jeudi 10 mai 2012

Saint ISIDORE le LABOUREUR (ISIDRO LABRADOR), confesseur


Statue de saint Isidore le laboureur, Scaër, chapelle de Plaskaer

SAINT ISIDORE le LABOUREUR

Confesseur

(+ 1170)

Saint Isidore naquit à Madrid, en Espagne, de parents très pauvres qui ne purent le faire étudier, mais lui apprirent à aimer Dieu et à détester le péché. L'enfant devint bientôt très habile dans cette science, la meilleure de toutes. Quand il fut en âge de travailler, il se plaça comme laboureur chez un riche habitant de la ville, nommé Jean de Vargas.

Plus tard, il épousa une femme aussi pauvre et aussi vertueuse que lui, et il eut un enfant auquel il enseigna le service de Dieu. Un jour, cet enfant tomba dans un puits; ses parents, désolés, adressèrent au Ciel de si ferventes prières, que l'eau du puits s'élevant jusqu'en haut, y apporta cet enfant plein de vie et de santé. En reconnaissance, les deux époux se séparèrent et vouèrent à Dieu une continence perpétuelle.

Quoique occupé du grossier travail de mener la charrue, saint Isidore n'en avait pas moins des heures fixes et réglées pour ses exercices de piété. Les jours ordinaires, après avoir passé une partie de la nuit en oraison, il se levait de grand matin et s'en allait visiter les principales églises de Madrid; les jours de fête étaient entièrement consacrés à suivre les offices et à prier.

Jamais il ne négligeait en rien son travail; malgré cela, ses compagnons l'accusèrent auprès du maître, qui voulut s'assurer par lui-même de la vérité; il regarda Isidore travailler, et vit deux Anges aider le Saint. Dès lors, Jean de Vargas conçut la plus grande estime pour son serviteur, et les bénédictions du Ciel se répandirent sur sa maison. Saint Isidore opéra des miracles en sa faveur; il rendit la vie à un cheval dont on avait grand besoin; la fille de Jean de Vargas étant morte à la suite d'une maladie douloureuse, il la ressuscita. Un jour, en frappant du pied la terre, il fit jaillir, afin d'étancher la soif de son maître, une fontaine qui coule encore. À la suite de ces miracles, Jean de Vargas se déchargea sur saint Isidore du soin de sa maison.

Saint Isidore était pauvre, et cependant il trouvait le moyen de se montrer libéral envers les indigents; il partageait avec eux son dîner, et un jour qu'il avait tout donné, il pria sa femme d'aller voir s'il ne restait pas quelque chose: celle-ci trouva le plat qui venait d'être vidé, aussi plein que si personne n'y eût touché. Une autre fois, il avait été invité à un dîner de confrérie, et ses dévotions le retinrent si longtemps, qu'il arriva quand tout était fini.

Une multitude de pauvres le suivaient comptant sur ses restes. Les confrères lui dirent, d'assez mauvaise humeur, qu'on lui avait gardé sa part, mais qu'il n'y avait rien pour les mendiants. "C'est assez, répondit-il, cela suffira pour moi et pour les pauvres de Jésus-Christ." En effet, on trouva un repas entier là où on n'avait mis de côté que quelques morceaux.

La femme de saint Isidore, de son côté, donnait des marques d'une sainteté aussi grande que celle de son mari. Elle aussi faisait des miracles. Retirée dans un petit héritage, près de l'ermitage de Caraquiz, elle avait à traverser une rivière pour se rendre à une église de la Sainte Vierge qu'elle fréquentait assidûment. Un jour, elle trouva cette rivière débordée, et, avec une entière confiance dans la puissance de Dieu, elle détacha son tablier, l'étendit sur les eaux, et, à l'aide de cette barque d'un nouveau genre, passa tranquillement à l'autre bord.

Saint Isidore mourut avant sa femme, en 1170, et on l'enterra sous une gouttière, dans le cimetière de Saint-André, où il fut oublié quarante ans. Alors le Saint apparut à une dame vertueuse pour la presser de procurer l'élévation et la translation de son corps. Quand on l'eut retiré de terre, il fut trouvé aussi frais et aussi sain que s'il venait de mourir; un parfum de délicieuse odeur embauma les airs, et toutes les cloches sonnèrent d'elles-mêmes. L'église de Saint-André fut choisie pour recevoir ses saintes reliques; on y vit un grand concours de peuple; de nombreux miracles s'opérèrent et firent croître et grandir la dévotion à saint Isidore.


