Soundseeing at this year's pilgrimage from the Pilgrimage at Welsh Newton (north of Monmouth) on the way to Hereford. Homily from Father Nicholas on the preaching cross and comparison with St Polycarp,St Oscar Romero and the Saints of Uganda. Peace and reconciliation in violent times, Great miracles in recent times and places connected with the saint.

Friends on Fecebook urged to send in details of their local saints and photos.

Ireland in the sixth century. The Druidess Brigid converts to Christianity and takes the Veil, Life is still wild and violent, but gradually Patrick's words and preaching tames the wild people. They receive Christianity as the flowering of their Otherworld beliefs.

Brigid's father is far from happy and tries to make her marry but she thwarts his wishes in a startling way and sails to Wales where she begins a cult, with her kindness, flowing generosity and motherliness. She also does miracles, getting cattle to give mile more freely and turning smelts into butter. Finally she returns to her 'Church of the Oak' at Kildare and gets a local hermit to study to be a Bishop so they could have Mass. A flame was lit in the firehouse to the eternal glory of God, and which the Normans found when they arrived. After her death her body was buried at Kildare and then to Downpatrick. It is believed that her skull was, however removed at this time, and later was brought to Portugal by knights who wanted to preserve it. It was placed in a reliquary where it can be observed today. Good because the agents of Henry VIII completely desicrated the shrine of Patrick and the relics of St Brigid.

On the blog www.maryinmonmouth.blogspot.com you can see a video of this shrine. Part 2 I will do tomorrow from the Newport Church of St Bridges Wentloog (near the West Usk Lighthouse0 at Peterstone. This is a very ancient Church . I shall also be tackling the church at St Brides in Netherwent, near Magor also near Newport, which is also very interesting.Enjoy

550AD Derfel the Mighty warrior is one of seven who survived the Battle of Camlann in 542. Broken hearted he stumbles back to his native county of Llydach in Gwent and lives for a while as a hermit. His sorrow and suffering and sadness at the passing of the fellowship of Arthur get him the name 'The Suffering ONe' or 'St Deuil' -the one who mourns. He is persuaded to travel to Llantwit Major (Llanilltyd Fawr) and study to be ordained as a priest so he can serve God properly and studies with St Illtid. He returned to found a small monastery higher up the mountain on the Mynydd Maen at Cwmbran but finally leaves to return to North Wales, where he had been before. For nearly a thousand years people remembered him as the one who taught them fighting and strife were evil. He was a patron saint of peaceful living and farming. someone carved a statue of him to remember him when he died and he is portrayed in armour on a stag (which locals called a horse as the local archdeacon had had the animal mutilated. The statue of Derfel himself at the English 'reformation' was secreted and burned at Smithfield along with the Cwmbran one. Unfortunately and horrifically it was used to burn the gentle friar John Forrest, who had refused to accept Henry VIII in place of the Pope and died a horrible death, while being denied the Blessed Sacrament and foreced to listen to the preaching of an odious bishop of the new order.The Story of St David Lewis, associated with Llantarnam Abbey and arrested opposite St Michael and All Angels Church will be told in much more detail later on. Enjoy!

Sixth century Wales as the British chieftains fight it out, St Anna of Gwent brings her son Tryddin to the Valley to begin a monastery, later enlarged and cleared possibly by Cadocs. Secrets of the Monks rituals in purifying the land. My visit to the present Church accompanied by the engaging Canon PIppin who guided and explained what I saw.Some prayers from St Cadocs time. The Haunted Bell of Trevethin and the mysrtery of the burial of St Cadoc.....was the saint buried at Trevethin or Mamhilad?

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Staffs and scallop shells, rosaries, ampullae as pilgrims come from all over South Wales arrive at the Mediaeval Shrine and Well of Our Lady of Penrhys in the Rhondda.We drive right up to the top of the mountains and I am very scared-the last time it was in fog and we did not see the drop!!Bishop Daniel Mullins of Menevia and Rosary and Benediction.Intention of the Pilgrimage for fallen away Catholics to return to the church. A cosy and endearing pilgrimage.People recount local miracles and Lawrence O'Leary about his special message from Our Lady at Medugorje.

 

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St Illtyd was a great warrior but one of the most intelligent men in Wales, able to recite the Gospels, His early life in Brittany, his marriage, encounter with King Arthur and Paulinus, conversion by Cadoc are told in a number of dramatic stories and the drama of his fight with evil King Meirchion.

I talk about my feedback, Catholic bloggers,and my very busy week so this podcast will be a little longer than usual.

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Cadoc wishes to buy Gildas Bell, which Gildas is donating to the Holy Father Pope Agapetus in Rome (Vita mistakenly gives Alexander)The Pope blesses the bell, saying he knew Cadoc well as he had been to Rome seven times and to Jerusalem.The bell will not sound for him as it is full of gold, but the Holy Father asks for the bell to be given to Cadoc.

