Gouache and acrylic on paper. This work is a reflection on st. Patrick’s breastplate, a Celtic prayer of protection based on the passage in Ephesians 6:10-20. Praying the prayer for the Celtic Christians was like getting dressed in the armour of God. As you pray the prayer, you bind to yourself, or arise in the power of the trinity. It is as though you are “putting on” the power of the trinity, the incarnation, the death, resurrection and coming again of Christ, the words of Scripture, and the goodness of creation in defence “Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul.” In this picture, I painted an image that for me expressed this trinitarian protection against the forces of evil. A friend of mine shared a story about an experience he had of God. He had a vision of three tigers circling around him. He was terrified, but also felt very protected. And he knew God was with him. This experience for me speaks of the way being in God’s powerful protection is both fierce and terrifying, calling us to boldness in the gospel we received, and yet also protective and deeply comforting, as we know that we are God’s deeply loved children

Bailey Carrick

Original, $400