When you feel alone in the day ahead, this prayer from St. Patrick’s Lorica names the presence you carry. The 8th-century Irish tradition called this a “breastplate,” a spiritual armor worn by speaking Christ’s nearness into every direction and moment.
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 every man who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me. Salvation is of the Lord, salvation is of the Lord, salvation is of Christ; may thy salvation, O Lord, be ever with us.
Attributed to St. Patrick, 8th century ‘Lorica’
How this prayer works
The prayer maps Christ’s presence onto the body’s geography: above, beneath, left, right, within. It does not ask Christ to arrive; it declares he is already present. The repetition is deliberate, each phrase a stitch in the breastplate. The Irish monks who prayed this at dawn understood it as protection, not by warding off enemies but by naming the companion who walks with them.
St. Patrick is credited with the longer Lorica (the full “Deer’s Cry” hymn), though scholars date the text to the 8th century, two centuries after Patrick’s death. The prayer assumes the Incarnation changes location itself: when Christ took flesh, every place became capable of holding his presence. “Christ in me” is the theological center; the other directions radiate from that indwelling.
Pray it slowly before opening your door this morning. Speak each direction aloud if you can. Let the rhythm do its work: by the time you reach “Christ when I arise,” you have already named him nine times, and your attention has shifted from anxiety to companionship.
Carry it through today.
