40 Years of Waiting: Why a Top Anglican Leader Just Became Catholic!

From The Catholic Corner

February 14, 2026. A 60-year-old scholar kneels before the altar of St. Michael's Benedictine Abbey in Farnborough, England. The abbot, Dom Cuthbert Brogan, traces the sign of the cross on his forehead with sacred chrism. Nine words: "Signo te signo crucis, et confirmo te chrismate salutis." Canon Robin Ward, for 19 years the principal of St. Stephen's House in Oxford—one of the Church of England's most influential theological colleges—has just been received into the Catholic Church.

But this is not a sudden decision. It is the end of a journey that began 40 years ago in the same city of Oxford, where he has spent most of his adult life. And his words afterward are striking: "I rejoice without regret or hesitation to find myself in this place." What took four decades? And why now?

Dewi Sant (Saint David), Patron of Wales

Get your leeks ready! Dewi Sant (St David) is the Patron of the Principality of Wales. As in Ireland with the shamrock on St Patrick's Day, the Welsh wear leeks and daffodils in honour of their Patron.

According to tradition, St. David was the son of King Sant of South Wales and St. Non. He was ordained a priest and later studied under St. Paulinus. Later, he was involved in missionary work and founded a number of monasteries. The monastery he founded at Menevia in Southwestern Wales was noted for extreme asceticism. David and his monks drank neither wine nor beer - only water - while putting in a full day of heavy manual labour and intense study. Around the year 550, David attended a synod at Brevi in Cardiganshire. His contributions at the synod are said to have been the major cause for his election as primate of the Cambrian Church. He was reportedly consecrated archbishop by the patriarch of Jerusalem while on a visit to the Holy Land. He also is said to have invoked a council that ended the last vestiges of Pelagianism. David died at his monastery in Menevia around the year 589, and his cult was approved in 1120 by Pope Callistus II. He is revered as the patron of Wales. Undoubtedly, St. David was endowed with substantial qualities of spiritual leadership. What is more, many monasteries flourished as a result of his leadership and good example. His staunch adherence to monastic piety bespeaks a fine example for modern Christians seeking order and form in their prayer life. His feast day is March 1.

The legendary story of Dewi Sant from Storynory, a site with stories for children, including tales of the Saints.

David’s father was the King of Ceredigion, and some say that he was the nephew of the famous English King Arthur, whose knights sat around a round table. David’s mother was a poor but beautiful young woman, and the King did not look after her. When she was ready to give birth to David, she found that she was caught outside in a storm. The sky was filled with great flashes of lightning, and there were terrifying crashes of thunder. Hail and rain were coming down everywhere, except on the spot where she got herself ready to deliver the child. All around her was dry and lit by the sun.

David was baptised by a blind monk. Some of the water from the font splashed onto his eyes, and immediately he could see.

When David grew up he became a monk, and he travelled around Wales and England. He founded monasteries and churches including the famous Abbey at Glastonbury where it is said that King Arthur is buried. You can still see the beautiful ruins of the Abbey to this day.

David told his followers to be vegetarians and, of course, they ate a lot of leeks which grow very well in Wales. The monks who joined him had to give up much more. They didn’t use animals for farming – and they even pulled ploughs themselves instead of using oxen. They weren’t allowed to own any possessions, and if one of them said “My book” he had to do a penitence, which is a kind of punishment.

Despite his tough ways, St. David became very popular – perhaps because he had the gift of working miracles. For instance, when his neighbours' land was drying up, he stuck his staff into the earth and a spring sprung out of the ground. A local ruler became very jealous of his popularity, and his wife told him to send slaves with sticks to beat David and his monks – but as they came to attack the monks, their arms lost all their strength, and all they could do was to hurl filthy insults at them. When they returned home, they found that all their cattle had died. They returned to the monks and asked forgiveness. This time when they went back, all their cattle had come back to life.

Another time, some of St. David’s monks turned against him and decided to poison his food, but a friend of his in Ireland foresaw this in a dream and he sent St. Scuthyn to warn him. There were no ships ready, to carry Scuthyn across the Irish sea to Wales, but he waded into the water and a sea monster picked him up on his back and carried him across. When he arrived he warned St. David that his cook had put some deadly poison into his bread. At dinner time, St. David broke the bread into three pieces. He gave one piece to a dog, and another to a crow – both immediately died. Then he blessed the third piece, which he ate himself. Everyone watching thought that he would surely die too – but he was perfectly alright.

