St. Patrick's Breastplate, also called the Lorica or the Deer's Cry, is an ancient Irish prayer of protection traditionally attributed to St. Patrick, the fifth-century apostle of Ireland. A "lorica" was a breastplate, and the prayer wraps the one who prays it in the armor of the Holy Trinity, the mysteries of Christ, and the powers of creation against every danger of body and soul. The verse below comes from the well-known metrical version by Cecil Frances Alexander (1889),

Honor the Blessed Trinity with this traditional act of adoration. The Prayer O everlasting and Triune God, I adore Thee profoundly, and I thank Thee for the grace of Baptism, by which I was made a child of God. Grant that I may always live as Thy child, loving Thee above all things and my neighbor as myself, for Thy sake. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Amen. Traditional prayer to the Trinity; classic manuals, public domain. If these prayers hel

The Nicene Creed confesses the Church's faith. This traditional English form is from older Catholic prayer books (not modern ICEL). The Prayer I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; by Whom all things were made

The Te Deum is the Church's great hymn of praise and thanksgiving. It dates from the fourth or fifth century; a beautiful legend says Sts. Ambrose and Augustine composed it together at Augustine's baptism in 387, though many scholars credit Niceta of Remesiana. It is sung at the end of the Office of Readings on Sundays and feasts, and for centuries it has been sung at coronations, consecrations, and victories, and whenever the Church wants to thank God for a great blessing. P

St. Patrick, the fifth-century apostle of Ireland, was born in Roman Britain. At sixteen he was kidnapped by raiders and enslaved in Ireland, where he turned to prayer while tending sheep. He escaped, trained for the priesthood, and returned to Ireland as a bishop and missionary. His own writings, the Confession and the Letter to Coroticus, reveal a humble man overwhelmed by God's mercy. Legend says he used the shamrock to teach the Holy Trinity. His feast is March 17, celebr

The Apostles’ Creed summarizes the faith handed down from the earliest Church. Catholics recite it at the start of the Rosary and in many morning and evening prayers. Let each article settle in the mind—creation, Incarnation, Cross, Resurrection, Church, and everlasting life. The Prayer I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Po

The Glory Be, also called the Lesser Doxology, is a short hymn of praise to the Holy Trinity. Its first part goes back to the early Church's worship, and the line "As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be" was added in the West in the fourth century to affirm, against the Arian heresy, that the Son has always been equal to the Father. The Glory Be closes each decade of the Rosary and every psalm in the Liturgy of the Hours, and it ends many other prayers and nove