The prayer follows a traditional format where blessings are bound to the senses or parts of the body as a kind of breastplate (or lorica, as the official term goes), the best known of which would be St Patrick’s Breastplate. The more thorough the prayer, the more powerful it becomes.

The following prayer has been adapted from the original:

Prayer at rising

Bless to me,
Each thing mine eye sees;
Bless to me,
Each sound mine ear hears;
Bless to me,
Each odour that goes to my nostrils;
Bless to me,
Each taste that goes to my lips;
Bless to me,
Each note that goes to my song;
Each ray that guides my way;
Each thing that I pursue;
Each lure that tempts my will;
The zeal that seeks my living soul,
The three that seek my heart,
The zeal that seeks my living soul,
The three that seek my heart.¹

References