L'histoire de l'Église et la vie des Saints démontrent que la sainteté a fleuri, au cours des siècles, dans toutes les classes de la société et dans les milieux les plus divers, chez de tout jeunes enfants comme chez des adultes ou des vieillards. La sainteté est une carrière ouverte à tous, selon la parole de Jésus Lui-même: Soyez parfaits comme votre Père céleste est parfait. (Mt. 5, 48) Avec la grâce de Dieu, tout chrétien est donc destiné à la sainteté, car la volonté de Dieu est que vous soyez saints, (I Thess. 4, 3) enseigne saint Paul. Toutefois, il est bien évident que personne ne peut devenir saint malgré lui! "Un saint, a écrit saint Thomas d'Aquin, est une âme dans laquelle le Saint-Esprit a carte blanche," c'est-à-dire pleine liberté d'action. C'est une âme fidèle aux inspirations de la grâce, attentive à réaliser le bon plaisir de Dieu, à bien porter la croix à la suite du divin Maître.

Tel a été saint Isidore, à la suite de bien d'autres Saints, nos modèles. Patron des Laboureurs et patron de la ville de Madrid, en Espagne, il mena une vie toute simple et tout extraordinaire à la fois. Simple extérieurement, parce que semblable à la vie de tant d'ouvriers et de travailleurs des champs; extraordinaire, parce que vivifiée par un intense esprit de prière, de renoncement évangélique, et d'amour pour Dieu et le prochain.


Saint Isidore le Laboureur

Paysan (✝ 1130)

Lui et sa femme, Maria Toribia furent toute leur vie domestiques de ferme chez le seigneur Vergas dans la région de Madrid. Chaque dimanche, après la grand-messe dont il chantait la liturgie au lutrin, il passait sa journée en prière. Chaque jour il prenait sur son sommeil le temps d'aller à la messe avant de se rendre à son travail. Son maître voulut se rendre compte qu'il ne perdait pas ainsi des heures précieuses. Il vint un matin et, tandis qu'Isidore était en extase, il vit les bœufs continuant leur travail, comme s'ils étaient conduits par deux anges. C'est au roi Philippe III d'Espagne que l'on doit d'avoir un laboureur authentique dans le calendrier, car il avait été guéri par son intercession.

Le 12 mars 1622, le pape Grégoire XV canonisait simultanément saints Ignace de Loyola, sainte Thérèse d'Avila, saint François Xavier, saint Philippe Néri et... saint Isidore!

Il fait partie des Saints patrons des JMJ de Madrid.

À Madrid, vers 1130, saint Isidore, le laboureur. Avec son épouse, la bienheureuse Turibia, il travailla la terre avec ardeur et recueillit avec patience davantage les fruits du ciel que ceux de la terre, offrant le modèle d’un paysan chrétien très pieux.

Martyrologe romain

SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1129/Isidore-le-Laboureur.html

St. Isidore the Labourer

A Spanish daylabourer; b. near Madrid, about the year 1070; d. 15 May, 1130, at the same place. He was in the service of a certain Juan de Vargas on a farm in the vicinity of Madrid. Every morning before going to work he was accustomed to hear a Mass at one of the churches in Madrid. One day his fellow-labourers complained to their master that Isidore was always late for work in the morning. Upon investigation, so runs the legend, the master found Isidore at prayer, while an angel was doing the ploughing for him. On another occasion his master saw an angel ploughing on either side of him, so that Isidore's work was equal to that of three of his fellow-labourers. Isidore is also said to have brought back to life the deceased daughter of his master and to havecaused a fountain of fresh water to burst from the dry earth in order to quench the thirst of his master. He wasmarried to Maria Torribia, a canonized saint, who is venerated in Spain as Maria della Cabeza, from the fact that her head (Spanish, cabeza) is often carried in procession especially in time of drought. They had one son, who died in his youth. On one occasion this 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, alive and well. Hereupon the parents made a vow of continence and lived in separate houses. Forty years after Isidore's death, his body was transferred from the cemetery to the church of St. Andrew. He is said to have appeared to Alfonsoof Castile, and to have shown him the hidden path by which he surprised the Moors and gained the victory of Las Nevas de Tolosa, in 1212. When King Philip III of Spain was cured of a deadly disease by touching the relics of the saint, the king replaced the old reliquary by a costly silver one. He was canonized by Gregory XV, along with Sts. Ignatius, Francis Xavier, Teresa, and Philip Neri, on 12 March, 1622. St. Isidore is widely venerated as thepatron of peasants and day-labourers. The cities of Madrid, Leon, Saragossa, and Seville also, honour him as their patron. His feast is celebrated on 15 May.
Sources

