Saint Patrick’s Breastplate

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ within me,

Christ below me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right hand,
Christ on my left hand,

Christ in my sleeping,
Christ in my waking,

Christ in the heart of all who think of me,
Christ in the mouth of all who speak of me,
Christ in every eye that looks at me,
Christ in every ear that listens to me.

A Prayer for our Irish Emigrants

Lord,
some may know the bleakness of life,
its capacity to disappoint,
the waning of energy or health.
Yet they have a place in the soul which time cannot touch,
a wisdom and beauty from lives deeply inhabited.
May all of them know the warmth of their soul,
the natural shelter around their lives.
In dignity and freedom,
may they return home to themselves.
Amen.