Is Christ beside us today? I pray that he is. I pray that He is the King of everyone’s heart. I pray that He is the vision in our eyes instead of any other kind of vision we may have. Today is St. Patrick’s Day, and the day seems to be a day of frolicking and drinking beer, but it is anything but that. St. Patrick was the bishop of Ireland and God used him to bring change in behavior and saving those in Ireland. Having been captured by Irish pirates from his home in Britain, one would wonder why he would go back to Ireland after having experienced being kidnapped.
During St. Patrick’s captivity he learned to speak to God through prayer. I have read books about him and his walk with God. How God used him among the many chieftains’ war that took place. He was a helper among women who were beaten and thrown out of the clan that they belonged too. St. Patrick took them into the church and preached Christ’s love and forgiveness.
Who can comfort us when we are suffering. Through the suffering St Patrick endured in his youth, he was able to follow Christ and become the patron saint chosen by God to preach Christ’s love and forgiveness. Like the apostle Paul’s writing to the Corinthians, this was St Patrick’s vision to bring comfort to those who were hurting.
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforted us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounded by Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5
Listen and read the lyrics and make this song your prayer.
Christ beside me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, King of my heart;
Christ within me, Christ below me,
Christ above me never to part.
Christ on my right hand, Christ on my left hand,
Christ all around me shield in my strife;
Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my sitting,
Christ in my rising light of my life.
Christ be in all hearts thinking about me,
Christ be on all tongues telling of me.
Christ be the vision in eyes that see me,
In ears that hear me, Christ ever be.
Source: St. Patrick's Breastplate, 8th century