His most famous miracle happened at a great religious meeting. There was a vast crowd of people in the audience, and not one of the bishops who spoke could make themselves heard – except for David. The ground beneath him rose up into a hill so that he stood high up above the crowd, and a dove landed on his shoulder. His voice rang out as clear as a trumpet. St. David is often pictured speaking with a dove on his shoulder.

David became Bishop, not just of the Welsh, but of all the Britons. At that time, the Britons often had to fight off Saxon invaders from Europe. Before one great battle, St. David told the army of the Britons to wear leeks in their hats as a kind of uniform. They won the battle, and ever since leeks have been a welsh symbol. To remember the victory, Welsh soldiers eat raw leeks on the eve of St. David’s day.

St. David lived to be more than 100 years old, and as he was dying, the monastery in which he lay was filled with angels. His last words were “Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd,” which means, “Do the little things in life,” and to this day, it’s a common saying in Wales.

The only picture I could find

with his name in Welsh!

Happy St David's Day!

Divine Liturgy for the Second Sunday of Great Lent (Sunday of St Gregory Palamas)

Today's Divine Liturgy from the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Australia. You may follow the Liturgy here.

This Obscure Italian Saint Offered His Communions for 50 Years for the Conversion of England

St Paul of the Cross (Feast, 28 April) founded the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ, which Order helped convert St John Henry Newman.

From One Peter Five

By Timothy Flanders, MA

This book changed everything for me. But I also believe it (and this Italian tradition) has a providential role to play in our time.

I wish I could join the modern Passionist order as a lay 3rd order member. But alas. 

Nevertheless, This book has changed my life radically. 

-I want to share it with every single soul. 

-I want to be an apostle of this book and this religious order.

I believe that St. Paul of the Cross has a providential role to play in converting the whole English-speaking world. 

Hence, his order helped to convert St. John Henry Newman. 

Read this book to find out why

2nd Sunday of Lent

Today's Holy Mass from SSPX ANZ-District. You may follow the Mass at Divinum Officium.

Second Sunday of Lent ~ Dom Prosper Guéranger

Second Sunday of Lent

From Dom Prosper Guéranger's Liturgical Year:

My soul is sorrowful even unto death: stay you here, and watch with me.

The subject offered to our consideration, on this Second Sunday, is one of the utmost importance for the holy Season. The Church applies to us the lesson which our Savior gave to three of his Apostles. Let us endeavor to be more attentive to it than they were.

Jesus was about to pass from Galilee into Judea, that he might go up to Jerusalem, and be present at the Feast of the Pasch. It was that last Pasch, which was to begin with the immolation of the figurative lamb, and end with the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. who taketh away the sins of the world. Jesus would have his disciples know him. His works had borne testimony to him, even to those who were, in a manner, strangers to him; but as for his disciples, had they not every reason to be faithful to him, even to death? Had they not listened to his words, which had such power with them, that they forced conviction? Had they not experienced his love, which it was impossible to resist? and had they not seen how patiently he had borne with their strange and untoward ways? Yes, they must have known him. They had heard one of their company, Peter, declare that he was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. (Matthew 16:16) Notwithstanding this, the trial to which their faith was soon to be put, was to be of such a terrible kind, that Jesus would mercifully arm them against temptation by an extraordinary grace.

The Cross was to be a scandal and stumbling block (1 Corinthians 1:23) to the Synagogue, and, alas! to more than it. Jesus said to his Apostles, at the Last Supper: All of you shall be scandalized in me this night. (Matthew 26:31) Carnal-minded as they then were, what would they think, when they should see him seized by armed men, handcuffed, hurried from one tribunal to another, and he doing nothing to defend himself! And when they found, that the High Priests and Pharisees, who had hitherto been so often foiled by the wisdom and miracles of Jesus, had now succeeded in their conspiracy against him, — what a shock to their confidence! But, there was to be something more trying still: the people, who, but a few days before, greeted him so enthusiastically with their Hosannas, would demand his execution, and he would have to die, between two thieves, on the Cross, amidst the insults of his triumphant enemies.

