Jason Grabowski: Take 2

My friend Gary points me to this site which tells us all we need to know about the Dodger's new first, second, or third baseman, left fielder, or catcher.

.188 it turns out is a bit low for L.A.'s new acquisition. But you may want to hold off buying your Dodger's play-off tickets anyway. You could also, were you so inclined, read Bob Kiesser's column today about the McCourt's and their empty piggy bank and big plans to make a buck for themselves but not a winning team for L.A.

Ah, sure, but why would you want to bother your head with that. Na bac' leis an Dodgers. Read about Vladimir Guerrero instead and start saving up for your Angel's play-off tickets.

The Budget Crystal Cathedral II


I am reminded today by Someone Not A Hundred Miles From Here, but who shall otherwise be unidentified because she would like to keep her job, that she works in a relatively brand new and largely glass building. It would perhaps be too much to call it a disaster. But it has proved to be a very impractical building. It needs a very large and expensive air conditioning plant which has already broken down at least once and needed a repair/replacement job that ran almost to six figures. Certain areas of the building are perpetually too warm except on the coldest days. Tinting the glass has helped only slightly.

It leaks when it rains.

The Curt Jester's illustration with the Windex bottle is exactly on the mark. It needs almost constant cleaning. Rain does not help; it turns the dust to mud.

Birds. Birds fly into it and against it. And they fly over it; the Windex bottle comes into play here again.

In short, although it will never be as coyote ugly as our new cathedral, Mr. Monaghan's new chapel may have made it over the finish line first in the impracticality stakes.

Just trying to be helpful.

The Giants are Quaking in their Boots


Hot off the press. The Dodgers have acquired some offense. According to this morning's Press Telegram the Dodgers have acquired Jason Grabowski, who. . . . well let us quote from the article:

Grabowski, 27, can play first, second and third base, left field and catcher. He has a career major-league average of .188, with six strikeouts in 16 at-bats, all in the past two seasons with the A's, but it probably would take a cataclysmic event to keep him off the Dodgers' opening-day roster.

Really. I pasted that from the on-line edition. It says ".188" in the print edition also. Somebody tell me that he hit .400 in the minors. Please.

I don't know why I look at the National League news anyway.

From Last Month's "GILBERT!" magazine.


I ran across this word recently: "Titivil". It refers to a devil that collects words mumbled or omitted in the recitation of the divine service and carries them back to Hell where they are held against the offender. Try using that effortlessly at a cocktail party, though you may be able to work it in by referring to its extension, "tattletale".

Oh, bother.

. . . .or "Steven Slesinger, Inc. and the Blustery Day". Michael Eisner and the degenerate Disney Corporation win another one. I hate it when that happens. It seems they own Pooh, lock, stock and hunny barrel.

Although this version may not yet have succumbed to the Disney Empire:

Quo I capite domus Iori apud Anglum Puensem aedificatur


Die quodam, cum Urso Puo nihil aliud agendum esset, decrevit aliquid agere, Porcelli domum igitur abiit, quid ageret Porcellus speculatum. Iam ningebat dum sedato gressu semitam silvanam albentem secutus est, et sperabat se Porcellum inventurum esse digitos ante ignem calefacientem. Miratus autem est quod ostium patens vidit, et quo plus introspexit, eo plus aberat Porcellus.

‘Abest,’ dixit Pu tristis. ‘Haec summa est. Non adest. Oportebit me solum Meditatum celeriter spatiari. Malum!’

Et reliqua. . .

The Budget Crystal Cathedral

The Curt Jester's inimitable take on the new glass chapel in the equally new Ave Maria University is here.

Some folks seem to like it. It looks cheesy to me. I've played for weddings at Frank Lloyd Wright's all-glass Wayfarer's Chapel and for a couple of funerals at the original Crystal Cathedral and I'm not overly fond of either. The Wayfarer's has a certain charm but it is stifling and very uncomfortable when you are in the direct sun. I didn't play in the main body of the CC but saw a bit of it. I would guess it costs a small fortune to air condition. Florida is often warmer - and almost always more humid - than this section of California. Why would anyone smarter than a bag of hammers want to build a glass building in Florida? Half the tuition will go on air conditioning costs.

