Today March 1

I once lived in one of the only parishes in the United States (and certainly the only one in its diocese) that celebrated today's saint canonically: St. David, patron of Wales. St. David, or Dewi, as he was also known, was kind of a Welsh hero, even though he was of only minor monastical and zero political importance. I get the impression, though faint since it comes through such huge layers of time, that he was quite the steadfast and independent man, not unlike the men of his race. He was born on the coast of South Wales to father Sant and mother Non -- don't you love those names? He could say, "Yes, my father was a Sant and I am truly the son of Non." :) He was a monk after the mold of the Desert Fathers (esp. those in the Thebaid), and became bishop. He almost didn't accept the nomination -- he sure didn't want it -- but they accepted his condition that the Cambrian diocese headquarters be moved from Caerleon to Mynyw (Latin: Menevia), now known as "Saint David's". Maybe he thought they wouldn't do it. Silly him.

He worked hard, believed in silence and manual labor -- to the point of having the monks (including himself) pull the plow themselves -- and drank nothing but water (sometimes with a little milk mixed in -- for feast days, apparently). "Abstinence from any drink but water earned for David the name of 'Waterman' -- a quality that later commended him to nonconformist taste, which in other respects could scarcely find him a congenial patron." Don't the English have a marvelous sense of understatement? I love the way they write and the way they talk. But the reprehensible (to my eyes) sense of selective biography leads to "commend[ing] him (or her) to [different] taste", as we see in the Protestants adopting Francis, who in other ways would "scarcely find him . . . congenial", if you know what I mean. I mean, how much more a loyal son of the (Catholic) faith could you find than St. Francis? If those who propose to love and follow him were to really do so, they'd end up pledging their loyalty to the Pope and de facto becoming Catholics! And speaking of nonconformists and Protestants, several have tried to adopt our saint of today to show "independence from" Rome of the Welsh (also known as "Cambrian") church. BS! David was a loyal son of the Catholic Church! And he really DID have an impact on early Welsh monasticism, founding many houses and inculcating the contemplative life and religious fervor fostered by prayer. His last words were: "Be cheerful: keep the faith: observe exactly all the little things that you have learned of me." Good words.