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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

The Lorica of St. Patrick

Fr. David Friel · March 17, 2019

F ONE were to look only at the secular celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, one might have no idea what the day is really about. St. Patrick, of course, was the first to bring the Gospel to the people of Ireland, whom he converted in enormous numbers. So, the heart of today’s celebration, in its origin, is a day of thanksgiving for having received the gift of faith.

In his Confession, St. Patrick writes this: The Lord gave me the great grace that, through me, many peoples should be reborn in God. For those of us who are actually of Irish descent, we do owe a debt to St. Patrick, in a distant, historical sense. But, more proximately, all of us have received the gift of faith at the hands of others. For many, the faith has been received through parents or grandparents, friends or co-workers. For others, perhaps it was a particular author whose writings inspired a conversion.

Today would be a good day to call to mind that person and offer a prayer of thanksgiving for the gift of faith—a gift that lies beyond all price.

NOTHER worthwhile way to mark today’s feast might be to pray one of the most treasured Irish devotions, the Lorica (Breastplate) of St. Patrick. A good rendering of the text is available here. Portions of an illuminated version crafted by the Manx designer, Archibald Knox, are also available online.

This prayer, traditionally ascribed to St. Patrick and likely actually composed in the 5th century, comes to us through the Liber hymnorum, an 11th-century manuscript containing 40 hymns in Latin and Gaelic.

This ancient Irish hymn has been set to music often in modern times. The most common metrical version is the hymn I Bind Unto Myself Today, written in 1889 by Cecil Frances Alexander, a remarkable woman who also authored Once in David’s Royal City and All Things Bright and Beautiful. A beautiful unaccompanied, SATB setting of the last stanza of the Lorica is published through CanticaNOVA (available here).

N 2015, I had the pleasure of visiting Downpatrick in County Down (Northern Ireland), traditionally regarded as the burial site of Saints Patrick, Brigid, and Columbkille (my Confirmation patron). Here are a few photographs of the site:

Downpatrick3 Downpatrick2 Downpatrick1

O GOD, Thou who were pleased to send forth Patrick,
Thy blessed confessor and bishop,
to preach Thy glory among the nations,
mercifully grant, by his merits and intercession,
that we may be able to accomplish
that work which you command us to do.
Through our Lord, Jesus Christ, Thy Son,
who lives and reigns with Thee
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever. Amen.

Collect for the Feast of St. Patrick

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser
    To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

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“Contradictions place us at the foot of the Cross, and the Cross places us at the gates of Heaven.” (Saint John Mary Vianney)

— Cardinal Merry del Val’s Prayer-Book

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