St. Patrick preached the Gospel to the Irish during the 5th century. He was born in Scotland but kidnapped as a teenager and taken to Ireland to work as as a slave. During his captivity, he prayed constantly and his faith in God grew. Prompted by God in a dream, he escaped after six years as a slave and sailed back to Scotland. Later, he returned to Ireland to share the Good News as evangelist, missionary, and priest.
According to legend, Patrick used the shamrock to teach the Irish about the Trinity.
A Prayer of St. Patrick
I bind unto myself the name,
The strong name of the Trinity; By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three, Of whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word: Praise to the Lord of my salvation, salvation is of Christ the Lord.
Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
Here are two very different vocal performances of this prayer:
One is by Angelina, the other is a more traditional hymn tune played on the hammered dulcimer.
Shamrock photo: Courtesy of George McFinnigan Wikipedia
When I’m waiting in airports, I open my journal, pull out a pen, and create an instant prayer tent. Drawing blocks out the noise and motion around me and allows me to pray. This is a prayer for friends.
Here is a somewhat anti-intuitive proposal about prayer:
“Half an hour’s meditation is essential except when you are very busy. Then a full hour is needed.” (Francis de Sales, a busy 16th century Frenchman)
The idea of devoting more time to prayer when I’m busy seems crazy and unreasonable. When I’m very busy I go through the drive-through lane of prayer: down a quick espresso of Jesus and hope the jolt will get me through the day. It’s sure better than no Jesus at all. But de Sales’ admonition puts me in my place. It reminds me that I’m neither superhuman nor indispensable to the running of the world. My business and my busyness require more God time than usual; I cannot survive them alone.
I’ve been traveling a lot in the past year and have earned enough miles on my regular airline to acquire “Silver Elite” status. The 25,000+ miles I’ve flown give me some occasional extra privileges. For example, when the coach part of the plane is full, I might get bumped up to First Class. This has happened several times in the past few months. The first time I thought there was a mistake on the ticket and I was embarrassed. After the second trip, I was completely accustomed to the extra leg room, the free meal, the special attention of the flight attendant, and the infrequently frequented restroom.
On my most recent trip, my outbound boarding pass alerted me to the upgrade even before I arrived at the airport. On the return trip, my seat assignment was “coach.” When I arrived at the check-in counter at the gate, a long line of travelers diverted from cancelled flights were waiting for a seat on my plane. My hopes mounted. I wanted that comfy seat. I wanted the perks of the front rows. As the last of the passengers boarded, I heard, “Sybil MacBeth please come to the ticket counter.” I have to admit I was happy.
On the flight home with the meal and the movie, I realized how quickly I had adapted to the comforts and privileges of First Class. I might have been just a little miffed if I had had to spend four hours in the cramped quarters of coach (where I’ve spent every lick of flying time in my life except for the past fifteen hours.) “You’re feeling just a little too entitled, MacBeth,” I thought.
The word “entitled” makes me cringe. As a Christian am I “entitled” to anything? As a Christian I am promised God’s love, salvation, presence, forgiveness, and a host of other wonderful things. But am I “entitled” to these things? I don’t think so. God’s love, salvation, presence, and forgiveness are pure grace. God is not required to offer me these things. They are not entitlements, but gifts. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–” Ephesians 2:8 (NIV)
This is my Lenten calendar after two weeks. Every day I pray for a person, pray a Scripture passage, or a pray a word or phrase of hope. (See March 5, February 26.)
Praying in Color: Drawing a New Path to God combines memoir with theology. Step-by step instructions introduce the practice of praying in color as a way to do intercessory prayer. »ABOUT SYBIL MACBETH