Padre Pio

A new site dedicated to Padre Pio with lots of pictures.

Thanks to Fr. Sibley for the reference.

Passion Sunday

It is Passion Sunday in the old calendar. I planned on putting more up, but time got away from me. Maybe later today. Now I need to get ready or I shall miss Mass.

In the meantime, this link will tell you more about the day in the traditional calendar. It is on this Sunday that the images in church should be veiled in purple.

Additions to the Column on the Left


The left side of this page, that is. I suspect most of the linkees, like the linkor, are not usually found on the left side of much else. No offense intended to those few who are; on this blog it is considered a compliment.

Where was I? Oh, yes. Give a visit to Quiscustodiet and Fiat Mihi, two new-to-me blogs both maintained by the same woman and both full of insight and good writing. I added them both last night but they deserve a pointer in a more prominent position. Visitari decet.

St. Blog's Parish Hall

I received a note from Mary Herboth of the Ever-New blog last week. It's taken an unconscionably long time to explore her new project, and now that I have I pass along to you the good news. Mary says, in part:

I want to invite you all to visit "Saint Blog's Parish Hall." (The parish hall is really a discussion forum.) It's a place to meet, greet and invite friends. I'm hoping for some good discussions and some apologetics. If people are interested we might add a parish bulletin. There is a link from the top of my blog http://ever-new.blogspot.com/ or you can go there directly here. Please help me spread the word!

Looking forward to meeting you. :)

Give it a visit. (And don't take as long as I did.) It's informative and, well, a bit of fun.

Mothering Sunday continued. . .

It's traditional to have Simnel Cake on this Fourth Sunday of Lent. Tom Fitzgerald has a recipe for same over at Recta Ratio It's a little late to bake one for today. But save it for next year. And send me a slice.

Laetare Sunday - Mothering Sunday - Dominica de Rosa - Refreshment Sunday - Sunday of the Five Loaves - Mid-Lent, or "Mediana"

. . .and all of them names for today. The Catholic Encyclopaedia explains it in detail here. But usually these days it is only Laetare Sunday, from the Introitus of today's Mass:

Laetare, Jerusalem : conventum facite omnes qui diligitis eam : gaudete cum laetitia, qui in tristitia fuistis : ut exsultetis, et satiemini ab uberibus consolationis vestrae. [Ps. cxxi . l] Laetatus sum in his, quae dicta sunt mihi : in domum Domini ibimus. Gloria Patri, etc.

Rejoice, Jerusalem, and come together all you who love her : rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow : that you may exult , and be filled from the breasts of your consolation. [Ps. cxxi. 1] I rejoiced at the things that were said to me : we shall go into the house of the Lord. Glory be to the Father, etc.

Fr. Zuhlsdorf explains in detail today's collect in the Pauline Rite here, along with much else about the Sunday. Such as:

There is a Latin dictum: repetita iuvant... repeated things help. That is to say, repetition helps us to learn and remember. Today we have a "nickname Sunday" (like Gaudete in Advent, Cantate in Eastertide, etc) This nicknaming tradition goes back at least to John of Salisbury (12th c.), and derives from the first word of the Introit chant for the Mass. Today, there is a relaxation of the stark penitential aspect of Lent, during which season traditionally (and still present in the rubrics) there should be no flowers and decorations and no instrumental music (including organ unless used only to sustain congregational singing). This Sunday we have a glimpse of the joy that is coming, which is why the first word sung is "Rejoice"! We have rose colored vestments and instrumental music.

Some ink can be given to rose vestments. This custom is tied to the station churches in Rome. For centuries in Rome there have been celebrations of Mass during the great seasons of Lent/Easter and Advent/Christmas at "station" churches. The station Mass for Laetare Sunday is the Basilica of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem in Rome, where the relics of Cross and Passion are kept. It was the custom on Laetare for the Pope to bless roses made of gold that were then sent to Catholic kings and queens. Thus Laetare was also called Dominica de rosa.... Sunday of the Rose. Rose vestments developed naturally from this occasion. So, rose came to be used on Laetare Sunday in the Basilica of the Holy Cross when the Pope came for the station Mass. The use of rose (the technical term for the color is rosacea) spread to the rest of the City on this day. As a Roman custom it became part and parcel of the Roman Missal promulgated through the world by Pius V. The custom is, thanks be to God, coming back into vogue again

This is today's collect in the traditional Roman Rite:

Concede, quaesumus, omnipotens Deus : ut qui ex merito nostrae actionis affligimur, tuae gratiae consolatione respiremus. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum. Amen.