His Life, as first written in 1265 by John, a deacon of the church of St. Andrew, at Madrid, and supplemented by him in 1275, is printed in Acta S.S., May, III, 515-23. It served as the basis for LOPE DE VEGA's religious poem San Isidro (1599). Acta SS., loc. cit., 512-559; BUTLER, Lives of the Saints, 10 May; BARING-GOUID, Lives of the saints, 10 May; TAMAYO Martyrologium Hispanicum, III (Lyons, 1655), 191-98; QUARTINO, Vita di, S. Isidoro agricola (Turin, 1882).

Ott, Michael. "St. Isidore the Labourer." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 11 May 2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08189a.htm>.

Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Tom Burgoyne. In memory of Father Baker, founder of Our Lady of Victory Homes.

Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.

Copyright © 2020 by Kevin Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Anónimo novohispano de tradición mexica, Mosaico de plumas (colibrí, canario y pato) y óleo sobre papel amate. Marco de caoba, carey y hueso esgrafiado con tinta negra; marco interior de palofierro y vidrio soplado, c Primera mitad del siglo XVIII, Museo Soumaya at Plaza Carso

Saint Isidore the Farmer

Also known as

Isadore the Farmer

Isidore Bonden

Isidore of Madrid

Isidore the Laborer

Isidro Labrador

Isidore the Worker

Memorial

15 May

Profile

Pious farmerMarried to Saint Mary de la Cabeza. Their son died young; they became convinced it was the will of God that they not have children, and they lived together chastely the rest of their lives, doing good works. Accused by fellow workers of shirking his duties by attending Mass each day, taking time out for prayers, etc. Isidore claimed he had no choice but to follow the highest Master. One tale says that when his master came in the morning to chastise him for skipping work for church, he found angels plowing the fields in place of Isidore. Miracles and cures reported at his grave, in which his body remains incorrupt.

Born

c.1070 at Madrid, Castille (part of modern Spain)

Died

15 May 1130 at MadridSpain of natural causes

buried at the Church of San Isidro in Madrid

Beatified

2 May 1619 by Pope Paul V

Canonized

12 March 1622 by Pope Gregory XV

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Additional Information

A Garner of Saints, by Allen Banks Hinds, M.A.

Book of Saints, by Father Lawrence George Lovasik, S.V.D.

Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate

Catholic Encyclopedia

Legends of Saints and Birds, by Agnes Aubrey Hilton

Lives of the Saints, by Father Alban Butler

Miniature Lives of the Saints

New Catholic Dictionary

Roman Martyrology1914 edition

Saints of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein

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Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints

Sacred and Legendary Art, by Anna Jameson

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1001 Patron Saints and Their Feast Days, Australian Catholic Truth Society

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Readings

God, Who didst teach Adam the simple art of tilling the soil, and Who through Jesus Christ, the true vine, didst reveal Thyself the husbandman of our souls, deign, we pray, through the merits of Blessed Isidore, to instill into our hearts a horror of sin and a love of prayer, so that, working the soil in the sweat of our brow, we may, with Christ our Lord, enjoy eternal happiness in heaven. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. – Prayer to Saint Isidore, Patron of Farmers; from The Fold, August 1953

MLA Citation

“Saint Isidore the Farmer“. CatholicSaints.Info. 26 December 2020. Web. 15 May 2021. <https://catholicsaints.info/saint-isidore-the-farmer/>

SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-isidore-the-farmer/

Antonius-Kapelle in Bad Driburg-Neuenheerse


Isidore the Farmer (RM)
(also known as Isidoro, Isidro)

Born in Madrid, Spain, 1070; died there in 1130; canonized in 1622; feast day formerly on May 10 and March 22, and October 25 in the U.S.A. Saint Isidore's feast is celebrated in Madrid, Spain, with ringing church bells and streets decorated for a procession in his honor. The saint was poor into a peasant family and baptized Isidore in honor of the famous archbishop of Seville. His unreliable biography was written about 150 years after his death and many concern the miracles associated with his name.


