Michigan Catholic

Ask for God’s Mercy, which is infinite.  He longs for nothing more than to give each and every one of us his mercy. 

See EWTN’s Divine Mercy Site

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.

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 reardeck,
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.

Composed by St. Patrick in Irish, on the occasion of his setting forth to teach the pagans of Ireland.  Notice the language and the progression of the prayer.  It’s magnificent. 

First he “binds” himself to the theological teachings of the Church, taking them as his own driving force and declaring his belief in them, the object of his faith.  In the next stanza, he takes the seraphims, angels, Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles and Confessors, holy Virgins and righteous men as his company, “binding” his acts to theirs in intention.   In the third stanza, he invokes creation–the creation of God–to be his companion on earth in all its beauty and power.   And in the fourth, he petitions Holy God for protection and guidance.  In the fifth, he eschews the sins and evils of the world.  In the sixth, he asks Christ for aid against bodily death before he can perform his service to the Gospel, such that he might earn his reward in heaven.  In the seventh he requests Christ to be ever-present in his life, both to himself, and most especially to others through him.  The last stanza is a short recall of the first, to bring the poem-prayer to fitting completion.  It declares faith and reliance and adoration of God the Trinity, Creator of All. 

From this poem, certain stanzas have been taken for less fiery and faithful presentations.  I prefer the original, don’t you? 

Later translated into Latin and much later after that, English.

For the 2nd Friday of Lent:

We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee:
because by thy holy cross thou hast redeemed the world.

Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi:
quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum.

Adoramus Te Christe 

[When you go to the link, a prompt will ask to run an Active X control.  This will enable the sound on the site.  It's fine--it won't hurt the computer.  Then, press the triangular button below the icon to hear the hymn.]