Is it not to be feared that these Disciples of his, when they witness his humiliations and sufferings, will lose their courage? They have lived in his company for three years; but when they see that the things he foretold would happen to him are really fulfilled, will the remembrance of all they have seen and heard keep them loyal to him? or will they turn cowards and flee from him?—Jesus selects three out of the number who are especially dear to him: Peter, whom he has made the Rock, on which his Church is to be built, and to whom he has promised the Keys of the kingdom of heaven; James, the son of Thunder, who is to be the first Martyr of the Apostolic College; and John, James’ brother, and his own Beloved Disciple. Jesus has resolved to take them aside, and show them a glimpse of that glory which, until the day fixed for its manifestation, he conceals from the eyes of mortals.

He therefore leaves the rest of his Disciples in the plain near Nazareth, and goes, in company with the three privileged ones, towards a high hill, called Thabor, which is a continuation of Libanus, am which the Psalmist tells us was to rejoice in the Name of the Lord. (Psalm 88:13) No sooner has he reached tin summit of the mountain, than the three Apostle observe a sudden change come over him; his Face shines as the sun, and his humble garments become white as snow. They observe two venerable men approach, and speak with Him upon what he is about to suffer in Jerusalem. One is Moses, the lawgiver; the other is Elias, the Prophet, who was taken up from earth on a fiery chariot, without having passed, through the gates of death. These two great representatives of the Jewish Religion, the Law and the Prophets, humbly adore Jesus of Nazareth. The three Apostles are not only dazzled by the brightness which comes from their Divine Master; but they are filled with such a rapture o delight, that they cannot bear the thought of leaving the place. Peter proposes to remain there forever, and build three tabernacles, for Jesus, Moses and Elias. And whilst they are admiring the glorious sight, and gazing on the beauty of their Jesus human Nature, a bright cloud overshadows them and a voice is heard speaking to them: it is the voice of the Eternal Father, proclaiming the Divinity of Jesus, and saying: This is my beloved Son!

This transfiguration of the Son of Man, this manifestation of his glory, lasted but a few moments; his mission was not on Thabor; it was humiliation and suffering in Jerusalem. He therefore withdrew into himself the brightness he had allowed to transpire and when He came to the three Apostles, who, on hearing the voice from the cloud, had fallen on their faces with fear, — they could see no one save only Jesus. The bright cloud was gone; Moses and Elias had disappeared. What a favor they have had bestowed upon them! Will they remember what they have seen and heard? They have had such a revelation of the Divinity of their dear Master! — is it possible, that when the hour of trial comes, they will forget it, and doubt his being God? And, when they see him suffer and die, be ashamed of him and deny him? Alas! the Gospel has told us what happened to them.

A short time after this, our Lord celebrated his Last Supper with his Disciples. When the Supper was over, he took them to another mount, Mount Olivet, which lies to the east of Jerusalem. Leaving the rest at the entrance of the Garden, he advances with Peter, James, and John, and then says to them: “My soul is sorrowful even unto death: stay you here, and watch with me.” (Matthew 26:38) He then retires some little distance from them, and prays to his Eternal Father. The Heart of our Redeemer is weighed down with anguish. When he returns to his three Disciples, he is enfeebled by the Agony he has suffered, and his garments are saturated with Blood. The Apostles are aware that he is sad even unto death, and that the hour is close at hand when he is to be attacked: are they keeping watch? Are they ready to defend Him? No: they seem to have forgotten Him; they are fast asleep, for their eyes are heavy. (Matthew 26:43) Yet a few moments, and all will have: led from him; and Peter, the bravest of them all, will be taking his oath that he never knew the Man.

After the Resurrection, our three Apostles made ample atonement for this cowardly and sinful conduct, and acknowledged the mercy wherewith Jesus had sought to fortify them against temptation, by showing them his glory on Thabor, a few days before his Passion. Let us not wait till we have betrayed him: let us at once acknowledge that he is our Lord and our God. We are soon to be keeping the anniversary of his Sacrifice; like the Apostles, we are to see him humbled by his enemies and bearing, in on stead, the chastisements of Divine Justice. We must not allow our faith to be weakened, when w behold the fulfillment of those prophecies of David and Isaias, that the Messias is to be treated as a worm of the earth, (Psalm 21:7) and be covered with wounds, so a to become like a leper, the most abject of men, and the Man of sorrows. (Isaiah 53:4) We must remember the grand things of Thabor, and the adorations paid him by Moses and Elias, and the bright cloud, and the void of the Eternal Father. The more we see Him humbled, the more must we proclaim His glory an divinity; we must join our acclamations with the of the Angels and the Four-and-Twenty Elder whom St. John, (one of the witnesses of the Transfiguration,) heard crying out with a loud voice: The Lamb that was slain, is worthy to receive power and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, an honor, and glory, and benediction! (Revelation 5:12)

The Second Sunday of Lent is called, from the first word of the Introit, Reminiscere; and also Transfiguration Sunday on account of the Gospel which is read in the Mass.

