MEMORIAL OF SAINT ISIDORE, THE FARMER AND SAINTS PETER, ANDREW, PAUL AND DENISE (DIONYSIA), MARTYRS ~ FEAST DAY: MAY 15TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Isidore, the Farmer and Saints Peter, Andrew, Paul and Denise (Dionysia), Martyrs. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, especially those suffering from terminal diseases and those with cancer. We also pray for the safety and well-being of all farmers, the poor and the needy all over the world. We continue to pray for peace in our families and throughout our world, for the Church, the Clergy, for persecuted christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world🙏
SAINT ISIDORE, THE FARMER: St. Isidore (c. 1070 – May 15, 1130), also known as Isidore the Farm Laborer; Saint Isidore of Madrid or Saint Isidore the Farmer, a perennially popular Saint in Spain was born Isidro de Merlo y Quintana near Madrid of very poor but very Christian parents, who early inspired in him love for God and horror of sin. He was christened Isidore from the name of their patron, St. Isidore of Seville. His education was accomplished entirely by the Holy Spirit who taught him, without books, the science of salvation. Isidore spent his life as a hired hand in the service of the wealthy Madrilenian landowner Juan de Vargas on a farm in the city’s vicinity. He shared what he had, even his meals, with the poor. Juan de Vargas would later make him bailiff of his entire estate of Lower Caramanca. St. Isidore married a wife rich in virtue, Maria Torribia, known as Santa María de la Cabeza in Spain (she has never been canonized, pending confirmation by Pope Francis. There is currently in process the cause for her sainthood within the Congregation for the Causes of Saints). St. Isidore and his wife were always willing to help their neighbors and worked with the poor in the city slums. God blessed them with a son whom they brought up in the sentiments of their own piety. On one occasion, their son fell into a deep well and, at the prayers of his parents, the water of the well is said to have risen miraculously to the level of the ground, bringing the child with it full of life and good health. In thanksgiving Isidore and Maria then vowed sexual abstinence and lived in separate houses in perpetual continence. Their son later died in his youth. Saint Isidore’s wife became a hermit like himself; Maria, too, performed miracles and merited after her death the name of Santa Maria de la Cabeza, meaning Head, because her head, conserved in a reliquary and carried in procession, has often brought down rain from heaven for the afflicted countryside. Her remains are honored by all of Spain by pilgrimages and processions at Torrelaguna, where they were transferred in 1615. Saint Isidore himself was a day-laborer on a farm near Madrid, but every day found him at Mass in one of the churches of the city before he set out for his daily task. His employer desired to verify whether he was wasting time during his work, and one day saw two mysterious personages helping the holy worker to guide his plow; Isidore himself told him they were Angels. Afterwards the wealthy owner became still more convinced that piety was useful in all occupations. For not only did his worker bring back to life one of his horses, which he very much needed; when his daughter, too, died, she was resurrected by the Saint. A fountain of water which the Saint caused to surge up by striking the ground still exists.
Saint Isidore, though poor, shared all he had with the poor; and one day, when no provisions were left, his cupboard was found well furnished when still another beggar arrived. Saint Isidore died some time after his wife; he died on May 15, 1130, at his birthplace close to Madrid, although the only official source places his death in the year 1172. The number of miracles attributed to him has been counted as 438. The only original source of hagiography on him is a fourteenth century codex called Códice de Juan Diácono which relates five of his miracles: The pigeons and the grain; The angels ploughing; The saving of his donkey, through prayer, from a wolf attack; The account of his wife’s pot of food and A similar account of his feeding the brotherhood. The codex also attests to the incorruptible state of his body, stating it was exhumed 40 years after his death, his relics were taken into the Church of Saint Andrew and re-interred there; miracles have been countless, and celestial music has often been heard at his tomb. He has protected the city of Seville, making himself visible occasionally; and the kings of Spain themselves urged his canonization. St. Isidore was beatified in Rome on May 2, 1619, by Pope Paul V. He was canonized nearly three years later by Pope Gregory XV, along with Saints Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Ávila and Philip Neri, on March 12, 1622. He is an example of a laborer who values both prayer and work. In 1947, he was proclaimed the patron of the National Rural Conference in the United States. He’s the Patron Saint of Farmers; farm workers; ranchers; rural communities; Madrid, Spain; National Catholic Rural Life Conference in the United States; death of children; for rain; livestock. His feast day is May 15th.
PRAYER: O Lord, all creation is Yours, and You call us to serve You by caring for the gifts that surround us. May the example of St. Isidore urge us to share our food with the hungry and to work for the salvation of mankind. God, through the intercession of St. Isidore, the holy Farmer, grant that we may overcome all feelings of pride. May we always serve You with that humility which pleases You, through his merits and example ~ Amen🙏
SAINTS PETER, ANDREW, PAUL AND DENISE (DIONYSIA), MARTYRS: Sts. Peter, Andrew, Paul, and Denise (Dionisia, Dionysia) are venerated as martyrs by the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. They were killed in the 3rd century at Lampsacus, Mysia (in present-day Turkey) on the Hellespont, under the Emperor Decius (~ A.D. 250). They seem to have been stoned by the heathen rabble, with the consent of the magistrates, before whom they had bravely confessed their Faith in Christ.
According to tradition, Denise was martyred during the persecution of Christians by the Emperor Decius, along with three men named Andrew, Paul, and Nichomachus. Nichomachus, “presumptuous and over-confident”, denied that he was a Christian after he was tortured and was asked to perform a sacrifice to the Roman gods. However, as he was about to perform this task, he suffered a convulsion and fell dead. Andrew and Paul refused to apostatize and were tortured on the rack and then imprisoned. Denise was a sixteen-year-old Christian girl who vocalized her unhappiness regarding Nichomachus’ apostasy. She was brought before the proconsul Optimus, and refused to abjure her faith. Optimus condemned her to be raped by several soldiers; however, according to tradition, she was “subjected to the approaches of three libertines, but was protected by an angel.” Paul and Andrew were finally led to their execution, and were stoned to death in the local arena. Denise managed to escape from prison and locate the bodies of the two men. She publicly expressed her desire to share their martyrdom, was carried away by force, and was promptly ordered to be beheaded by Optimus.
The relics attributed to Denise were brought to the Abbey of Flône in Belgium in 1922, and placed within a statue of wax; the relics included a vase associated that contains her crystallized blood. A second vase contains earth said to have been drenched with the blood of Christian martyrs. On the sarcophagus is embedded a marble tablet said to come from Roman catacombs; it carries the inscription: DIONISE, V.M..I.IN.P VIX. AN. XXIX. (“Denise, celebrated virgin martyr rests in peace. She lived 29 years”). The relics are visible through small openings. Saint Denise is invoked for the protection against bicycle and motorcycle accidents and headaches.
Saints Peter, Andrew, Paul, and Denise, Martyrs ~ Pray for us🙏