Lorica (religion)

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Lorica or Lorica prayer is a type of blessing or protective prayer that originally came from pre-Christian religious traditions . The term Lorica is Latin and actually means (breast) armor, cf. in addition the ancient Greek word thorax , brisket , which goes back to the same root . The term Lorica is used to express that the words of prayer are meant to protect against all evil like an armor.

Especially in Celtic Christianity and the Celtic Church , the Lorica was cultivated as a form of prayer. The Lorica is formally designed as a hymn and therefore actually represents a protective song. The best known is the Lorica of St. Patrick . In Ireland , this Lorica is sung on St. Patrick's Day both at Mass and during the parade. According to tradition, St. Patrick and his followers are said to have sung this prayer on their way to Tara to see King Laoghaire. The so-called Klosterneuburger Lorica is less well known .

Lorica of Saint Patrick

This Lorica is a hymn that has been handed down in two versions, one of which is known as Saint Patrick's breastplate . The better-known variant is called Fáeth Fiada ( How the Deer Screams ) and begins with the words “I rise today”. It is certain that this Lorica was used as a morning prayer. It is also believed that it was created by Gildas . Many formulations of this Lorica are typical today for the so-called Irish blessings , especially the turns of the penultimate stanza.

I rise today
by mighty power, by invoking the Trinity,
By believing in the Trinity,
By professing the Unity of
The Creator.
I arise today in the
strength of the birth of Christ and his baptism, in the
strength of his crucifixion and in his burial, in the
strength of his resurrection and in his ascension, in the
strength of his return at the Last Judgment.
I arise today with the
strength of the love of the cherubs, the
obedience of the angels,
the submission of the archangels,
the hope of reward at the resurrection, the
strength of the prayers of the patriarchs, the
strength of the prophets' divination, the
strength of the sermons of the apostles, the
strength of the faith of the Confessor,
power of the innocence of the holy virgins,
power of the deeds of the righteous.
I rise up today by the
strength of the heavens,
The light of the sun,
The shine of the moon,
The glow of fire,
The haste of lightning,
The roar of the wind,
The depth of the sea,
The firmness of the earth,
The hardness of the rocks.
I rise today,
power of God to guide me.
God's power keep me upright,
God's wisdom guide me,
God's eye look at me,
God's ear hear me,
God's word speak for me,
God's hand protect me,
God's way lies before me,
God's shield shield me,
God's army save me,
Before the devil's snares,
Before the temptations of sin , Before the temptations of
the flesh,
Before everyone who wants me ill,
near and far,
alone and in the crowd.
Today I call all those powers to,
to protect myself from these evils,
cruel Before each and merciless power
that my body and my soul threatened,
false ago incantations prophet
Before the severe laws of the nations,
before the false laws of heretics,
Against the art of idolaters,
Before the spells of women and blacksmiths and druids,
Before every science that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ protect me today
against poison, against fire,
against water, against wounds, so
that I may be rewarded abundantly.
Christ be with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ be in me, Christ be below me, Christ be above me,
Christ be on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ be where I lie, Christ where I sit,
Christ, where I rise,
Christ be in the heart of everyone who remembers me ,
Christ be in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ is in every eye that sees me,
Christ be in every ear that sees me hears.
I rise today
By mighty power,
By invoking the Trinity,
By believing in the Trinity,
By professing the Unity of
The Creator.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See the text The Lorica Prayer ( memento of the original from May 1, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.albertusmagnus.de
  2. ^ Johann Ludwig Döderlein: Handbook of Latin Etymology. Leipzig, 1841.
  3. ↑ Cf. Alexander Carmichael: The cross in the sun. Old Celtic sayings and prayers , Munich 1978, pp. 10, 15ff.
  4. ↑ See the article Prayer-Books , Section 3, in: The Catholic Encyclopedia .
  5. ↑ See http://www.dublin-info.de/themen.php?showarticle=1&id=3&subcatid=2&articleid=108
  6. ↑ Cf. David Adam: Blessing. Above me, in front of me, below me. Prayer experiences from the Irish blessing , Konstanz 1993, pp. 9, 21
  7. ↑ See. Variant of Lorica ( "Protection Prayer of St. Patrick of Ireland")
  8. ↑ Cf. Alexander Carmichael: The cross in the sun. Old Celtic sayings and prayers , Munich 1978, pp. 10, 15ff.
  9. ↑ Old Celtic seals , translated from Irish Gaelic and Cymric and introduced by Julius Pokorny , Bern 1944, pp. 116–119.

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