When you hear the words monastic, or ascetic, what images come to mind?
Perhaps you imagine dry winds blowing sharply across the desert sands of Sinai and Palestine,
where hermits cling to the rocks and caves searching for spiritual waters, just as arid
plants and flowers hold out in silent hope for rain; or, perhaps, you think of the evergreen
forests deep within Russia and the taiga of Siberia, where solitude and the acquisition
of the Holy Spirit is equally sought by those men and women who yearn for God’s wisdom
and peace.
Far removed from these lands is another, filled with green valleys, slate quarries, and snowcapped
peaks.
This country sits very close to the sea, so close in fact, that our story begins in the
country of Cymru, as it is known in Welsh, or what today we know as Wales.In the late
5th century, there was a young nun, who eventually would be known as Saint Non.
She lived in a convent near Ty Gwyn in Pembrokeshire, and there she kept to a life of prayerful
activity and quiet penitence.
According to tradition, her peace was shattered one day, when the King of Ceredigion was passing
through the village near her convent.
He spied her working alone in a field and seized her, taking away her vow of chastity
by force.
This devastated her, but she kept her faith in God and continued to pray for His mercy.
Soon, she realized that she was pregnant.
With tears in her eyes she dedicated the child to God, and this gave her great comfort.
One day, as she attended the Liturgy at a nearby parish, the priest found himself suddenly
unable to continue preaching in the presence of her unborn child.
This was taken as a great sign that the child himself would one day become a renowned preacher
of the Gospel.
Non, the mother of the baby, kept these things in her heart, wondering what God had in store
for her child.According to tradition, during the course of her pregnancy, a local pagan
ruler learned of this and took it as a bad omen.
Fearing the power that this child might one day hold, he plotted to be present when the
baby was born in order to kill it.
However, on the day when Non’s labour began, a fierce thunderstorm arose where she lived
and made it dangerous for anyone to travel outdoors, dashing the plans of the impious
murderer.
The place where she found herself, near the cliffs west of Caerfai Bay, was bathed in
a radiant holy light.
It was here that Saint Non gave birth to one of Wale’s most beloved and well-known saints.
It is said, that the pain of her labour was of such intensity, that she grasped a large
rock, and the stone itself was split asunder in sympathy with her.
Saint David, or Dewi Sant, was born at the turn of the 6th century.
Little is known about his early life save for a few scant references from Rhygyfarch’s
“Life of Saint David”, written about 500 years later, sourced, nevertheless, from collections
of earlier writings.
As far as we know, David’s mother raised him in the village of Henfeynyw near Aberaeron
and he was baptized in Porthclais by Saint Elvis of Munster.
Tradition has it, that during the sacrament, a blind monk named Movi was holding the infant
David, who accidentally splashed some of the holy water from the baptismal font into the
old man’s eyes – instantly healing his lack of vision!As David grew older, he was
educated at Whitland monastery near Carmarthenshire, under the guidance of Saint Paulinus of Wales,
who was also blind.
It is said that David cured his tutor of blindness simply by making the sign of the Cross over
his eyes.
Realizing immediately that David was blessed, Paulinus sent him off as a missionary to convert
the pagan people of Britain.Saint David performed many miracles during his missionary efforts.
At this time in history, it was not uncommon for waves of intruding pagan Irish chieftains
to overrun Wales, claim lands, and establish fortified settlements.
According to local tradition, a chieftain called Boia heard that in the valley below
his homestead, David himself had staked a claim to a portion of the land with a company
of monks.
Upon hearing this, Boia sent his warriors to drive David and his companions away.
But, as the soldiers approached, David made the sign of the Cross and offered a prayer
of petition to God, causing all of Boia’s men and cattle to fall down as if they were
dead.
The chieftain was mightily impressed by David’s powers and converted to Christianity shortly
thereafter.
However, Boia’s wife was still extremely opposed to David being in the area, and in
an effort to drive him out, she sent her maidservants to bathe naked in the local river to tempt
David and his monks.
When this ploy failed, she devised another plan to defile the valley and drive the monks
away.
She set up a pagan worship ritual, lured her own Christian stepdaughter into the valley
and cut off her head in the ritual.
But instead of defiling the valley, this blessed it with the blood of the Christian martyr.
A miraculous healing spring emerged from that very spot!
This sealed the fate of paganism in the area as Boia’s wife went mad and fled into the
hills.
Later, Boia himself turned against David and his monastics, as well.
Soon after that, he was defeated in battle by a group of invaders.
He was captured and beheaded.
According to local tradition, after these events took place, fire fell from the heavens
and destroyed every trace of the Irish chieftain’s settlement.
The monks, led by saint David, were again free to practice their monastic life.
During Saint David’s time as a missionary, he traveled throughout Wales and Britain and
converted many pagans.
