Dydd Gwyl Dewi Dedwydd!!

Happy St David's Day!!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my readers a Happy St David's Day, regardless of whether you are Welsh, English, Irish or whatever!

Today, all across Wales, schools will be having mini-Eisteddfods - I seem to remember singing "Sospan Fach" a song about a "Little Saucepan" on numerous occasions. Getting louder with each verse! Also, today there was a March from Cardiff City Hall, I don't know where it went as I was in university at the time.

I also missed the Royal Welsh on parade in Cardiff over the weekend. The were 'on guard' at Cardiff Castle. And I can't believe I missed it, however I did see a tank being driven down the road in front of Cardiff Castle yesterday. This was quite surreal.

Anyway, back to today's Solemnity, I sang this morning one of my favourite hymns; O Great St David. It was written by a former Archbishop of Cardiff, the Most Rev. Francis Mostyn.

O great Saint David, still we hear thee call us,
Unto a life that knows no fear of death;
Yea, down the ages will thy words enthral us,
Strong, happy words: "Be joyful, keep the faith."

On Cambria's sons stretch out thy hands in blessing;
For our dear land thy help we now implore.
Lead us to God, with humble hearts confessing
Jesus, Lord and king forevermore

Christ was the centre rock of all thy teaching,
God's holy will -- the splendour of its theme.
His grace informed, his love inflamed thy preaching;
Christ's sway on earth, the substance of thy dream.

On Cambria's sons stretch out thy hands in blessing;
For our dear land thy help we now implore.
Lead us to God, with humble hearts confessing
Jesus, Lord and king forevermore.

St David
Pray for us

In Domino

Happy St David's Day...

Or is it? Liturgically, of course, St David's Day will be celebrated up and down Wales - and in England (Feast) tomorrow. But the secularist (i.e. my parents, brothers, most of my friends) wished me a Happy St David's Day today. I of course, said it back.

So instead I wish those in blogsphere a Happy First Sunday of Lent. I think this is to be a theme i have picked up for lent. Whether it is indeed a happy time?? As i mentioned in my previous post, i think it is a very happy time. But some of you may disagree.

St David, is the principal Patron Saint of Wales, and as a Welshman am proud to wear (on occasion) a daffodil/leak as it is my national day.

The above got me thinking...being a proud Welshman/Brit does it contradict with my Catholic faith? And on reflection i suppose it does. Being proud of the country you come from tends to mean you like everything that is going on. I must say as a Catholic I am not proud..

I am not proud of a country that seems to have lost its way, turned from the path of Christianity and is heading in which ever way it is dragged. Proof of this would be His Grace, the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury. Dr Rowan Williams and his view regarding the adoption of certain aspects of Sharia Law into the British legal system. (I almost wrote constitution, but technically we don't have one.)

So this leaves me in a bit of a pickle. I'm Catholic and I'm Welsh. I love my faith and I love my country. And as such i pray for Britain's conversion every day. Or should that be re-conversion.

*gets off high horse*