follow Christ this requires a willingness to acknowledge that others have the right to be valued , even if life were to ask from us that we let it go . God asks us to show solidarity with the unloved and undervalued .
Christians do not seek out suffering , we follow a Lord who wants to give us joy , who wants to see us laughing . But He also asks us to give up our life if needed . There are people around us who need recognition , who want us to turn to them , to show them respect . We celebrate the Eucharist on that day in joy about the forgiveness of sins by the grace of God , and we pray especially then for all those suffering through violence . This Jesus , our God , has come through all pain and proved himself stronger than death .
Brigitte Williams
( Dorothea Sattler wrote in ‘ Andere Zeiten ’ 1 / 2016 )
Some Saints Days in March 1 March St David ( before 500 -589 ),
Patron Saint of Wales . There is no contemporary account of his life . He is said to have been the son of Prince Sandda ( Saint ) and St Non . His father dreamed that he would receive 3 gifts : a stag , a fish and a swarm of bees , representing the son ’ s power , his abstinence and his holiness . David was ordained priest and founded many monasteries , settling finally in Pembrokeshire , where his community lived in severe austerity , based on the practices of monks in the desert . . His monastic rule was ascetic , demanding vegetarianism . His symbol is the leek , which is part of his legend , but largely comes from Shakespeare Henry V . He is said to have given the plant to Welsh fighters against the Anglo Saxons to distinguish them from the enemy by their clothing . The Daffodil is used today instead of the leek , because it has a similar flower .
St David is also depicted with a dove after a miracle at the Synod of Brefi , where he preached against the Pelagian heresy . He died on March 1 , aged 100 and was buried at St David ’ s Cathedral . Music from his ‘ Office ’ has been edited and inspired modern choral works .
17 March St Patrick ( died 17 March 493 ),
Patron Saint of Ireland . He was a Romano- British missionary , born at Bona Venta Berniae ( which may be Ravenglass in Cumbria ), his father was a deacon , his grandfather a priest . Aged 16 he was captured in Wales by Irish Raiders and taken to Ireland as a slave . He came home after 6 years and entered the Church , returned to Ireland as an ordained Priest . The dates of his life are not certain , now accepted as late 5 th century . Some traditions attached to Patrick belong to Palladius , who was sent to Ireland by the Pope
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