The Station at Rome is in the Church of St. Mary in Dominica on Monte Celio. Tradition tells us that in this Basilica was the Diaconicum of which St. Laurence had charge, and from which he distributed to the poor the alms of the Church.

MASS

The Church, in the Introit, encourages us to confidence in God, who will deliver us from our enemies, if we ask it of him with fervent prayer. There are two favors which, during Lent, we ought to beseech him to grant us: the pardon of our sins, and his help to avoid a relapse.

INTROIT

Remember, O Lord, thy bowels of compassion, and thy mercies that are from the beginning of the world. Let not our enemies ever rule over us: deliver us, O God of Israel, from all our distress.

Ps. To thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul; in thee O my God, I put my trust, let me not be ashamed. ℣. Glory. Remember.

In the Collect, we beg of God to watch over us in all our necessities, both of body and soul. If our prayer be humble and earnest, it will be granted. God will provide for us in our corporal necessities, and will defend our souls against the suggestions of our enemy, who strives to sully even our thoughts.

COLLECT

O God, who seest how destitute we are of all strength, preserve us both within and without, that our bodies may be free from all adversity, and our souls purified from all evil thoughts. Through, etc.

The first and second Collects are given on the First Sunday of Lent.

EPISTLE

Lesson from the First Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians 4:1-7

Brethren: We pray and beseech you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received of us, how you ought to walk and to please God, so also you would walk, that you may abound the more. For you know what precepts I have given to you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that you should abstain from fornication, that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor, not in the passion of lust, like the Gentiles, that know not God; and that no man over-reach, nor circumvent his brother in business; because the Lord is the avenger of all these things, as we have testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto sanctification.

Here the Apostle shows what manner of life should be followed by Christians; and the Church, by repeating his words, exhorts the Faithful to profit of the present Season of grace, and regain all the beauty of the image of God, which the grace of Baptism first gave them. A Christian is a vessel of honor, formed and enriched by the hand of God; let him, therefore, shun whatsoever would degrade his noble origin, and turn him into a vessel of dishonor, fit only to be broken and cast with the unclean into the sink of hell. The Christian Religion has so far ennobled man that even his very body may share in the soul’s sanctity; on the other hand, she teaches us that this sanctity of the soul is impaired, yea, altogether effaced, by the loss of the body’s purity. The whole man, therefore, both body and soul, is to be reformed by the practices of this holy Season. Let us purify the soul by the confession of our sins, by compunction of heart, by the love of God; and let us give back its dignity to the Body, by making it bear the yoke of penance, that so it may be, henceforth, subservient and docile to the Soul, and, on the day of the general Resurrection, partake in her endless bliss.

In the Gradual, man cries out to his God to deliver him from the evils that threaten him, and give him victory over the invisible enemy, who so cruelly humbles and insults him.

The Tract is both a canticle of confidence in the divine mercy, and a prayer addressed by the Church to her Savior, beseeching him to visit and save her faithful children on the great Feast, which is still so far off, but towards which each day brings us nearer.

GRADUAL

The distress of my soul is increased: deliver me, O Lord, from my necessities.

℣. See to what I am reduced, see what I suffer: and forgive me all my sins.

TRACT

Give glory to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever.

℣. Who shall declare the powers of the Lord? who shall set forth all his praises?

℣. Blessed are they that keep judgment, and do justice at all times.

℣. Remember us, O Lord, in favor of thy people: visit us with thy salvation.

GOSPEL

Sequel of the Holy Gospel according to Matthew 17:1-9

At that time: Jesus taketh unto him Peter and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart: and he was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the sun: and his garments became white as snow. And behold there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then Peter answering, said to Jesus: Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. And as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them. And lo, a voice out of the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him. And the disciples hearing, fell upon their face, and were very much afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said to them: Arise and be not afraid. And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one, but only Jesus. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying: Tell the vision to no man, till the Son of Man shall be risen from the dead.