Isidore was a day laborer, working on the farm of the wealthy John de Vergas at Torrelaguna just outside Madrid. He married a poor girl, Maria de la Cabeza (Torriba), and had a son who died while still a baby. Thereafter, the couple took a vow of continence to serve God. Isidore's life is a model of simple Christian charity and faith. He prayed while at work, and he visited many churches in Madrid and the area while on holidays. He shared what he had--even his meals--with the poor, often giving them the more liberal portions.

He was steady and hard-working, but a complaint was made against him to his employer that he arrived late to work because he attended early morning Mass each day. When charged with his offense, he did not deny it and explained to his employer: "Sir, it may be true that I am later at my work than some of the other laborers, but I do my utmost to make up for the few minutes snatched for prayer; I pray you compare my work with theirs, and if you find I have defrauded you in the least, gladly will I make amends by paying you out of my private store."

His employer said nothing, but remained suspicious, and, being determined to find out the truth, rose one morning at daybreak and concealed himself outside the church. In due course, Isidore appeared and entered the building, and afterwards, when the service was over, went to his work. Still following him, his employer saw him take the plough into a field, and was about to confront him when, in the pale, misty light of dawn, he saw, as he thought, a second plough drawn by white oxen moving up and down the furrows. Greatly astonished, he ran towards it, but even as he ran it disappeared and he saw only Isidore and his single-plough.

When he spoke to Isidore and enquired about the second plough he had seen, Isidore replied in surprise: "Sir, I work alone and know of none save God to whom I look for strength." Thus the story grew that so great was his sanctity that the angels helped him even in his plowing. It was characteristic of Isidore's whole life. He was a simple ploughman, his speech clear and direct, his conduct honest as the day, his faith pure and steadfast. He was a poor man, but gave away what he could, with a good and generous heart, and with such sympathy and goodwill that his gifts seemed doubly blessed. Indeed, he could never neglect doing a kindness to man or beast.

One snowy day, when going to the mill with corn to be ground which his wife had gleaned, he passed a flock of wood-pigeons scratching vainly for food on the hard surface of the frosty ground. Taking pity on the poor animals, he poured half of his sack of precious corn upon the ground for the birds, despite the mocking of witnesses. When he reached the mill, however, the bag was full, and the corn, when it was ground, produced double the expected amount of flour.

In such simple tales we find reflected the spirit of Saint Isidore, who never ruled a diocese or was martyred for his faith, but who as truly served God in the fields and on the farm as those in higher places and who bore more famous names.

His saintly wife survived Isidore for several years. Forty years after his death, his body was transferred to a shrine, and his cultus grew as a result of miracles attributed to his intercession. He is said to have appeared in a vision to King Alphonsus of Castile in 1211, and to have shown him an unknown path, which he used to surprise and defeat the Moors. His canonization occurred at the insistence of King Philip III, who attributed his recovery from a serious illness to Isidore's intercession (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Gill, Tabor, White).

In art, Saint Isidore is portrayed as a peasant holding a sickle and a sheaf of corn. He might also be shown (1) with a sickle and staff, (2) as an angel ploughs for him, (3) giving a rosary to children by a well, mattock on his feet, water springing from the well, (4) striking water from dry earth with an angel plowing in the background (Roeder), (5) before a cross, or (6) with an angel and white oxen near him (White).

In Spanish art his emblems are a spade or a plough (Tabor). He is the patron of Madrid, Spain (Roeder), farmers and farm laborers, and the U.S. National Catholic Rural Conference (White).

SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0515.shtml

Baie 09: Saint-Isidore. Vitrail de l'église Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Baguer-Morvan (35).
Peintres verriers ː Lecomte et Colin, 1881



St. Isidore the Farmer

When he was barely old enough to wield a hoe, St. Isidore entered the service of John de Vergas, a wealthy landowner from Madrid, and worked faithfully on his estate outside the city for the rest of his life. He married a young woman as simple and upright as himself who also became a saint—Maria de la Cabeza. They had one son, who died as a child.

Isidore frequented Holy Mass every morning but often reported to work late. Late, though he was, his plowing was nevertheless accomplished by angels that resulted in three times more productivity. His coworkers and his boss witnessed such miraculous events and accorded Isidore with great respect.

All day long, as he walked behind the plow, he communed with God. Many marvelous happenings accompanied his lifelong work in the fields and continued long after his holy death. He was favored with celestial visions and, it is said, the angels sometimes helped him in his work in the fields.

He was known for his love of the poor, and there are accounts of Isidore’s supplying them miraculously with food. He had a great concern for the proper treatment of animals.

He died May 15, 1130, and was declared a saint in 1622 with Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila and Philip Neri. Together, the group is known in Spain as “the five saints.” St. Isidore has become the patron of farmers and rural communities. In particular he is the patron of Madrid, Spain, and of the United States National Rural Life Conference.

SOURCE : http://www.ucatholic.com/saints/saint-isidore-the-farmer/

Bleiglasfenster in der Vierzehn-Nothelfer-Kapelle in Engeln, einem Ortsteil von Kempenich


Miniature Lives of the Saints – Saint Isidore of Madrid

Article

Isidore was born of poor parents, at Madrid, in the twelfth century, and gained his livelihood as a ploughman. He never learned to read or write, but sanctified himself by his daily toil, according to the law God gave Adam at the falL Most of his nights were spent in prayer, and his first act in the morning was to attend Mass. His fellow servants accused him of neglecting his work for this purpose. When his master went to the field to see the truth, he found two angels working by the side of Isidore, to compensate for the time he had given to God. He had no fear but of sin, and committed all his cares to God with marvellous simplicity. Hearing in church that his ass was in danger from a wolf, he answered, “God’s will be done,” and with perfect composure continued his prayers to the end. When he reached the spot, his ass was feeding in safety, and the wolf lay dead by its side. He constantly divided his food with the poor. Once, when all had been given away, another poor man appeared. Isidore begged his wife for God’s sake to find him some soup; and on looking into the vessel she found it miraculously refilled. Isidore never had but the one master, who learned by long experience his real worth, and made him steward of his whole property. He died a.d. 1170, and is honoured as tie patron Saint of Madrid.

Saint Isidore became a Saint because he preferred prayer with God to conversation with men, and because he trusted rather the Divine power and goodness than any human aid.

“The stability of our faith comes not from the acuteness of our understanding, but from the simplicity of our adhesion to the promises of God.” — Saint Augustine

One hot summer’s day, when the whole country was parched and the rivers were dry, Isidore’s master came up to him in the field where he was ploughing, and asked him where he could find some water to drink. The Saint pointed to a neighbouring hill. His master went to the spot, but soon returned, disappointed and enraged. Then Isidore took him to the same place, which indeed showed no sign of a spring ; but the Saint made the sign of the Cross on the dry ground, and, piercing the surface with his goad, there gushed forth a miraculous fountain, which flows to this day, and is blessed with healing virtue.

“Trust in the Lord, and do good, and inhabit the land, and thou shalt be fed with its riches.” – Psalm 36:3

MLA Citation

Henry Sebastian Bowden. “Saint Isidore of Madrid”. Miniature Lives of the Saints for Every Day of the Year1877. CatholicSaints.Info. 23 February 2015. Web. 15 May 2021. <https://catholicsaints.info/miniature-lives-of-the-saints-saint-isidore-of-madrid/>

SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/miniature-lives-of-the-saints-saint-isidore-of-madrid/

San Isidro Labrador (St. Isidor von Madrid); Schule von Potosí, Bolivien, wahrscheinlich 19. Jh.; Öl auf Leinwand; Ethnologisches Museum, Berlin

San Isidro Labrador (Saint Isidore the Laborer), school of Potosí, Bolivia, probably 19th century; Oil on canvas; Ethnological Museum, Berlin, Germany


