Actually, though I very much appreciate the fact that the Roman Catholic saint to Ireland brought Christ to the Celtic masses, this post is about two very important, yet subtle, aspects of the holiday as it is celebrated today.

First off, it’s not St. Patty’s day. Come again? “Yes, Michael,” you say, “perhaps you are pedantic about his name being unabbreviated?” No, I mean the abbreviation for Patrick is Paddy, not Patty, which is short for Patricia. Patrick’s Gaelic name is [1] Padraig. This of course applies only in the English language, since he was born Maewyn Succat in Scotland in some time between 387~390, and was baptized Patricius, meaning “noble.”

Also, that whole “green beer” thing? Yeah, they don’t do that in Ireland, or anywhere else than the US for that matter. In order for a beer to be able to be made green, you have to have something ultra-light (like Michelob’s sampling of the same name) in which you can put green food coloring. It’s a novelty, but it doesn’t magically make the beer good.

No, but if you want good beer, check out [2] people who know.

Back to more important, weighty matters.

St. Patrick’s Breast-Plate (his prayer preparing him for his mission to the pagans of Ireland), as literally translated from the old Irish text and found in the [3] Catholic Encyclopedia, follows:

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,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
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.

Actually, though I very much appreciate the fact that the Roman Catholic saint to Ireland brought Christ to the Celtic masses, this post is about two very important, yet subtle, aspects of the holiday as it is celebrated today.

First off, it’s not St. Patty’s day. Come again? “Yes, Michael,” you say, “perhaps you are pedantic about his name being unabbreviated?” No, I mean the abbreviation for Patrick is Paddy, not Patty, which is short for Patricia. Patrick’s Gaelic name is [4] Padraig. This of course applies only in the English language, since he was born Maewyn Succat in Scotland in some time between 387~390, and was baptized Patricius, meaning “noble.”

Also, that whole “green beer” thing? Yeah, they don’t do that in Ireland, or anywhere else than the US for that matter. In order for a beer to be able to be made green, you have to have something ultra-light (like Michelob’s sampling of the same name) in which you can put green food coloring. It’s a novelty, but it doesn’t magically make the beer good.

No, but if you want good beer, check out [5] people who know.

Back to more important, weighty matters.

St. Patrick’s Breast-Plate (his prayer preparing him for his mission to the pagans of Ireland), as literally translated from the old Irish text and found in the [6] Catholic Encyclopedia, follows:

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,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
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.