October 21, 2021
by Mary Clifford Morrell
More and more, one of the most common words I hear from parents is “overwhelmed.”
It’s easy to understand the feeling, especially as we continue to deal with the life-changing challenges of a pandemic. Even without a pandemic, parenting can sometimes leave us feeling like we are drowning, and no one is throwing us a life jacket.
Exhaustion, overwork, a sick or medically compromised child, inadequate finances or health insurance, fear about children’s safety, sibling jealousy, trying to balance more plates than is humanly possible and then faulting ourselves for dropping some. The reasons for feeling overwhelmed may be different for every parent, but for most they are almost too numerous to list.
What then, could I possibly suggest, as a help for overwhelmed parents? The Internet is already full of suggestions. The last thing I’d want is to regurgitate someone else’s ideas.
Then I remembered. Years ago, I wrote a small book entitled, “Through the Strength of Heaven.” I haven’t thought much about it since it went out of print. It was a collection of my columns written to encourage parents and others who were struggling for one reason or another.
I borrowed the title from the Lorica of St. Patrick, a prayer attributed to the well-known saint who faced kidnapping, enslavement, hunger, and brutality but never gave up his God-given mission to the Irish people. He wrote that he was able to accomplish what he did “through the strength of Heaven.”
I was happy when a Catholic publisher decided to publish the book, but I was disappointed when they wanted to change the title to something “catchier.” They chose a title from one of my columns, “Angels in High Top Sneakers,” and developed the cover around it. But I was sorry to lose the strength of heaven, because it spoke so deeply to how I got through so many rough patches in my parenting life.
Certainly, it was prayer and a reliance on God’s strength that got me through when my own strength was waning, and believe me, there were times when waning meant running on empty. What I began to realize is that it wasn’t just strength I found in prayer, but guidance in making decisions, insight when I needed it, wisdom in relationships and being led to the right people and right resources to lighten my load and help me for the good of my family.
When I read the Lorica of St. Patrick, I cried, because it was exactly what I had been experiencing, even with my poorly composed entreaties for help—also known as prayers.
A lorica is known as a prayer of protection, so the full prayer is also known as the Breastplate of St. Patrick. Because of its length I will share those parts that were most helpful to me in overcoming the sometimes overwhelming experience of parenting, and reinforced the truth I felt every time I prayed, “I arise today thought the strength of heaven…
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 …
I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Thrones,
Through confession of the Oneness
Towards the Creator.
St. Patrick’s prayer for protection became an important part of my prayer life, but I suggest to anyone who needs healing of some kind to pray in a way or with prayers that are most meaningful for them. Established prayers are easy to remember because for many of us we memorized them as children. But the saints tell us that what’s needed most in prayer is love, honesty and humility.
The best way to pray is to say what’s in your heart and ask for what you need, especially if you need encouragement to pray. As another beloved saint, St. Francis of Assisi, reflected, “Prayer is true rest.”
What parent doesn’t need some rest?
Mary Regina Morrell, mother of six and grandmother to nine, is a Catholic journalist, author, and syndicated columnist who has served the dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey, and RENEW International in the areas of catechesis and communication.