Isidorus, ep. Hispalien. et doctor Eccl.
April 4, non-binding monument | |
Position: | Archbishop and teacher of the church |
Deaths: | 636 |
Patron: | internet and computer users |
Attributes: | Bishop with a book, event. with a feather, horseman on horseback |
BIOGRAPHY
It comes from Seville, Spain. After his father’s death, he was raised by his brother Leander. After an initial distaste for learning, he achieved his goal by his decision and perseverance to become a teacher of the Middle Ages. He was Bishop of Seville, wrote many writings, convened and directed several councils where numerous affairs were wisely arranged. He is said to have meditated daily on the Passion of the Savior. Furthermore, he was holy in wisdom, love, humility, patient bearing of suffering, and repentance.
BIOGRAPHY FOR MEDITATION
What can endurance do?
He was born around 560 near Seville, perhaps in New Carthage, Spain, into an important family that gave the Church several saints. They were his two older brothers, Leander and Fulgent, and his sister Florentina. Both of his parents died in his childhood, and Leander, who was 20 years older, took over the care of his family and Isidore’s upbringing.
Isidore’s youth is said to have been impatient and fickle, until one day, he came to a well with stone timbers during his truancy. He sat down and inadvertently noticed the deep notches on the shaft and the numerous timber pits. After a while, when a woman came to get the water, he asked her how the notches in the hardwood and the holes in the stone were made. He learned from her what persistence can do! Drops falling on a single spot on the hard stone excavate the pit, and the wood is scourged by winding the rope daily. Isidore realized that he could attain education and wisdom if he studied persistently with God’s help. From that moment on, under the guidance of his brother, he quickly acquired knowledge until he also became a teacher in the Middle Ages.
He learned Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. He has acquired an eloquence that is still admirable in his writings today. Furthermore, he improved not only his thinking, but also his heart with Christian virtues. He had an example in Leandra. After his studies, he was ordained a priest, confirmed Spanish Catholics in the faith, and focused on the conversion of Arians. King Leovigild of the Visigoths pursued the clergy at the time, reportedly imprisoning some bishops and expelling Leandro from his realm. Isidore is said to have influenced his heart by releasing the imprisoned and calling Leandro back. Isidore then entered the monastery for a time. When Bishop Leander died in about 596, the new king, reared with the clergy and people, elected his brother Isidore as successor. Pope Gregory the Great sent him archiepiscopal insignia.
Priests’ ascetic and general professional education and the observance of church discipline were very close to Isidore’s heart. With this focus, he also performed at many provincial and national synods in Seville and Toledo. He acted very wisely and wrote many writings. In the third part, Sententiae (Ideas), he stated his ideas about the right bishop: The program of his profession should begin with himself, self-denial, humiliation, and exemplary life. He is to interpret the truths of the Christian faith to his believers and take care of them as a good shepherd or doctor.
Isidore’s work De officiis ecclesiasticis (About Church Services) was an excellent guide to the liturgy. File Chronica maiora it is a kind of world chronicle. De viris illustrious (About famous men) refers to church history. The two books are synonyms; they are ascetic writings, encouraging the sinful and the suffering. He wrote more writings than are mentioned here. His main theological work is three books of sentences: Sententiarum libri tres. In the first, he deals with the doctrine of God, and in the other two, fundamental questions of morality. Isidore’s most significant work is a 20-volume encyclopedia called Etymologiarum libri XX seu Origines (Inception). It is a comprehensive collection of information from various areas of life and science, similar to today’s databases. Inspired by the data and recommendations of the Pontifical Council for the Media, Spanish computer scientists from the Internet Observation Service in Barcelona recognized St. Isidore as the patron of the Internet and computer users. Pope John Paul II also confirmed the patronage during one pilgrimage to Spain. And the cult of St. Isidora, as the patron saint of the Internet, is popularized especially in Poland. Despite all the reservations, critics of Isidore’s works agree that he was a highly prolific man of letters with great merit in saving ancient cultural values.
Even in his literary activity, Isidore lived a high degree of virtue, cultivated charity, worked tirelessly in God’s service, was exemplary, and died with deep piety.
Before dying, he gave everything away and performed public penance according to the Visigothic ceremony. On Easter Monday, March 31, he was brought to the church of St. Vincent accompanied by subordinate bishops, in the presence of other clergy and people. He received penitential robes from one of the bishops, had his head sprinkled with ashes from the other, and publicly confessed his lapses. He deeply regretted them and asked those present for forgiveness and prayers. After receiving the Eucharist, he said goodbye to the bystanders with a kiss of peace, allowed himself to be transferred back to his cell, and died four days later.
Clement VIII is said to have declared him a saint in about 1598. In 1722, Pope Innocent XIII appointed him a teacher of the church.
I will determine what I will do for my more remarkable persistence in good and start right away.
God, You called Saint Isidore to educate Your church with Your teachings; hear our pleas and, through his intercession, help her grow in the knowledge of Your truth. Through Your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, He lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit throughout all ages.