Visits to Cornwall to see his aunt and the shrine to St Cadoc and his well at Harlyn Bay near Padstow. Cadoc and Ynys Barruc (The Island of St Barruc) which had belongd to his friend St Barruc of Ireland who had drowned. Cadoc's chapel and little town was at Cadocs Town.

Another visit to Brittany wher he plants aple trees with St Samson to provide food for the local people and where he is regarded locally as Patron saint of the apples!This is transcribed into Llan gattock vibon afal-The Holy Place of St Cadoc and the apple men! Quite fun isn't it? Thirty seven places bear his name in Brittany and there are chapels at Belz and Locoal Mendon at Morbihan and Gouesnac'h in Finistere where  he is called upon to heal the deaf, 

Death at Weedon in Northampton on the borders with what were now English lands. There were many such deaths and it is no wonder they disobeyed to pope and would not evangelise the English, forcing Augustine to send another missionary from Rome to convert the Saxons to Christianity from their Norse religion, realising there would be no peace in the universal church until the whole country was peacable.

Two points-independent evidence in this account of Llifris of King Arthur at this time, bold and fearless but wilful and quick to anger. Arthur also appears in the account of Gwynlliw, having to be restrained by Cai and Bewyr from carrying off the lovely Gwladys.

Another podcast next week!! Sorry about the quality of this one-my good microphone is still broken-but will persevere! God Bless!

Ballet exams, Church swaps, The Pope's visit, lack of coverage on BBC EWTN, SQPN at Atlanta at the Catholic New Media Day and Eucharistic Congress,the breakdown of my microphone, Some cool feedback from Al Iguana about the martyrdom of Tyfdfil which gave Merthyr Tydfil its name. Homour and St Cadoc Part One. Lineage, Baptism by St Treddin of Trevethin monastery, brother of Samson of Dol and of St Tegfedd.Education at Caerwent under Tatheus or Tathwyn. Alll the St Cadoc Churches in Gwent and Monmouthshire.Miracles and the Missal of St Gildas. First pilgrimages to Rome and Jerusalem and St Brychan teaches him Latin at Brecon. He founds another monastic settlemant at Llangadog. Penychen and his encounter with the warrior Illtyd and his conversion by Cadoc.

Finally Cadoc in Scotland! His miracles as he travels on pilgrimage to St Andrews and remains ther for seven years!

This is a reissue of the previous version of this podcast with the first part included-so sorry about this.

In this podcast we consider Saint Tecla originally from Llandegla in North Wales near Ruthin. She was famous for her work with lepers.Details of rituals (slightly shonky) are given on www.maryinmonmouth.blogspot.com which show how people were paying for miracles at her well there even until recent times. Tecla came south, set up at the rock at Beachley also later occupied by st Twrog, and worked for the sick there, It is possi ble in view of the wild and remote nature of the place she had succumbed to Leprosy herself-but this is pure speculation. The rock and little chapel are shown on the blog, but is unlikely to have been Teclas. She is murdered by marauding Saxons and seems to have lived a deal earlier than our other saints,

She was undoubtedly named after Tecla of Iconium in Laeodocia and was a disciple of St Paul who wished to dedicate herself to God and was many times tortured and threatened eventually founding a small colony and seemingly buried at St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome.Her cult spread all over the Church from East to West and many young women followed her example with admiration.

Sixth Century Gwent- South Wales having bee Christianised by very holy saints following the removal of the Romans is threatened by another people the superstitious and irreverent Angles and Saxons. Having done a deal with Ceowulf at Gloucester, they begin wandering down into South Wales and raiding for what they ould get. Pickings were poor on the whole but the Kings who had set up their daughters in religious foundations, or who had retired to live as religious having finished their childbearing of then had a few items around, living peaceably supporting the communities on the foothills of the Brecon Beacons and in the lovely valley North of Pontypool.No doubt they thought they were worth raiding, carrying off the young women. Tegfedd and Tydfil (mother of St Teilo) stood their ground, however, asking the Saxons to leave Holy Ground they were dragged off and suffered their fate.

There is a song 'O Perfect Love' from www.music.podshow.com

Homily of Benedict XVI on www.sqpn.com and some videos of his visit if you were not able to get EWTN streaming on your computer.

Visit www.maryinmonmouth.blogspot.com for all sorts of newsof catholic life in Monmouthshire, including the opening of the new Lourdes Grotto at Tredegar to celebrate the Lourdes anniversary.

Please remember to leave a review.........www,podcastalley,com, digg.com and iTunes store-it would help people to find this podcast. Finall please send me some Mail on the MaryinMonmouth Group on Facebook or on www.googlemail.com.