Thus did Jesus encourage his Apostles, when the time of temptation was near; he sought to impress them with his glory, that it might keep up their faith in that trying time when the outward eye would see nothing in his person but weakness and humiliation. Oh! the loving considerateness of divine grace, which is never wanting, and shows us, in so strong a light, the goodness and the justice of our God! Like the Apostles, we also have sinned; like them, we have neglected to profit of the help that was sent us from heaven; we have shut our eyes against the light; we have forgotten the fair vision that was granted us, and which made us so fervent and happy—and we fell. We have not, then, been tempted above our strength, (1 Corinthians 10:13) and it is indeed our own fault that we committed sin. The three Apostles were exposed to a terrible temptation, when they beheld their Divine Master robbed of all his majesty; but how easy for them to resist the temptation, by thinking of what they had seen but a few days before? Instead of that, they lost their courage, and forgot prayer, which would have brought their courage back; and thus, the favored witnesses of Thabor became cowards and deserters in the Garden of Mount Olivet. There was but one thing left them to do—throw themselves upon the loving mercy of their Jesus, as soon as he had triumphed over his enemies; they did so, and his generous Heart pardoned them.

Let us imitate them here too. We have abused the grace of God and rendered it fruitless by our want of correspondence. The fountain of this Grace is not yet dried up; as long as we are in this world, we may always draw from this source, which comes from the Blood and merits of our Redeemer. It is Grace that is now urging us to the amendment of our lives. It is given to us in abundance during the present time, and it is given mainly by the holy exercises of Lent. Let us go up the mountain with Jesus; there, we shall not be disturbed by the noise of earthly things. Let us there spend our forty days with Moses and Elias, who, long before us, sanctified this number by their fasts. Thus, then the Son of Man shall have risen from the dead, we will proclaim the favors he has mercifully granted us on Thabor.

In the Offertory, the Church bids us meditate on the commandments of God. Would that we might love them as fervently as the Royal Prophet, whose words these are!

OFFERTORY

I will meditate on thy law, which I have loved exceedingly: and I will practice thy commandments, which I have loved.

The holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a source of devotion: let us, as the Church, in the Secret, prays we may, profit by our today’s assistance at it. It contains the pledge and price of salvation, and if we put no obstacle in the way, will complete our reconciliation with our Lord.

SECRET

Look down, O Lord, we beseech thee, on this our sacrifice, that it may increase our devotion, and procure our salvation. Through, etc.

The second and third Secrets are given on the First Sunday of Lent.

The penitent soul, having seen how this ineffable Mystery has given her to enjoy the presence of Him who is her Savior and her Judge, offers to him her prayers with all the fervor of confidence. She says to him these words of the Psalmist, which form the Communion Antiphon:

COMMUNION

Understand my cry, hearken to the voice of my prayer, O my King and my God! for to thee will I pray, O Lord!

In the Postcommunion, the Church prays especially for those of her children who have partaken of the Victim she has just been offering. Jesus has nourished them with his own Flesh; it behooves them to prove themselves worthy of him by the renewal of their lives.

POSTCOMMUNION

Grant, we humbly beseech thee, O Almighty God, that those whom thou hast refreshed with thy sacraments, may worthily serve thee in the conduct of their lives. Through, etc.

The second and third Postcommunions are given on the First Sunday of Lent.

VESPERS

The psalms and antiphons are given earlier in the volume.

CAPITULUM
(1 Thes 4)

Brethren, We pray and beseech you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received of us, how you ought to walk and to please God, so also you would walk, that you may abound the more.

The hymn and versicle, are given earlier in the volume.

ANTIPHON OF THE MAGNIFICAT

Tell the vision ye have seen to no man, till the Son of Man be risen from the dead.

LET US PRAY

O God, who seest how destitute we are of all strength, preserve us both within and without, that our bodies may be free from all adversity, and our souls purified form all evil thoughts. Through, etc.

We may close our Sunday by reciting the following beautiful prayer taken from the Mozarabic Breviary.

CAPITULUM
(In II. Dominica Quadragesimæ.)

