Christ All Around Me

I was listening recently to Kristen Getty reciting the words of St Patricks’ prayer  ** when I was walking by the river. It was a quiet morning. The sun had just risen, and the blue of sky stretched along the horizon and merged with the water. Ducks and water fowl splashed around the shallows. So the words merged in my mind with the sense of union with the God who filled this place. Such a great declaration of faith and dependance.

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 everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

You can almost sense the old man, leaning on his staff and looking out over the hills of County Meath, and thinking of all the struggles, the spiritual battles he had had to face throughout his life. The power of the druids, the political intrigues of the pagan kings of Tara, and the ignorance of the common people. And it was this strength of the Trinity which kept him through it all. The knowledge of a Sovereign God who hovered over him, Christ as his advocate who had stood in his place and paid the price for his sins, and the peace of God’s Holy Spirit dwelling within him. These were his, and these are mine. Christ in me and Christ before me, and Christ behind him.

** “Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God” from the album “Hymns for the Christian Life”