The Navajos and Saint Patrick
Unknown to each other, unheard of in distance of time, with what might as well be a universe than an ocean between their two lands, men with spiritual eyes and spiritual ears walked the selfsame way of pilgrimage.
From the Navajos (as retold by Joseph Campbell):
Oh beauty before me, beauty behind me,
beauty to the left of me, beauty to the right of me,
beauty above me, beauty below me,
I’m on the pollen path.
From a prayer, known as the breastplate of Saint Patrick:
I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.…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 confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
I’m on the pollen path.
All beauty, all truth, leads to the One, the Godhead, the Divine Logos through Whom all things are made. Through nature, through poetry and art, Divinity speaks life to the human heart.
“Question the beauty of the earth, question the beauty of the sea, question the beauty of the air distending and diffusing itself, question the beauty of the sky. . . question all these realities. All respond: “See, we are beautiful.” Their beauty is a profession. These beauties are subject to change. Who made them if not the Beautiful One who is not subject to change?” (St. Augustine.)
Greeted by the Navajo and the ancient people of Ireland, the Holy Other flickers through firelight, shimmers in dew, whispers through the heart of blossoming. The Beautiful One came down and assumed human nature to weep tears of blood for flowers eternal, to tenderly touch the face of the humble pilgrim with knees pressed into the earth, so that, with spirit ear pressed to the heart of Creation, the Source may be intimately known. Friend. Brother. Savior.
A man called Patrick shared this love with those who had enslaved him and, by his witness to the fullness of Beauty Revealed, set his captors free.
We’re on the pollen path.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
Christina Chase View All
Although crippled by disease, I'm fully alive in love. I write about the terrible beauty and sacred wonder of life, while living with physical disability and severe dependency. A revert to the Catholic faith through atheism, I'm not afraid to ask life's big questions. I explore what it means to be fully human through my weekly blog and have written a book: It's Good to Be Here, published by Sophia Institute Press.
Christina Chase 
Christ is omnipresent for sure! Happy St. Patricks Day!!!
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Happy st Patricks day to you!!!hope you enjoyed it.
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Reblogged this on Divine. Incarnate. and commented:
I’m having difficulty with a prayer that is suggested on the televised Mass on Catholic TV. The part that makes me go hmm is “Jesus I love you above all things”…. Hmmm…
Do I? I want to, I know that they should, that it is my ultimate joy, but… I love my family so much, and my close friends, and I want to mean what I say and pray, so I don’t know that I can honestly say that I love Jesus more than them. But, then, I started thinking…
Definitely, I have particular affection for these individuals in my life, I love them dearly, but, what do I love in them, through them, and beyond them…?
Truth … Beauty… Pure, innocent goodness… Love.
Aren’t all these Christ?
I’m sharing this post that I wrote on another Saint Patrick’s Day exploring the deep and profound mystery of Christ…
Beauty Ever Ancient, Ever New…
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Read and “loved” the whole thing. Far better than going to a parade or a beer picnic!. I’m saving this for my granddaughter Gracie, when she’saw ready.very inspiring.
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Thank you – and God bless Gracie!
If you want the longer version of St. Patrick’s Breastplate, it’s posted on this blog:
https://agnellusmirror.wordpress.com/2017/03/17/14426/
Pax Christi
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Why didn’t I open the longer version, or maybe I did and wasn’t ready myself. But now, this morning, empty headed in a quiet room looking out at bare trees and a leaden sky, the breastplate meant so much to me, especially
” . . . Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
And
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
. . . . .
Neither friend (as in present) nor stranger, you build me up, Christina, with your words, references, and determined faith. Sometimes that’s all I need to keep seeing what’s really there in the ordinary air.
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❤
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Beautiful, Christina. Reminds me of Romans 1:20 and Psalm 19:1.
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Psalm 19:1)
Even those who have never heard of Christ are without excuse; His Love and Beauty shine forth so that even the rocks will cry out! Praise Jesus, that we can pray straight to Him and walk closely with Him all the days of our lives!
In Christ,
Annalee
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It is a blessed privilege to know Christ in an intimate way. There are many who have walked with Him without knowing, but blessed are we in the knowing! You know, I had a big smile reading your response because I was just reading those very verses today while researching Creation in the Bible for the revision of my book! 🙂 Blessings,
Pax Christi
Christina
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Yay! I love when Christ connects things like that. How wonderful. 🙂
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