The Lorica of St. Patrick

In the time of St. Patrick 1500 years ago, a “lorica” was the Roman armor worn by soldiers to protect the torso—a breastplate.    St. Paul had summoned Christians also to put on armor—spiritual armor— ”to protect against the wiles of the devil and against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, put on the lorica, the  breastplate of righteousness.” (Ephesians 6)

The Lorica or Breastplate of St. Patrick, the spiritual armor to put on before going out into the world, is like the Roman lorica or breastplate in the photo above. The Roman lorica has many segments attached to protect various parts of the torso, but the largest, most protective portion to which all the other segments are bound is the one at the top to protect the heart.   

So too the Lorica/Breastplate of St. Patrick has many segments to bind on, but the most important one is the one at the “top”(our verse 1) to protect the heart:

the Three in One and One in Three, Eternal Father, Spirit, Word, the Trinity . 

The earliest manuscript containing the Lorica or Breastplate of St. Patrick is from an 11^th-century hymnal containing 40 Irish hymns, the Dublin  Liber Hymnorum.  It is in an old form of Irish but you may be able to puzzle out several words:  the number “three”    (tri-ndoit; tre-odatad); the number “one”   (oen –datad); the word “belief” or “creed” (cret-im).

Atomriug indiu

niurt  trén  togairm trindóit
   cretim treodatad
fóisitin  oendatad
in dúleman dail.

Why don’t we sing these ancient words?   Because I have no idea how.    BUT, thank God, back in the days of Elizabeth’s grandmother 130 years ago, an enormously gifted Irish woman, the great poet, Cecil Frances Alexander, translated them into English for us. She is the one who helped teach children the creed through songs she wrote for them: All things bright and beautiful (“God the maker of heaven and earth”); Once in David’s royal city (“He was born of the Virgin Mary”) There is a green hill far away (“He was crucified under Pontius Pilate”);  He is risen! He is risen! (“On the third day he rose again”), and many more.

And so, thanks to that most talented Irish poet, this Sunday we sing the powerful (and protective!)  Lorica Breastplate of St. Patrick in the words of good ol’ Cecil Frances as our robust and rousing prayer in praise of

The Most Holy Trinity 

EXTRA CREDIT!  Why is the Lorica of St. Patrick, St. Patrick’s Breastplate also known as The Deer’s Cry?

jbs