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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 served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • “Pure” Vatican Edition

As readers know, my choir has been singing from the “pure” Editio Vaticana. That is to say, the official rhythm which—technically—is the only rhythm allowed by the Church. I haven’t figured out how I want the scores to look, so in the meantime we’ve been using temporary scores that look like this. Stay tuned!

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • Gorgeous Book

If there is a more beautiful book than Abbat Pothier’s 1888 Processionale Monasticum, I don’t know what it might be. This gorgeous tome was today added to the Saint John Lalande Online Library. I wish I owned a physical copy.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The argument moves from the existence of the thing to the correctness of the thing: what is, ought to be. Or, a popular variant: if a thing is, it doesn’t make any difference whether it ought to be—the correct response is to adjust, to learn to live with the thing.”

— ‘L. Brent Bozell, Jr.’

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