNO MEYER in 1990.
[for an earlier translation by Cecil Frances Alexander go to this page]
Top image credit: Sunrise landscape in Ireland, photo by R Nolan on Unsplash. Free to use under the Unsplash License.
St. Patrick of Ireland (brief bio)
Patrick was born at the end of Roman rule in Britain around 389 AD. His father, Calphurnius, was a deacon from a Roman family of high social standing. Patrick’s mother, Conchessa, was a close relative of the patron Saint Martin of Tours. Patrick’s grandfather, Pontius, was also a member of the clergy.
When Patrick was 16 years old, he was captured by Irish pirates. They brought him to Ireland, where he was sold into slavery in Dalriada. There, his job was to tend sheep. Patrick’s master, Milchu, was a high priest of Druidism, a pagan sect that held major religious influence over the country at the time.
Patrick came to view his enslavement as God’s test of his faith. During his six years of captivity, he became deeply devoted to Christianity through constant prayer. He saw the children of pagan Ireland reaching out their hands to him in a vision and grew increasingly determined to convert the Irish to Christianity.
Around 408 AD, the idea of escaping enslavement came to Patrick in a dream, in which a voice promised him he would find his way home to Britain. Eager to see the dream materialize, Patrick convinced some sailors to let him board their ship. After three days of sailing, he and the crew abandoned the vessel and wandered, lost, for 28 days – covering 200 miles of territory in the process – with Patrick ultimately reuniting with his family.
A free man once again, Patrick went to France, where he studied and entered the priesthood under the guidance of the missionary Germanus. He was ordained a deacon around 418 AD. As time passed, he never lost sight of his vision to convert Ireland to Christianity. The best-known passage in his short autobiography, Confessio tells of a dream, after his return to Britain, in which one Victoricus delivered him a letter headed “The Voice of the Irish.” As Patrick read it, he seemed to hear a certain company of Irish beseeching him to walk once more among them. “Deeply moved,” he says, “I could read no more.” In 432 AD, he was ordained as a bishop, and soon, Pope Celestine I sent Patrick to Ireland to spread the Gospel to non-believers and to support the small community of Christians already living there.
Upon his arrival in Ireland, Patrick was initially met with resistance. Utterly confident in the Lord, he managed to spread Christian teachings far and wide, along with other missionaries, through preaching, writing, and performing countless baptisms with untiring zeal.
In diplomatic fashion he brought gifts to chieftains and other local officials, but accepted none from any. On at least one occasion, he was cast into chains. On another, he addressed with lyrical pathos a last farewell to his converts who had been slain or kidnapped by the soldiers of Coroticus. Throughout his missionary work, Patrick supported church officials, created councils, founded monasteries, and organized Ireland into dioceses.
Saint Patrick died around 461 AD in Saul, Ireland, and is said to have been buried in the nearby town of Downpatrick, County Down. Saint Patrick is recognized as the patron saint of Ireland, and his writings, noted for their humble voice, include the autobiographical Confessio and Letter to Coroticus.
Biographical sources: Britannica, Religious Figures, Wikipedia.