But his deepest desire was to visit the place where Christ lived and died.
So, he set off for the journey.
It was during this pilgrimage to Jerusalem that he was consecrated bishop.
Upon his return, now as a bishop, David continued his tireless missionary work, establishing
twelve monasteries throughout Wales and England, including Glastonbury and his main monastic
community at Mynyw, the modern-day village of Saint David.
Saint David became also well known for his excellent preaching of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.
His reputation among the people, and even among his peers, increased tremendously, especially
when an amazing miracle took place while he was speaking at the Synod of Brefi in 545
AD.
The synod was held in the Kingdom of Ceredigion (near modern day Llanddewi Brefi).
As he spoke, explaining the Holy Scriptures, it is said that the earth beneath his feet
slowly rose up to create a small hill, so that he could be seen by the others and that
his words may be better heard by all who had gathered there.
It was at this very synod that David was elevated to the rank of Archbishop.After the synod
of Brefi, Saint David returned to his home town to establish his final monastery in 550
AD.
This quickly became known as a center for learning, but also for the simple and pure
way of life of its monks.
His monastery would have been built in the Celtic tradition of small stone ‘beehive’
shaped huts called “clochán”, and not as the grand abbeys of later centuries.Saint
David’s monastic routine, and that of the monks in his charge, was one of great simplicity
and self-denial.
Taking efforts to model his monastery on the well-known practices of the 4th century desert
father, Saint Anthony the Great.
Their days were centered on prayer, reading of the Holy Scriptures, and working in the
fields.
In fact, David insisted that the monks would not use cattle or oxen to drive the plough
in their fields, but that the men themselves would pull the plough as a form of ascesis!
Not only did the monks have to keep themselves fed, but they had to provide food and lodging
for travelers, as well.
They also had to care for the poor.
They ate only one meal each day consisting of bread, herbs and vegetables, and drank
only water.
In fact, Saint David himself lived only on bread and water, modeling this ascetic practice
after that of his own mother, Saint Non, thus gaining the nickname “Dewi dyfrwr”,
which means “one who drinks only water”, (as opposed to the far more common barley
beer, which most people used to drink).
Another one of his frequent ascetic practices was that he would walk down the mist-covered
cliffs to the beach below his monastery and stand up to his neck in the cold sea, reciting
the psalms as a form of penance.
The tradition has preserved for us one more miracle, which took place at David’s own
monastery.
There was an Irish monk who came to live there called Modomnoc.
He was the beekeeper.
He helped to make honey and beeswax, which the monks would then sell to the local village
markets to support the monastery.
One day, the beekeeper received an urgent message that he had to return to Ireland.
He complied, with the blessing of his elder.
But, every time he walked down to the shore to seek passage across the Irish Sea, all
the bees would follow after him, leaving the monastery without beeswax and honey.
This happened three times, until saint David blessed the bees and allowed Modomnoc to take
some of them with him.
In accordance to this story, he is credited as the one who helped introduce honeybees
to Ireland! As far as saint David was concerned, the miracles he performed throughout his life
were quite simple and a gift for his humility and penitence.
He viewed himself as a vessel for God’s grace; that his miracles were the work of
God through him - a humble and faithful servant of the Lord.
Little is known about saint David’s later life.
It is believed that he lived to be over 100 years old and he reposed in the Lord on March
1st, 589 AD.
His last words to his followers were, “Be joyful, keep the faith, and do the little
things you have seen me do.”
In modern-day Wales, this has been shortened to the colloquial phrase, still used today:
“Do the little things…”He is credited with being the patron Saint of Wales and he
is commemorated on March 1st . His mother, Saint Non, is remembered on March 2nd each
year.
He was buried in his own monastery.
The early shrine erected there to hold his relics was destroyed by fire in 645 AD, and
the small town of Saint David itself was repeatedly raided to near ruin by the Vikings, beginning
around the 11th century, but has always been rebuilt.
The medieval shrine located within saint David’s Cathedral was restored in 2012 and attracts
thousands of pilgrims annually.
It is said that over its history, two visits to Saint David’s shrine were considered
by the Welsh to be of equal value as one journey to Rome.
Three visits to the shrine would be equal to one pilgrimage to Jerusalem itself. Whether
feeding the poor, preaching the Gospel to his Welsh countrymen, or using miracles as
a means of sharing God’s grace with those around him, saint David helped to establish
Wales as a country with a long and rich Christian heritage and devotion to God.
We must remind ourselves, however, that not everyone needs to be blessed with the power
to do great miracles.
Sometimes, it is more important to “do the little things” each day, to shine
the light of Christ into our world’s darkness so that others might see our good works and
give glory to God our Heavenly Father.
May all of us find the life of this Saint to be a powerful testimony of the Good News
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Saint David of Wales, pray to Christ for us.
Amen.