The Fervent Spirit

The Spirit comes to help us, weak as we are. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit pleads with God for us in groans that words cannot express. Romans 8: 26, 27

As a beardless adolescent I was captured before I knew what to look for and what to avoid. I was like a stone lying deep in the mud; but he that is mighty came and lifted me up in his mercy, and raised me to the top of the wall. That is why I ought to shout in a loud voice, and return something to the Lord for all his benefits here and in eternity, which the human mind cannot even begin to comprehend.

After coming to Ireland I was put to work tending cattle, sheep and hogs, and many times during that day I would pray. More and more the love of God and the fear of God came to me, so that my faith was strengthened and my spirit was moved. In a single day I would pray as often as a hundred times, and nearly as often at night, when I was staying in the woods and in the mountains. I would rouse myself before daylight to pray, whether in snow, frost, or rain; it made no difference, and I felt no bad effects. Because the Spirit in me was fervent, I knew no sluggishness.
The Confession of Patrick

Christ beside me, Christ before me
Christ behind me, Christ within me
Christ beneath me, Christ above me
Christ to right of me, Christ to left of me
Christ in my lying, my sitting, my rising
Christ in heart of all who know me
Christ on tongue of all who meet me
Christ in eye of all who see me
Christ in ear of all who hear me
From St. Patrick’s Breastplate