In the Juergens translation from "The Daily Roman Missal":

Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that we who are justly afflicted for our deeds, may be relieved by the consolation of Thy grace. Through our Lord. Amen.

The full text of the traditional propers can be found in pdf form here and here. (You'll need both links for the full text. No, I don't know why they did it that way. But I can guess; it's the sort of thing I would do because I didn't know how to do more than one page at a time.)

From the Drudge Report




I count three hands (all apparently emerging from the sleeves of piper's tunics) holding the pipes in place. Judging from the look on the good senator's face, perhaps they should also have explained that they work better when you blow rather than suck.

THURSDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT


From "The Liturgical Year" of Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B.

THIS day brings us to the middle of Lent, and is called mid-Lent Thursday. It is the twentieth of the forty fasts imposed upon us, at this holy season, by the Church. The Greeks call the Wednesday of this week Mesonestios, that is, the mid-fast. They give this name to the entire week, which, in their liturgy, is the fourth of the seven that form their Lent. But the Wednesday is, with them, a solemn feast, and a day of rejoicing, whereby they animate themselves to courage during the rest of the season.

The Catholic nations of the west, though they do not look on this day as a feast, have always kept it with some degree of festivity and joy. The Church of Rome has countenanced the custom by her own observance of it; but, in order not to give a pretext to dissipation, which might interfere with the spirit of fasting, she postpones to the following Sunday the formal expression of this innocent joy, as we shall see further on. Yet, it is not against the spirit of the Church that this mid-day of Lent should be marked by some demonstration of gladness; for example, by sending invitations to friends, as our Catholic forefathers used to do; and serving up to table choicer and more abundant food than on other days of Lent, taking care, however, that the laws of the Church are strictly observed. But alas ! how many even of those calling themselves Catholics have been breaking, for the past twenty days, these laws of abstinence and fasting ! Whether the dispensations they trust to be lawfully or unlawfully obtained, the joy of mid-Lent Thursday scarcely seems made for them. To experience this joy, one must have earned and merited it, by penance, by privations, by bodily mortifications; which is just what so many, now-a-days, cannot think of doing. Let us pray for them, that God would enlighten them, and enable them to see what they are bound to do, consistently with the faith they profess.

MARCH 18



Whew. Yesterday was a very long day. For a guy who isn't 25 any more.

More St. Patrick's Day Lore



Much more of interest on St. Patrick's Day and the Irish from Recta Ratio Scroll down and you'll find seven different posts (so far; it isn't even The Day yet) all of interest.

The Irish Elk leads off with the Boston Police's Gaelic Column Pipe Band.

St. Laurence O'Toole Pipe Band in Dublin (the Republic's only Grade I band and a contender for World Champion every year) has several sets available for download. Try this one. (And turn the speakers up.) There are more here.

St. Patrick




This little tribute to St. Patrick, my own patron and the apostle of my ancestors, will be a day early as tomorrow will be something in the nature of a 12 hour day for me. (St. Patrick's Day is to pipers what Christmas is to retailers.)

There is much debate over St. Patrick's place of birth: the name of the town was Bannavem Taberniae but Brittany, Normandy, England, Wales, and Scotland all claim it. In any event, the patron and apostle of he Irish was not himself Irish.

The tale of his life is well-known. There are several tellings of it on the web; the text of the Catholic Encyclopaedia's is here. [This is the Google cache; the actual CE site seems to be having problems today.] The hymn-prayer "St Patrick's Breastplate" is found within the text of that site.

The Hymn of St. Secundinus (or "Sechnal") relates his life in verse. It can be found in several places on the web; this one includes the translator's notes. Notice that each stanza has a Latin word at the top. This poem, originally in Latin, was an "alphabet poem", the first word of each stanza beginning with the next letter of the Roman alphabet.