O Jesus, our God! Eternal first beginning of light! who didst will that thy servants should devote the seventh day to sanctification, rather than to work; lo! we come, seeking how we may find thee, but we are prevented by the habitual darkness of our conscience; we make efforts to arise, but we fall back again, and are dejected. Therefore, we beseech thee, cast not away from thy face them that seek thee, for thou didst deign to show thyself to them that did not seek thee. Now is the season of the year, when we are offering to thy holy Name a tithe of our days; and of these days, seven are passed; grant us thine assistance in the path of this fatiguing journey, that so our proffered homage may be without blemish. Sweeten our toil by filling us with an ardent love of thy Majesty, and awaken us from the sluggishness of the body, by the fervent abundance of thy charity. May our life, being thus in thee, know no faltering, and our faith find its reward.

Second Sunday of Great Lent — Sunday of Saint Gregory of Palamas

An Eastern sermon for today. Please remember to say 3 Hail Marys for the Priest.

2nd Sunday of Lent: Humility is Needed to Succeed in Lent

A sermon for today. Please remember to say 3 Hail Marys for the Priest.

St Swithbert the Ancient: Butler's Lives of the Saints

St David of Wales: Butler's Lives of the Saints

St Swidbert, or Swibert, the Ancient, Bishop & Confessor

From Fr Alban Butler's Lives of the Saints:

HE was an English monk, educated near the borders of Scotland, and lived some time under the direction of the holy priest and monk, St. Egbert, whom he accompanied into Ireland. St. Egbert was hindered himself from passing into Lower Germany, according to his zealous desire, to preach the gospel to the infidels: and Wigbert, who first went into Friesland upon that errand, was thwarted in all his undertakings by Radbod, prince of that country, and returned home without success. St. Egbert, burning with an insatiable zeal for the conversion of those souls, which he ceased not with many tears to commend to God, stirred up others to undertake that mission. St. Swidbert was one of the twelve missionaries, who, having St. Willibrord at their head, sailed into Friesland, in 690, according to the direction of St. Egbert. They landed at the mouth of the Rhine, as Alcuin assures us, and travelled as high as Utrecht, where they began to announce to the people the great truths of eternal life. Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the French palace, had conquered part of Friesland, eighteen months before, and compelled Radbod, who remained sovereign in the northern part, to pay an annual tribute. The former was a great protector and benefactor to these missionaries, nor did the latter oppose their preaching. St. Swidbert labored chiefly in Hither Friesland, which comprised the southern part of Holland, the northern part of Brabant, and the countries of Gueldres and Cleves: for in the middle age, Friesland was extended from the mouths of the Meuse and the Rhine, as far as Denmark and ancient Saxony. An incredible number of souls was drawn out of the sink of idolatry, and the most shameful vices, by the zeal of St. Swidbert. St. Willibrord was ordained archbishop of Utrecht by pope Sergius I., at Rome, in 696. St. Swidbert was pressed by his numerous flock of converts, and by his fellow-laborers, to receive the episcopal consecration: for this purpose he returned to England soon after the year 697, where he was consecrated regionary bishop to preach the gospel to infidels, without being attached to any see, by Wilfrid, bishop of York, who happened to be then banished from his own see, and employed in preaching the faith in Mercia. Either the see of Canterbury was still vacant after the death of St. Theodorus, or Brithwald, his successor, was otherwise hindered from performing that ceremony and St. Swidbert had probably been formerly known personally to St. Wilfrid, being both from the same kingdom of Northumberland. Our saint invested with that sacred character, returned to his flock, and settled the churches which he had founded in good order: then leaving them to the care of St. Willibrord and his ten companions, he penetrated further into the country, and converted to the faith a considerable part of the Boructuarians, who inhabited the countries now called the duchy of Berg, and the county of La Marck. His apostolic labors were obstructed by an invasion of the Saxons, who, after horrible devastations, made themselves masters of the whole country of the Boructuarians. St. Swidbert, being at length desirous to prepare himself for his last hour, in retirement, by fervent works of penance, received of Pepin of Herstal the gift of a small island, formed by different channels of the Rhine, and another river, called Keiserswerdt, that is, island of the emperor; werdt, in the language of that country, signifying an island. Here the saint built a great monastery, which flourished for many ages, till it was converted into a collegiate church of secular canons. A town, which was formed round this monastery, bore long the name of St. Swidbert’s Isle, but is now called by the old name, Keiserswerdt, and is fortified: it is situated on the Rhine, six miles below Dusseldorp: a channel of the Rhine having changed its course, the place is no longer an island. St. Swidbert here died in peace, on the 1st of March, in 713. His feast was kept with great solemnity in Holland and other parts where he had preached. Henschenius has given us a panegyric on him, preached on this day by Radbod, bishop of Utrecht, who died in 917. His relics were found in 1626 at Keiserswerdt, in a silver shrine, together with those of St. Willeic, likewise an Englishman, his successor in the government of this abbey; and are still venerated in the same place, except some small portions given to other churches by the archbishop of Cologne.* See Bede, Hist.1. 5, c. 10, 12, and the historical collection of Henschenius,1. Mart. p. 84; Fleury,1. 40; Batavia Sacra; and the Roman Martyrology, in which his name occurs on this day. His successor, St. Willeic, is commemorated on the 2d of March, by Wilson, in his English Martyrology, of the first edition, an. 1608, (though omitted in the second edition, an. 1628) and is mentioned among the English saints, by F. Edward Maihew, Trophiea Congregationis Anglicanæ Bened. Rhemis, 1625; and F. Jerom Porter, in his Flores Sanctorum Angliæ, Scotiæ, et Hiberniæ. Duaci, 1632.

