David receives the holy bread (1 Samuel 21:1-6)
The story of the priest Ahimelech giving holy bread to David was later understood to symbolise the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
David defeats Goliath (1 Samuel 17:1-54)
As a young shepherd, David defied all odds to slay the giant warrior Goliath, returning to Jerusalem in triumph with his opponent's head.
The Ancestry of Christ (Matthew 1:1-17)
The New Testament begins by tracing the family tree of Jesus, working back through the Old Testament. Both St Matthew and St Luke’s gospels each include a specific section on the ancestry of Christ.
David becomes king (2 Samuel 5:1-3)
David settled in Hebron, where he was made king of Israel. He later captured Jerusalem, expanded his kingdom and was promised an everlasting throne.
Bathsheba, the mother of King Solomon (1 Kings 1:1-2:19)
Bathsheba, the wife of King David and mother of Solomon, played a significant role in the royal history of Israel. She overcame adversity and was honoured as the king's mother, despite the scandalous circumstances of her marriage to David.
King David’s affair with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:1-12:15)
During his reign, King David fell from grace by having an affair with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of his loyal soldiers. He arranged Uriah's death to conceal the scandal, but ultimately repented of his sin after being confronted by the prophet
Rizpah mourns her crucified sons (2 Samuel 21:1-14)
Rizpah's faithful vigil over her dead sons, who were hanged on a hill and left unburied, symbolises the future suffering of the Virgin Mary during Christ's crucifixion.
The Seven Penitential Psalms (Psalms 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130 and 143)
The Seven Penitential Psalms are a collection of seven prayers of repentance from the book of Psalms. Traditionally attributed to King David, they were widely used in the medieval Church as prayers of contrition.