Some scholars insist that St. Patrick's clerical education in Roman Gaul would have given his outlook a distinctly Eastern or Byzantine flavor. Be that as it may, he appears in some Byzantine liturgies. This Byzantine site gives the liturgical Sychera (hymns) for Vespers of the Feast of St. Patrick. The Apolytikon and Kondak follow:

While thou didst live on earth, O blessed father Padraig,

thou didst bind to thyself the strong

name of the Holy Trinity,

and faith in the undivided Trinity Who

created the universe.

Now that thou standest before the throne

of the Holy Trinity,

entreat Christ our God to save

our souls!

(Apolytikion, Second Tone)



May Christ be in the heart of everyone

who thinks of thee,

Christ in the mouth of those who

speak to thee,

Christ in every eye that sees

thee,

Christ in every ear that hears

thy words,

O blessed Padraig, our

father.

(Kontakion, Grave Tone)





Dom Gueranger in his "The Liturgical Year" provides the following Sequence for the Feast of St Patrick taken from an ancient manuscript missal:

Laeta lux est hodierna,
Qua conscendit ad superna
Vir Dei Patricius.

Qui praelatus in hanc lucem
Puer bonus Christi crucem
Veneratur ocyus.

Humo pressit signum crucis,
Fons erupit, donum lucis
Caeco nato prebuit.

In mel aquam convertebat,
Quo nutrici, quae languebat,
Sanitatem tribuit.
A piratis venditur,
Fit custos porcorum :
Aurum quo redimitur
Reperit decorum.

Opprimens pei triduum
Satan hunc vexavit:
Sed Helias artuum
Robur reparavit.

Deprimit a vitiis,
Moribus imbutus,
Corpus abstinentiis,
Moysen secutus;
In montis cacumina
Scandit et jejunat;
Glacierum fragmina
Succendens adunat.

Sub Germani disciplina,
Documentis et doctrina
Studet evangelicis.

His a Papa Coelestino
Doctor est, nutu divino,
Transmissus Hibernicis.

Balat hircus ventre furis,
fur punitur plagis duris,
Et ejus successio.

Fugiens mortem sago tectus
Obiit ante, post revectus
Orante Patricio.

Virosa reptilia
Prece congregata
Pellit ab Hibernia,
Mari liberata.
Coelos aliquoties
Apertos aspexit ;
Et Jesum suspiciens
Dominum conspexit.
Transit pater ab hac luce
Signis plenus, Christo duce,
Lucis ad palatium.


Ubi nobis, prece sua,
Confer, bone Jesu, tua
Pietate gaudium. Amen


The English version following is that of Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B. who translated most of Dom Gueranger's "Liturgical Year".

Joyful is the light of this day's feast, whereon Patrick, the man of God, ascended to heaven.

When yet in the early dawn of life, the holy youth devoutly venerated the cross of Christ.

He made the sign of the cross on the ground: a fount gushed forth upon the spot, and with its waters he gave sight to one born blind.

He turned water into honey, and by it restored his nurse to health.

He was led captive by pirates, and was made keeper of swine: but the saint found a piece of glittering gold, and with it bought his freedom.

For three days did satan harass him with bodily injuries ; but Elias healed him, and gave him back his strength.

His soul was vigorous in grace, and, like Moses, he restrained his body from vices by fasting.

He ascends a high mountain, and there he fasts. He throws ice upon a fire, and it burns as though it were wood.

He puts himself under the care and teaching of Germanus, and studies under him the maxims of the Gospel.

Pope Celestine, by a divine inspiration, sends him to teach salvation to the people of Hibernia.

The thief, that had stolen a goat, was discovered by its bleating; and he and his family were punished with a severe scourge.

A man had covered himself with a cloth, and asked to be restored to health. He was first punished with real death, and was then restored to life by Patrick's prayer.

He drew together, by his prayer, all venomous reptiles, and drove them from Hiber-nia's shore.

At times, he saw the heavens opened; and as he gazed above, he saw the Lord Jesus.

Our father passed out of this world, under the guidance of Christ; and, glorious by his miracles, he was taken to the courts of heavenly light.

Mercifully grant unto us, 0 good Jesus! by his intercession, that we may enter into joy. Amen.