St David, Archbishop, Patron of Wales

From Fr Alban Butler's Lives of the Saints:

See his life by Giraldus Cambrensis, In Wharton’s Anglia Sacra, t. 2; also Doctor Brown Willis and Wilkins, Conc. Britan. & Hibern. t. 1.

About the year 544.

ST. DAVID, in Welsh Dewid, was son of Xantus, prince of Ceretice, now Cardiganshire. He was brought up in the service of God, and, being or dained priest, retired into the Isle of Wight, and embraced an ascetic life, under the direction of Paulinus, a learned and holy man, who had been a disciple of St. Germanus of Auxerre. He is said by the sign of the cross to have restored sight to his master, which he had lost by old age, and excessive weeping in prayer. He studied a long time to prepare himself for the functions of the holy ministry. At length, coming out of his solitude, like the Baptist out of the desert, he preached the word of eternal life to the Britons. He built a chapel at Glastenbury, a place which had been consecrated to the divine worship by the first apostles of this island. He founded twelve monasteries, the principal of which was in the vale of Ross,* near Menevia, where he formed many great pastors and eminent servants of God. By his rule he obliged all his monks to assiduous manual labor in the spirit of penance: he allowed them the use of no cattle to ease them at their work in tilling the ground. They were never suffered to speak but on occasions of absolute necessity, and they never ceased to pray, at least mentally, during their labor. They returned late in the day to the monastery, to read, write, and pray. Their food was only bread and vegetables, with a little salt, and they never drank any thing better than a little milk mingled with water. After their repast they spent three hours in prayer and adoration; then took a little rest, rose at cock-crowing, and continued in prayer till they went out to work. Their habit was of the skins of beasts. When any one petitioned to be admitted, he waited ten days at the door, during which time he was tried by harsh words, repeated refusals, and painful labors, that he might learn to die to himself. When he was admitted, he left all his worldly substance behind him, for the monastery never received any thing on the score of admission. All the monks discovered their most secret thoughts and temptations to their abbot.

