Be Joyful! Keep the Faith!
Beloved One, Patron of Wales,
Abbot and Confessor, Priest and Bishop
DEWI SANT
Patron Saint of Wales and of our Monastery
Dewi Sant is the patron Saint of Wales. He is also known as St. David of Wales.
It is good to note that devotion to the saint is still vibrant and active 1400 years after his death. With long white curly hair and beard, he is shown standing on a small raised hill preaching with a dove resting on his shoulder, his shepherds crook in one hand and his Cathedral held lovingly in the other.
The 5th C. was a turbulent era for Britain; the Roman legions withdrew to the Continent and Angles, Saxons, Jutes invade and defeated the native Britons despite stout resistance. The natives withdrew to seek their final refuge in Cornwall, Wales and Cumberland. West of the river Wye in South Wales, in one of the last strongholds of the Roman Britons, Christianity flourished; the faith had been preserved by the old Britons who had adopted the Christian faith during the later days of the Roman Empire. Here, into this community of faith, Dewi Sant was born at Henmynyw, near Caerfai Bay, Mynyw (close to Menevia, the Roman port of Menapia), (now Pembrokeshire), South Wales around 454 AD.
David’s father is King Sant (Santus) of S. Wales also known as Sandde ab Ceredig ab Cunnedda. His genaeology reads: Dewi Sant, son of Sandde, whose father was Ceredig; the father of Ceredig was Cunnedda, Prince of Ceretica (now called Cardiganshire).
His mother is St. Non, (also called Nonna , Nonnita or sometimes Melaria). To this day some grandmothers are called ‘Nanny’ in memory of her.
It is said that St. Non, the daughter of Gynyr of Caergawch, was a holy woman, a nun, a spiritual mother to many, who was ravished by King Sant and so Dewi Sant was conceived for a life of holiness. There is a tradition that tells how an angel revealed the birth of the boy to St. Patrick some 30 years prior.
Baptized by St. Elvis of Munster at Porth Clais, legend tells us that a blind man was cured by the baptismal water. His early years were spent above Caerfai Bay with St. Non; his youth with St. Illtyd from whom he received an education at Caerworgorn (Llanwit Major) in Glamorganshire. After ordination to the Priesthood, David studied the scriptures for ten years under St. Paulinus (Paul Hen) at Witland in Carmarthenshire. Old age takes its toll and St. Paulinus lost his sight; it was restored to him when St. David made the sign of the Cross over him.
Like so many other saints, the holiness of David’s life lived to the glory of God forced him out of the solitude and hiddenness he loved so much. His spiritual father, Paulinus, seeing that God had a great plan for his life, sent David out to evangelize the Britons. Travelling west, the young Dewi Sant founded and restored twelve monasteries; great names such as Leominster, Bath and Glastonbury where he built a chancel to St. Joseph of Arimathaea’s wattle church. Settling in the quiet beauty of South Wales in the valley at Rhos (Ross on Wye), David and his monks lived a life of great austerity. It is reported that his monks suffered great temptations from the maidservants of a local chieftan and eventually tried to poison their abbot. Forewarned, St. David blessed the poisoned bread making the sign of the Cross over it and ate safely.
The moral of the story being: always say your prayers and give the blessing, making the sign of the cross over the food before sitting down to eat your meal!
Called in a vision to go to Jerusalem to help the Patriarch and with the old adage ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ in mind, David left the quiet of the welsh countryside behind him, travelling, with St. Teilo and St. Padarn, to Jerusalem.
Here the Patriarch ordained Dewi Sant a Bishop. And here, St. Dubric and St. Daniel found him when they came to call him home to preside over the Synod of Brefi. Being recalled to Wales, David reluctantly left the Holy City with the great gift of an indulgence for those faithful souls who would make pilgrimage and visit his Cathedral. Two pilgrimages were to equal one to Rome and three as one pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
A great deal can be learnt of the faith and utter trust that David possessed - God would indeed fulfill his own prayer for his flock. Perhaps we can see in the kindness and thoughtfulness with which St. David approached his future life of shepherding his flock back in Wales, a reflection of the compassion and loving care with which his own mother, St. Non, provided for his future.
Without even a See to preside over at this time, he makes preparation for the future good of the whole flock. His compassion for the people, the conscious acknowledgement of their circumstances and state of life, the poverty, the inability to travel long distances or go overseas and his own great need to share with them not only the love of Christ in him for them, and the goodness and graces he himself had received and experienced, but rather, to have others experience for themselves, Christ in all His goodness and loving mercy by a personal, intimate sharing in His life through the sacraments and by the indulgence of pilgrimages to Rome and Jerusalem – to experience the living reality of heavenly bliss upon earth; to walk where the Lord walked, to sit where He sat and to be loved as He is loved.
To make it easy for his beloved children to be able to actually do these things and to meet Christ personally in their own lives.
St. David’s motto could be said to be:
Be joyful! Keep the faith!
The Synod of Brefi, c519AD, was brought into being to refute the second rising of the Pelagian heresy in Britain.