There's no avoiding the secular celebrations of St. Patrick. And why would you want to?




New York's St. Patrick's Day Parade is the most well-known. It has a website here.
Dublin's is here. And Boston's here. Make that "parades" plural for the Boston area.

In another league altogether, the Los Angeles area put together one (1) small parade and festival in Hermosa Beach. But you missed it. It was last weekend. The website is here, though, if you'd like to see some pictures of events in past years.

For parades and festivals elsewhere try this page of links.


Finally, this site belongs to St. Patrick's Pipe Band out of Dooagh, Achill Island, County Mayo, Repubic of Ireland. The've got 57 members. They've must've started tuning last August for tomorrow's parade.

Christianity: " The only religion that can be constantly defamed and insulted is the one liberals pretend to be terrified of."

So says the shy and retiring Ann Coulter here.

For Sale




Have a spare couple of million or so burning a hole in your pocket? Now's your chance to acquire a castle and a barony. The Barony of Lee is for sale here with its castle, two lodges, 261 acres of land and assorted other perqs.

Ordinarily, I wouldn't mention this sort of thing but this one appears to come with its own pipe band. At least their picture appears among the photographs of the other accoutrements. You can find it here. I doubt if you'll get to be pipe major. Pipers are an ornery lot and don't put up with too much interference. But if you're providing the practice hall you'll probably be able to get them to be civil to you. Most of the time.

St. Constantine of Scotland




Yesterday St. John Ogilvie, S.J. Scotland's last marty; today St. Constantine, Scotland's first martyr. He was King of Cornwall. When his beloved wife died, he resigned his throne to his son and became a penitent monk in Ireland at Rahan Abbey (a ruin in the general vicinity is shown above).

The most complete telling of his legend his here, which is actually a Russian Orthodox site (the ROCOR jurisdiction).

The site of the monastery he founded in Govan.

A collect for St. Constantine:

O God, who didst wondrously adorn blessed Constantine, thy King and Martyr, with the glorious triumph of his passion "grant to us, we beseech thee; by following his example to despise earthly glory, and continually to love the things of heaven. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Saint John Ogilvie, S.J.





Today the Church commemorates the only officially recognized Scottish martyr, although the reformation period made many others whose names are known only to God. St. John Ogilvie was the son of the Baron of Drum na Keith and raised a Calvinist. After his conversion he became a Jesuit and a priest.

The most extensive recounting of his life that I've seen online is found here . From that site:

Heir of Drum-na-Keith, who had forsaken his family, his home, and his estate to become a Jesuit and a priest, says to [Archbishop] Spottiswoode and the other reformed clergymen who owed their position and all they possessed to the favor of King James:

"The King cannot forbid me my own country, since I am just as much a natural subject as the King himself. . . . What more do we owe him than our ancestors to his ancestors? If he has all his right to reign from his ancestors, why does he ask for more than they have left him by right of inheritance? They have never had any spiritual jurisdiction, nor have they ever exercised any; nor held any other faith than the Roman Catholic."

The picture at the top of this posting is of Glasgow Cathedral. St. John was buried on the north side in a felon's grave. The exact location of his relics is unknown.

An old collect of St. John Ogilvie:

Almighty everlasting God, who didst make blessed John thy Martyr an invincible defender of the Catholic faith, grant unto us by his intercession : that we may daily increase in faith, hope and charity more and more. Through Christ our Lord.

The Catholic parish church at Keith has a small website here. If you scroll down you'll find pictures of a statue and shrine to St. John. Not Michaelangelo, but good to see nonetheless in a day when so many parish churches have their little shrines smashed beyond recognition by those who should be protecting them.

A Slice of Life

. . .so to speak, as we live now in America.

It is funny in a sad sort of way. Because it's well to remember that we were born free.

One more thing. . .

About the movie. One commentary I read complained that Gibson made the Jewish high priests look so very Jewish. Um, well, they were, but be that as it may. To me they looked like nothing so much as Russian Orthodox bishops. Might not have been the Sanhedrin; might've been the Moscow Synod if we're going to go by some sort of over-all gestalt costume impressions.

