MEMORIAL OF SAINT ISIDORE OF SEVILLE, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH – FEAST DAY: As Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Isidore of Seville, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. He’s the Patron Saint of Student and was more recently proposed as a Patron Saint of Internet users, because of his determination to use the world’s accumulated knowledge for the service of God’s glory. He is also the patron saint of computer users, computer technicians and programmers (all electronic patronages are unofficial). Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, Saint Isidore of Seville and all the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the salvation of all Christians and particularly pray for all students and that all those who use the internent, may benefit from the blessing of technology and continue to use it faithfully and appropriately for various purposes as well as spreading the good news of the Lord through hope, love, charity and faith during these incredibly challenging times. May the name of the Lord be praised forever and ever… Amen🙏
Almighty and eternal God, who hast created us in Thy image and hast bidden us to seek after all that is good, true, and beautiful, especially in the divine person of Thy only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee that, through the intercession of Saint Isidor, bishop and doctor, during our journeys through the internet we will direct our hands and eyes only to that which is pleasing to Thee and treat with charity and patience all souls whom we encounter. Through Jesus Christ our Lord… Amen🙏
“Confession heals, Confession justifies, Confession grants pardon of sin, all hope consists in Confession; in Confession there is a chance for mercy.” ~ Saint Isidore of Seville
“The suffering of adversity does not degrade you but exalts you. Human tribulation teaches you, it does not destroy you. The more we are afflicted in this world, the greater is our assurance for the next. The more we sorrow in the present,. ..the greater will be our joy in the future.” ~ Saint Isidore of Seville
SAINT ISIDORE OF SEVILLE, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH: St. Isidore of Seville (560 – 636 A.D.) was a bishop and scholar who helped the Church preserve its own traditions, and the heritage of western civilization, in the early middle ages. He succeeded his brother St. Leander as Archbishop of Seville, was one of the great bishops of the seventh century. He was proficient in all brances of knowledge and was regarded as one of the most learned men of his time. St. Isidore was born in Carthagena, Spain, in approximately 560 to noble and pious parents, Severinus and Theodora, illustrious for their virtue. After the example of their parents, he, as well as his two brothers, Leander and Fulgentius, who became bishops, and his sister Florentina, a nun – were all later canonized as saints along with him. From his youth he consecrated himself to the service of the Church and prepared himself for his sacred ministry by virtue and learning. St. Isidore received his early education at the cathedral school in Seville where a group of learned men taught classical education, among them was his brother Leander, the Archbishop of Seville. The cathedral school was the first of its kind in the country and St. Isidore excelled in his studies there. As the Archbishop of Seville, Leander was an important influence on his younger brother, helping Isidore develop a commitment to study, prayer, and intense work for the good of the Church. St. Isidore became a man of great learning, zeal, piety, and apostolic endeavor, he joined his brother’s mission and assisted his brother in converting the Visigoths from the Arian heresy who had invaded Spain. When St. Leander died around the year 600, his brother, St. Isidore succeeded him as Seville’s archbishop, leading his diocese for nearly 40 years. St. Isidore inherited his brother’s responsibility for Church affairs in an intense period of change, as the institutions of the Western Roman Empire gave way to the culture of the barbarian tribes.
St. Isidore was an important saint for his time. He was one of the most learned men of the 6th century and is considered the last of the early Church Fathers. For the good of the Church and civilization, St. Isidore was determined to preserve the wisdom and knowledge of the past, maintaining the fruitful synthesis of classical Roman culture and Christian faith. He was a prolific writer on the sciences and the classics which in effect helped preserve western civilization during the early middle ages following the barbarian invasions. He composed history books, a dictionary with a structure akin to a database, and an encyclopedia which was used for nine centuries. St. Isidore was also intent on preventing false teachings from shattering the unity of the Church in Spain. He reunited Spain after the barbarian onslaught, making it a center of culture and learning. He is regarded as the great restorer of the Spanish Church after the Visigoths returned to the Catholic faith. He also contributed greatly to the development of Spain’s liturgy. He presided over the fourth provincial council of Toledo (633), the most important in Spanish history. He required seminaries to be built in every diocese, wrote a rule for religious orders, and founded schools that taught every branch of learning. Spain then became a model for similar renewal in other European countries. Responsible above all for the good of the Church, St. Isidore also sought the common good by encouraging study and development in areas such as law, medicine, foreign languages, and philosophy. He compiled the “Etymologiae,” the first encyclopedia written from a Catholic perspective. Under Isidore’s leadership, a series of local councils solidified the orthodoxy of the Spanish Church against errors about Christ and the Trinity. Systematic and extensive education of the clergy was stressed as a necessary means of guarding the faithful against false doctrine.
Prolific in his writings and and diligent in governing the Church, St. Isidore did not neglect the service of those in need. “Indeed, just as we must love God in contemplation, so we must love our neighbor with action,” he declared. “It is therefore impossible to live without the presence of both the one and the other form of life, nor can we live without experiencing both the one and the other.” In the last months of his life, St. Isidore offered a moving testament to these words, intensifying his charitable outreach to the poor, his charities became more profuse than ever. Crowds of people in need flocked to his residence from far and wide, as the bishop offered his final works of mercy on earth. Perceiving his end approaching he went to church, received Holy Communion, remitted all the debts that were due to him, and caused his money to be distributed to the poor. He then returned home and calmly expired four days later, on April 4 of the year 636 after ruling his see for almost 40 years. In 653, less than two decades after his death, a council of bishops in Spain acclaimed St. Isidore as “an illustrious teacher of our time and the glory of the Catholic Church.” He is regarded as being among the last of the early Church Fathers, who combined Christian faith and classical education. St. Gregory the Great was one of his personal friends. Pope Innocent XIII canonized him in 1722 and for his great learning and written works he was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XIV. St. Isidore of Seville is the Patron Saint of schoolchildren, students, computer technicians, computer users; computers and the internet. He’s a patron saint of Internet users, because of his determination to use the world’s accumulated knowledge for the service of God’s glory.
“Confession heals, Confession justifies, Confession grants pardon of sin, all hope consists in Confession; in Confession there is a chance for mercy.” ~ Saint Isidore of Seville
PRAYER: Lord, hear our prayers, which we offer on the commemoration of St. Isidore. May Your Church be instructed by his teaching and benefit from his intercession. Amen. Saint Isidore of Seville ~ Pray for us🙏