Saint Who?
Saints Who Were Poets
Saint David
Bishop († c. 589)Feast: March 1
In Wales there is a well-known maxim, “Do the little things in life.” It comes from the teaching of Saint David (Dewi in Welsh), who was one of the most popular saints of the British Isles. His mother, Non, is also revered as a saint. It is said she gave birth to David during a wild storm.
David became a priest and bishop. He founded twelve monasteries, where strict asceticism was observed. The monks kept silence, lived on vegetables and bread, and even pulled their own plows. He was a great teacher and preacher who was twice called upon to defend the faith against the Pelagian heresy. It is said that as he addressed a synod called for that purpose, the ground rose beneath him, forming a little hill. At the same time a dove alighted on his shoulder.
One story has it that David and his countrymen were threatened by fierce enemies. David assured the Welsh that God could give them victory and advised them to place leeks in their hats to distinguish their own from the foe. The Welsh won the day. Before his death, David told his followers: “Be joyful, brothers and sisters. Keep your faith, and do the little things that you have seen and heard with me.” He is honored as patron saint of poets, perhaps because of the Welsh poems that provide some of the earliest references to his life, and of Wales.
Merciful Father, through the prayers of Saint David, may we live in simplicity, confident that
you will supply every need.
