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 mo nastic 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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