St David
I hope everyone's had a nice day, it's St Davids Day here in Wales or Dydd Dewi Sant. We've had Welsh Cakes and cawl to celebrate :) I thought it might be interesting to share his story.
St David was born in Pembrokshire 500 AD. He was a great teacher and aesthetic. The best known miracle associated with David is said to have taken place when he was preaching in the middle of a large crowd at the Synod of Llanddewi Brefi. When those at the back complained that they couldn't hear him, the ground on which he stood is reputed to have risen up to form a small hill so that everyone had a good view. A white dove settled on his shoulder, a sign of God's grace and blessing.
David died in the year 589 and the monastery is said to have been 'filled with angels as Christ received his soul'. His final words to his followers were: 'Be Joyful. Keep the Faith. Do the little things that you have heard and seen me do.'
The phrase ‘Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd’ - ‘Do the little things in life’ - is still a well-known maxim in Wales.
Tomorrow is the feast of St Non who was St Davids mum. She was a nun who was - "unhappily seized and exposed to the sacrilegious violence of one of the princes of the country"- specifically Sanctus King of Ceredigion. The product of this was St David who was born during a terrible storm which kept St Non hidden during labour from a local ruler who wanted to kill David when he was born. Its said her labour was so painful that when she held onto the rocks in the cave where she hid, they cracked in sympathy for her.
St Davids Cathedral stands on the site of the monastery he founded in the inhospitable area known as 'Glyn Rhosyn.'
In the twelfth century Pope Calixtus II declared St Davids Cathedral to be a place of pilgrimage. It was at this time that the medieval shrine was constructed and situated in the presbytery, close to the High Altar. Pope Calixtus II also stated that the shrine was so important that two pilgrimages to St Davids were equivalent to one to Rome, three were equivalent to one to Jerusalem.
It was destroyed during the Reformation but reconstructed in 2012. It now shows St's David, Patrick, and Andrew. Poor St George being left out, but I suppose he isn't a Celtic Saint.
Please allow me to add my thanks as well (from across the pond). Having been raised an evangelical Christian in Texas, I came of age (both literally and in the faith) knowing nothing of anything about the saints of old from the second century on.
Yet their lives and the wonders of God He's shone through them weave such an incredibly rich tapestry upon which to draw such tremendous encouragement (such as Hebrews 11 & 12 speaks of). And this great cloud of witnesses is such a potent source of edification all believers should draw upon.
At the start of the year I set my phone's calendar to show all ecclesiastical holidays and feast days, and when I saw March 1st was Saint David's day, I had no clue as to who he was or what the day entailed in its observances.
I went through my busy day pondering this, but always "too occupied" with other things to simply stop and look it up. I was so busy in fact, I suspect I may well have forgotten about it all together and would have robbed myself of the blessing and edification of Saint David if left to my own devices. But that's when the Lord took action.
What did God do?
He led you to post this in a group which He led Oliver and Ryan to create online, which He led me to through one of their YouTube videos He'd led them to make in the first place. Thank you. Thank all of you. And while I've been unable to attend the last few meetings, please know how much encouragement and edification y'all give me through these posts, conversations, and videos (and even just knowing you're all out there in this great wide world). It's all such a blessing. Again, I say thank you. With love and prayers all the way from Florida ♥️