It is said that as David preached at the Synod a hill rose up beneath his feet so that he could be seen and heard by all the people. Preaching with great energy and power, with wisdom, learning and miracles seen by all, he confounded the heretics who became silenced. A church was built at the site of the synod called Llan-Dewi Brefi or the Church of St. David near the river Brefi.
St. Dubric (Dubricius) was Archbishop and Primate of Wales at Caerleon, a small village and Roman holding just outside Newport, Monmouthshire, in the present day Gwent. Resigning from the Archbishopric at the synod, Dewi Sant with tears and opposition was appointed in his stead, his tears and reluctance only overcome by the command of the Bishops at the Synod.
With the royal approval of his nephew, King Arthur (of the Knights of the Round Table), the newly appointed Archbishop and Primate of Wales, moved his see to Mynyw, (Menevia) from there he governed the Church for many years with great holiness and wisdom.
Mynyw being a place of solitude, close to the sea, the natural coastland has a rugged beauty being somewhat cold and wild in winter. It was, at that time, a place of solitude, of retreat, with no access by road. Transport was mostly by ship around the coast with Milford Haven being the nearest port and the main point of departure for Ireland. The austerity of the lives of the monks bore its fruit in pure and holy hearts. They were mainly vegetarians drinking only water and a little milk. Manual work, study and prayer made up their days which were blessed and sanctified by the Divine Worship. Each monk spent 3 hours in prayer and adoration after partaking of the daily meal. Their habits were sewn of animal skins. St. Lily was David’s beloved disciple and companion in his retirement. He is known as Gwas-Dewi or St. David’s man.
St. David is known to have been a strict Abbot yet was very loving in his treatment and correction of wrongdoers. He became known over the centuries as Aquaticus, or the Waterman, as he permitted none of the customary wine or mead at his tables, only water.
In 569 AD, St. David presided over another synod which he called ‘Victory’ and held it at Lucas Victoriae. At this Synod, the acts of the Synod at Brefi were confirmed and several new canons regarding discipline in the church added. These were later confirmed by Rome. The Synods of Brefi and Victoria became the rule and standard for the Church in Britain. It was not until 590 AD that Pope St. Gregory the Great sent missionaries to Britain to convert the Angles and Saxons.
Known to be a scholar, a most competent administrator and a man of moderation, it can be said that St. David filled the offices he held with distinction becoming a true leader and guardian of the faith in Wales.
It is recorded that towards the end of his life several Irish saints resided at the monastery as his pupils. St. Modomnoc, an Irish Bishop, is known to have studied under him.
St. David lived a holy life dying on 1st March in 601 AD, according to the Annales Cambriae. St. Kentigern is reported to have seen his soul fly up to heaven. He was buried at his church of St. Andrew, which has since taken his name.
Known as Ty-Dewi, (The House of David), St. David’s Cathedral and the ruins of the old Bishop’s Palace can still be visited and if you take up a good atlas, you will be able to trace the some of the names of the places mentioned here in the maps of today.
The west bay of the present Cathedral houses the shrine and the final resting place of his body. The relics of the Saint remain behind the Altar to where they were removed in 1275. Prior to that they were kept in a moveable shrine, which, it is recorded by John of Glastonbury, was translated with great solemnity from Ross to Glastonbury “in the year of Christ 962”. Since the Reformation the Cathedral remains in communion with Canterbury.
David was canonized in 1120 by Pope Callistus II. He is the only Welsh saint recognized and listed in the Roman Calender.
St. David’s feast day is March 1st.
St. Non is March 2nd
St. Lily Gwas-Dewi, March 3rd
St. Daniel, September 11th
St. Modomnoc, February 13th
A NOVENA PRAYER TO ST. DAVID
O great St. David, we hear you call us on towards a life of faith; a life that knows no fear of death. Christ was the centre of all your teaching; God’s holy will the centre of all you did.
Help us now by your great intercession, certain as we are that in your goodness you long ago made provision for all our present and future needs. We ask you now, dear brother, to watch over us, to stretch out your hands in blessing upon us and lead us now to God with our hearts confessing our King, Jesus Christ, our Redeemer who lives forever more.
Grant, we beseech you, Almighty God, that the loving intercession of Saint David, your Confessor and Bishop may protect us and guide us, help us to be joyful and keep the faith. We make our prayer in the Name of Jesus. Through Christ, our sweet and loving Lord, Amen.
The Sisters of St. John the Beloved
Who we are
Our House, our calling
The daily Horarium
Our work
Fraternal Charity
The Community is a koinonia
The Confraternity
The Little Charter of the poor
The restoration of the Precious Blood
Pray with us
About Saint David
Formation
Rosary of the 7 Dolors
The Chapter of St. John the Baptist
Tydewi Binderie
Tydewi Binderie
All things come from Him;
To Him are all things.
The Monastery of Dewi Sant,
Western Australia.
@Copy Right, the Monastery of Dewi Sant, Australia.
This Page was created specifically for the Monastery of Dewi Sant, Australia,
By Cath Art Creations
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