"The Lorica"

I arise today through a mighty strength,
the invocation of the Trinity,
through belief in the Threeness,
through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.

I arise today through the strength of Christ with His Baptism,
through the strength of His Crucifixion with His Burial,
through the strength of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
through the strength of His descent for the Judgment of Doom.

I arise today through the strength of the love of Cherubim in obedience of Angels,
in the service of the Archangels,
in hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
in prayers of Patriarchs,
in predictions of Prophets,
in preachings of Apostles,
in faiths of Confessors,
in innocence of Holy Virgins,
in deeds of righteous men.

I arise today, through the strength of Heaven;
light of Sun, brilliance of Moon, splendor of Fire,
speed of Lightning, swiftness of Wind, depth of Sea,
stability of Earth, firmness of Rock.

I arise today, through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to secure me: against snares of devils,
against temptations of vices,
against inclinations of nature,
against everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near, alone and in a crowd.

I summon today all these powers between me (and these evils):
against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and my soul,
against incantations of false prophets,
against black laws of heathenry,
against false laws of heretics, against craft of idolatry,
against spells of witches, smiths and wizards,
against every knowledge that endangers man's body and soul.
Christ to protect me today against poisoning,
against burning, against drowning, against wounding,
so that there may come abundance in reward.

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 in breadth,
Christ in length,
Christ in height,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today through a mighty strength,
the invocation of the Trinity,
through belief in the Threeness,
through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.
Salvation is of the Lord.
Salvation is of the Lord.
Salvation is of Christ.
May Thy Salvation, O Lord, be ever with us. Amen.

A Short Story (A First Draft)

One evening, as a simple and guileless (albeit a bit apathetic) girl sat contemplating her life (an activity she did very rarely because it always depressed her even though there was very little to be depressed about), she was visited by a spirit. This spirit saw that the evening's activity had gotten very tiresome and depressing for such a simple girl. She didn't often like to think of things that were serious. In order to try to comfort the girl a bit, she offered the girl one wish...any wish. The girl thought about it for a while, contemplating some of the frustrations in her life and the lack of clarity on how and when and if to handle them,and finally decided that her one wish was to feel only the pain that was efficacious. You see, she was tired of having her senses fool her on so many occasions. She could never tell if she was really feeling sick or if it was just her mind. She had a hard time distingushing between muscle pain or serious pain. She never knew if it was time to see the doctor or if she should just put some ice on it. And above all, there were plenty of times where people thought they were fine, but they weren't, and their bodies failed to tell them. The girl thought that if she only felt the pain that was truly there, then she would truly know the condition of her body and how to act.

The spirit hesitatingly granted this wish.

The poor girl had never known so much pain. She never realized how much pain the body goes through every second. She never knew how much her body was working to keep her alive...until now. Now she felt every pull and strain of the muscles and tendons. And that was just her physical body! She never realized how much she had grieved her soul by the thoughts and activities (and lack therof) that she allowed herself to take part in. She just assumed that if it didn't hurt, then there wasn't a problem. How backwards her thoughts had been all along! She thought that her body was just tricking her and picking and choosing what to feel and not to feel. Now she realized that she had fallen for the philosophy she had been trying to combat. She didn't really believe that there was pain she wasn't feeling. What she actually wanted was to feel nothing except every now and then a reminder to get something checked up. What she discovered was that the pain and the pressure that she put her whole body (body and soul) through every day was absolutely incredible, and through the grace of God (mixed with her apathetic nature) she was only allowed to experience a little of the pain at a time. She realized that she did get her wish...she was now experiencing the pain that was truly there, and she now really did know the condition of her body. And it was not a pleasant experience...it was an excruciating time of penitence and release.

40 days later, the spirit visited her again and asked if she wanted the wish taken back. The girl was at a loss, because now that she had felt the pain that was truly there, she did indeed know the areas on which to work. However, the daily pain she found herself in was something she wanted to lessen. But how can you lessen the pain and still have the determination to be healed?