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A reflection and prayer from Rome with Fr Matthew Roche-Saunders, Catholic Priest at Welsh Martyrs Church in Aberystwyth.

Good morning. ‘Be joyful, keep the faith’…these words of St David can be a guide for us as we celebrate his feast day today.

I’m in Rome, where 900 years ago this year, David was recognised by the then Pope Callixtus II. Later today, Pope Francis will meet with several thousand pilgrims for his weekly General Audience. Most recently the Pope has been covering ‘The passion for evangelisation’, discussing the call that Jesus gives to his disciples – both to the first twelve and to today’s – to share the Good News he came to announce.

It's tempting for someone who wants to follow Jesus to worry about needing to find the perfect way to do this. I recently heard that certain Italian recipes are so specific to a local town or village, that if someone in the next village were to imitate the recipe exactly, it would never be considered the same dish because the place it came from was different. Amazing! I think there’s something in this for the modern day disciple. Rather than hold back from sharing our faith because we might not do it ‘correctly’, it’s beautiful to recognise that the way one person will do it will differ from another, even if they followed the same methods.

For St David, what unites all this beautiful difference is the interior joy with which a disciple lives his or her life. Joy invites. You see someone laughing a full body laugh and you want to join in. And not only in laughter – a joyful person shows in the midst of their pain, a deep and lasting peace, and it looks attractive. Someone like this is someone I want to follow. I want to know what makes them tick. I want to know what gives them purpose.

For the disciple of Jesus, his joy alive in us can truly change the world.

Lord Jesus,
you know the weight I carry today.
Help me to be a sower of peace and joy whatever I bear in my heart.
Help me to know you bear it with me.
Amen.