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St. Patrick’s Breastplate

Posted by eph21920 on March 17, 2019 in Faith, Prayer

Today is St. Patrick’s Day – of course. We went to church at our usual church, St. Patrick’s. Before Mass started, we said the complete prayer known as St. Patrick’s Breastplate. I think most people know the part, “Christ before me, Christ behind me . . . etc.”, but I had never said the complete prayer before. It was beautiful.

“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 judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.

I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The 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 for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.

I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and 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 witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an 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 everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that 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.”

I Found God today in the complete prayer of St. Patrick’s Breastplate.

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Back Outside

Posted by eph21920 on March 16, 2019 in Answer, Creation, Friends, Grateful, Opportunity, Weather

It is hard to believe we had a blizzard just a couple of days ago. Today there was not a cloud in the deep blue sky and the sun was warm and bright. My mom and I went out for a walk early in the day. But I needed more. I called a friend and she was available. So I went over to her place in the afternoon. She lives in the foothills and we just hiked from her house. Many parts of the trails were muddy, slushy, snowy, or icy. But that just made the trek more interesting. I was happy the spur of the moment idea came to fruition. It felt so good to be back outside.

I Found God today enjoying the outdoors and happy for an impromptu adventure.

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Response to Anger

Posted by eph21920 on March 15, 2019 in Answer, Faith, Family, Humility, Life, Past, Prayer

This morning, my parent’s and I read a reflection on the scripture where Jesus says,

“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment…”

We were to think about a time when we were angry, why, and how we responded to that anger. My mom said she doesn’t really get angry, which is true. But, she said she remembers probably the last time she was angry – about 40 years ago. I won’t go into the details, but in my opinion it was justified. She said she still remembers the incident and has a hard time letting go of it. She continues to pray about it. My mom is a saint.

I Found God today in my mom’s reaction to her anger.

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Young Mother

Posted by eph21920 on March 14, 2019 in Baby, Grateful, Life, Opportunity

Today a friend and I visited a young woman who had a baby. The little guy is about 2 weeks old and so sweet. The young woman unfortunately doesn’t have the support of the father and is doing her best on her own. She lovingly held and stroked her newborn as she told us how things were going. I remembered that I was her age when I had my first son. And I remembered how I had no idea what I was doing. I was grateful for the people who were patient with me and helped me along the way. Today I was grateful for the opportunity to try to be a little of that for her.

I Found God today in a young mother.

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The Blizzard

Posted by eph21920 on March 13, 2019 in Family, Friends, Grateful, Weather

For the past few days, the weather people have been forecasting a blizzard to hit our area today. They were right. By mid morning the snow was flying in the tremendous hurricane force wind. Although the lights flickered several times we remained inside, safe and warm. I conversed with my siblings and kids and with friends who were also all safe and warm at home. We compared notes and photos of what was happening around us. One of our trees blew over, yet not all the way down, leaning horizontal to the house so there was no danger of it harming the house. Overall it was a relaxing day with naps, meals, snacks, and movies. I was grateful for our safety.

I Found God today safe and warm in a blizzard.

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Cooking with Family

Posted by eph21920 on March 12, 2019 in Connected, Family, Fun

My daughter in law has been doing some live videos of her cooking. I was able to get on the computer today and my parents and I watched. It was like sitting in her kitchen with the family as my son and the kids popped in and out too. They said hello to us as we had some interaction. It was quite fun and uplifting.

I Found God today watching my far away family being a family.

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Ready for a Challenge

Posted by eph21920 on March 11, 2019 in Answer, Faith, Life, Opportunity, Prayer

As I was finishing my homework for my Bible class today, I wrote about the importance of living well as a Catholic Christian and showing God’s love to others. Not less than an hour later I received a call for the opportunity to do just that in a very challenging situation. I’m now praying for the courage and trust to follow through.

I Found God today in His challenge and praying for trust.

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Seeking a Connection

Posted by eph21920 on March 10, 2019 in Connected, Creation, Lent

Today in church, a young couple with a little girl came and sat next to us in the rows of chairs closest to the entrance. When it came time to share the sign of peace, the little girl made her way out of our row to exchange a handshake to everyone nearby. When she approached someone, she would just look at them with a smile and a twinkle in her eye until they acknowledged her with an outstretched hand. Then she would cheerfully shake their hand and move on to the next person. It didn’t matter if they were old or young, man or woman, or had a wheelchair or walker. She approached each the same. It was like she didn’t even see any physical qualities at all. She saw a potential connection. I thought this is how God is. Even though He created our physical bodies, it is the connection with us on a deeper level that He is constantly inviting us to.

I Found God today in a little girl seeking a connection.

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The Massage

Posted by eph21920 on March 9, 2019 in Family, Generosity, Healing, Opportunity

For Christmas, my dad generously gave me some gift certificates to a spa. Today I was able to use one and got myself a massage. It was the most wonderful hour I have had to myself in a very long time. My body is like a noodle now, but in a good way. It felt so great.

I Found God today pampering myself.

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Starting the Day With Joy

Posted by eph21920 on March 8, 2019 in Begin, Fun, Joy, Laughter, Music

I started my day at the YMCA and the aqua aerobics class. It is never easy to get out of bed to make this happen, but it is so worth it when I do. This morning we used pool noodles as one of our “weights” to challenge our muscles and balance. It is difficult to put one noodle under one foot and hold another noodle in your hand and do jumping jacks in the deep water. There were 2 fairly new ladies in the class and as they struggled with the movements, the noodles kept popping up and getting away from them – as it does to me from time to time as well. But they just laughed and laughed. It was hysterical to them, which made it hysterical to everyone else. On top of that, there was a CD playing compiled of the greatest love songs as chosen by the individuals in the class. When we weren’t laughing, we were singing. And exercising all the while. It was such an uplifting way to start the day.

I Found God today starting it off with joy.

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