The Pelagian heresy springing forth a second time in Britain, the bishops, in order to suppress it, held a synod at Brevy, in Cardiganshire, in 512, or rather in 519.1 St. David, being invited to it, went thither, and in that venerable assembly confuted and silenced the infernal monster by his eioquence, learning, and miracles. On the spot where this council was held, a church was afterwards built called Llan-Devi Brevi, or the church of St. David near the river Brevi. At the close of the synod, St. Dubritius, the archbishop of Caerleon, resigned his see to St. David, whose tears and opposition were only to be overcome by the absolute command of the synod, which however allowed him, at his request, the liberty to transfer his see from Caerleon, then a populous city, to Menevia, now called St. David’s, a retired place, formed by nature for solitude, being, as it were, almost cut off from the rest of the island, though now an intercourse is opened to it from Milford-Haven. Soon after the former synod, another was assembled by St. David at a place called Victoria, in which the acts of the first were confirmed, and several canons added relating to discipline which were afterwards confirmed by the authority of the Roman church; and these two synods were, as it were, the rule and standard of the British churches. As for St. David, Giraldus adds, that he was the great ornament and pattern of his age. He spoke with great force and energy, but his example was more powerful than his eloquence; and he has in all succeeding ages been the glory of the British church. He continued in his last see many years: and having founded several monasteries, and been the spiritual father of many saints, both British and Irish, died about the year 544, in a very advanced age. St. Kentigern saw his soul borne up by angels into heaven. He was buried in his church of St. Andrew, which hath since taken his name, with the town and the whole diocese. Near the church stand several chapels, formerly resorted to with great devotion: the principal is that of St. Nun, mother of St. David, near which is a beautiful well still frequented by pilgrims. Another chapel is sacred to St. Lily, surnamed Gwas-Dewy, that is, St. David’s man; for he was his beloved disciple and companion in his retirement. He is honored there on the 3d, and St. Nun, who lived and died the spiritual mother of many religious women, on the 2d of March. The three first days of March were formerly holidays in South Wales in honor of these three saints; at present only the first is kept a festival throughout all Wales. John of Glastenbury2 informs us, that in the reign of king Edgar, in the year of Christ 962, the relics of St. David were translated with great solemnity from the vale of Ross to Glastenbury, together with a portion of the relics of St. Stephen the Protomartyr.

By singing assiduously the divine praises with pure and holy hearts, dead to the world and all inordinate passions, monks are styled angels of the earth. The divine praise is the primary act of the love of God; for a soul enamored of his adorable goodness and perfections, summons up all her powers to express the complacency she takes in his infinite greatness and bliss, and sounds forth his praises with all her strength. In this entertainment she feels an insatiable delight and sweetness, and with longing desires aspires after that bliss in which she will love and praise without intermission or impediment. By each act of divine praise, the fervor of charity and its habit, and with it every spiritual good and every rich treasure, is increased in her: moreover, God in return heaps upon her the choicest blessings of his grace. Therefore, though the acts of divine praise seem directly to be no more than a tribute or homage of our affections, which we tender to God, the highest advantages accrue from these exercises to our souls. St. Stephen of Grandmont was once asked by a disciple, why we are so frequently exhorted in the scriptures to bless and praise God, who, being infinite, can receive no increase from our homages To which the saint replied: “A man who blesses and praises God receives from thence the highest advantage imaginable; for God, in return, bestows on him all his blessings, and for every word that he repeats in these acts, says: ‘For the praises and blessings which you offer me, I bestow my blessings on you; what you present to me returns to yourself with an increase which becomes my liberality and greatness.’ It is the divine grace,” goes on this holy doctor, “which first excites a man to praise God, and he only returns to God his own gift: yet by his continually blessing God, the Lord pours forth his divine blessings upon him, which are so many new increases of charity in his soul.”3

Collect of St Suitbert of Kaiserswerth, Bishop & Confessor ~ Indulgenced on the Saint's Feast (See Note)

According to the Apostolic Penitentiary, a partial indulgence is granted to those who, on the feast of any Saint, recite in his honour the oration of the Missal or any other approved by legitimate Authority.

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.

R. And let my cry come unto thee.
Let us pray.
Grant, we beseech Thee Almighty God, that the reverend solemnity of Blessed Suitbert, Thy Confessor & Bishop, may both increase our devotion and set forward our salvation.

Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

R. Amen.  

Nota bene ~ St Suitbert is not celebrated on the Universal Calendar, but according to the Martyrology, today is his Feast Day. The Collect is taken from the Common of Confessor Bishops. 

Collect of St David of Wales, Bishop & Confessor ~ Indulgenced on the Saint's Feast (See Note)

According to the Apostolic Penitentiary, a partial indulgence is granted to those who, on the feast of any Saint, recite in his honour the oration of the Missal or any other approved by legitimate Authority.

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.

R. And let my cry come unto thee.
Let us pray.
God our Father, Thou didst give Thy Bishop David to the Welsh Church to uphold the Faith and to be an example of Christian perfection. In this changing world, may he help us to hold fast to the values which bring eternal life.

Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

R. Amen.  

Nota bene ~ St David is not celebrated on the Universal Calendar, but according to the Martyrology, today is his Feast Day. The Collect is taken from his Proper in Wales.