St David and the Pilgrim Life

Available for 17 days

Good morning, bore da, from St Davids, the UK's smallest city. This is where St David – Dewi Sant in Welsh – settled with his small community of monks, in the sixth century. On Wales’ most westerly peninsula, it can sometimes seem a long way from anywhere – but in those days, travel by sea was quicker, safer, cheaper and altogether more reliable than overland, and so there were excellent connections along the coast to Scotland, over to Ireland, and down to Cornwall, Brittany and beyond. Indeed, legend has it that he, with two companions, even went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It’s not impossible, as we know from St Jerome. Writing a century earlier, he complained about the large numbers of pilgrims clogging up Jerusalem, British among them. He argued ‘Access to the courts of heaven is as easy from Britain as it is from Jerusalem for “The kingdom of God is within you”.’ It’s true that we can meet God anywhere, but pilgrims through the ages report particularly deep encounters in their journeying, or at their destination. St Davids has been a pilgrimage destination since Dewi’s time – and today we continue to welcome pilgrims in droves. So tomorrow, as we celebrate his feast day, we’ll especially be recalling all who travel, outwardly and inwardly, in search of a deeper experience of faith. Lord Jesus Christ, give us grace to see you, always and everywhere; give us ears to hear your call to follow; and keep us journeying onwards wherever you lead us on life’s pilgrim journey. Amen.