The Passion of the Christ

I finally saw it and was deeply and very personally moved. Enough so that I would rather not comment on it here. I realize it was not revelation. But still it was a commentary of a sort on revelation just as Ricciotti's Life of Christ or Jim Bishop's The Day Christ Died were in their own way.

I didn't understand how a committed Christian could dislike it until with a little thought it occured that the same is true of books. Most devout people love, say, the Imitation of Christ. Some equally devout find it of no use at all. That non-Christians wouldn't like or approve of the film is understandable and predictable. They didn't understand or approve of the original either.

18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
. . . . . . .
22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

-from the first Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, the first chapter.

Dominica Secunda in Quadragesima

or the Second Sunday of Lent and I haven't done any blogging since Tuesday. I'd like to give an exciting reason for this but there isn't one. My time has been devoured by locusts. Lots of auditions, lots of appointments and inquiries, lots of paperwork to keep track of same, and some great gigs with the Smithwick's folks. And a computer virus that eluded the ever-watchful creation of the folks at Symantec.

The news stations have been alive with discussion of the Martha Stewart guilty verdict. Amazing. Can anyone really be all that interested poor Martha? Well, her family I suppose. But the whole country? It seems to me the principal lessons to take home are two: (1) Don't talk to federal investigators under any circumstances. Plead the 5th and shut up. As it appears now it is perjury if any statement you make to them turns out to be wrong whether or not you were under oath. (2) - and this one is courtesy of the Motley Fool's newsletter - Never buy or sell stock based upon rumor.

Election Day

This is votin' day in California. If you live here and plan to vote, there is helpful information here.

St. David, Patron of Wales





He is Degui or Dewi in Welsh.

Bishop and Confessor, patron of Wales. He is usually represented standing on a little hill, with a dove on his shoulder. From time immemorial the Welsh have worn a leek on St. David's day, in memory of a battle against the Saxons, at which it is said they wore leeks in their hats, by St. David's advice, to distinguish them from their enemies. He is commemorated on 1 March. The earliest mention of St. David is found in a tenth-century manuscript Of the "Annales Cambriae", which assigns his death to A.D. 601. Many other writers, from Geoffrey of Monmouth down to Father Richard Stanton, hold that he died about 544, but their opinion is based solely on data given in various late "lives" of St. David, and there seems no good reason for setting aside the definite statement of the "Annales Cambriae", which is now generally accepted. Little else that can claim to be historical is known about St. David. The tradition that he was born at Henvynyw (Vetus-Menevia) in Cardiganshire is not improbable. He was prominent at the Synod of Brevi (Llandewi Brefi in Cardiganshire), which has been identified with the important Roman military station, Loventium. Shortly afterwards, in 569, he presided over another synod held at a place called Lucus Victoriae. He was Bishop (probably not Archbishop) of Menevia, the Roman port Menapia in Pembrokeshire, later known as St. David's, then the chief point of departure for Ireland. St. David was canonized by Pope Callistus II in the year 1120

The Catholic Encyclopaedia, from which the above is taken, goes on to say that his legend is much more elaborate, and entirely unreliable. I wonder what makes them think that? Is it just because he was King Arthur's nephew, that his birth was predicted to St. Patrick by an angel, and that he visited Ireland by riding on the back of a sea monster? It must be those Italian hagiographers: they're just envious of our Celtic saints.

The rest of the C.E. article and more of his legend ["unreliable". Harumph.] can be found here.

Here is his collect from the Divine Office, the English and Welsh propers:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the loving intercession of Saint David, your confessor and bishop, may protect us, and that while we celebrate his festival we may also imitate his firmness in defending the Catholic faith. (Through Christ our Lord.) Amen.

From the same source, this is the proper hymn for Morning Prayer (laudes ad matutinas):

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.

An Anglican version of the same collect:

Grant, we beseech thee, Almighty God: that the devout prayers of blessed David, thy Confessor and Bishop, may in such wise succour and defend us, that we which on this day observe his festival, may follow his constancy in the defence of thy true religion. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Welsh flag with its dragon can be seen (and explained) here A recipe for Welsh leek soup is found here. (Is it more or less repectful to make a soup of your national emblem than it is to "drown" it in a glass of beer or whiskey? Such deep questions for a Monday morning.) More on the leek and its and subsidiary national symbol, the daffodil.