Legends of Saints and Birds – Saint Isidore

In the twelfth century there lived in Spain a peasant called Isidore. He spent his days ploughing his master’s fields, watching his master’s crops, having no thought but that of doing his duty faithfully. But the Church, following the example of our Blessed Lord, her Founder, who chose to be born in lowly state, has ever liked to show honour to those simple souls who, having no riches nor possessions, no rank nor title, yet are called to be Saints. So it is that Isidore the peasant was chosen to be patron of a royal city the capital of Spain. And as each fifteenth of May comes round, in Madrid they hold a festival, keeping the Feast Day of the peasant Saint. Now, Isidore was but a day labourer, going forth to his work until the evening, work which he did well and diligently. Yet slanderous tongues sought to make mischief by saying that Isidore came late to his work, never telling how he worked longer and more diligently than his fellows.

Therefore his master inquired of him wherefore he came not early to work as did his fellow labourers.

“Sir,” said Isidore, “truly I am at my work later than some of the others; but I do my best to make up for the few minutes spent in prayer. If my work seemeth unfavourable to thee, or thou thinkest I have defrauded thee in any matter, I pray thee say so, for gladly will I repay thee from my private store.”

Then, knowing that Isidore worked well, that he rose early to go into Madrid to hear Mass, which might make him later at his work, his master said naught. But one day he rose early and went into the fields to watch Isidore. He saw Isidore trudging to church so soon as the dawn appeared, and marked his return. He was later than his fellows, wherefore his master was angry and went to tell him so. Isidore was ploughing, his little son running at the heads of the oxen; but in the same field, ploughing another furrow, was a second plough. The master stood amazed: this plough was drawn by snow-white oxen, while for ploughman was a radiant angel. Up and down went this heavenly plough, cutting clean furrows. But as the master approached the vision faded from his sight.

“Isidore,” he called, “who ploughs the field with thee?”

“No one, sir,” said Isidore, amazed; “I work alone, and know of none save God to whom I look for strength.”

Therefore the master said no more, but returned home pondering the matter deeply.

Isidore was a kind-hearted man; he loved the patient oxen who pulled his plough, and the ass who carried the corn to be ground at the mill. Holy beasts, he called them, for was not our Lord born in a stable, the home of the oxen and asses? and did not an ass bear Him on that Palm Sunday? And oft-times looking upon the Cross which the ass has on its back, “Happy beast,” he would say, “on whom God has traced the symbol of Redemption, for, because one of thy kind bore thy Saviour, all of thee are blessed.”

It is told how one day Isidore and his little son were going to the mill. They had the ass with them, carrying a sack of corn, gleanings from the fields which Isidore’s wife had made. It was winter time; snow covered the ground and sparkled on the tree boughs, and it was difficult for beast and bird to find food. As they went along the birds hovered near, as though they knew that in that sack was a store of food. Presently some pigeons came flying, vainly searching for food.

So Isidore told the boy to stop the ass, and making a hole in the sack he took out some handfuls of wheat for the hungry birds.

“They need it as much as we do,” said he; then he and the boy went on their journey, leaving the feathered folk eating happily. At the age of forty Isidore died: he was buried in the cemetery of Saint Andre. All who knew him loved him greatly, for he was a true and faithful servant of God, who had laboured earnestly to serve his heavenly Master.

– taken from Legends of Saints and Birds by Agnes Aubrey Hilton

SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/legends-of-saints-and-birds-saint-isidore/


Guillermo Silveira García  (1922–1987). San Isidro Labrador, 1967, Uno de los dos grabados realizados por el artista para la decoración de los portales de acceso a las viviendas del "Edificio San Isidro" (calle San Isidro n.os 2-4), Badajoz, Grabado sobre mármol, 57 x 33, Firmado "Silveira" en ángulo inferior izquierdo



St. Isidore, Patron of Madrid, Labourer

IT is a misfortune which deserves to be lamented with floods of tears, that ignorance, obstinacy, and vice should so often taint a country life, the state which of all others is most necessary and important to the world; the most conformable to human condition and to nature; the state which was sanctified by the example of the primitive holy patriarchs, and which affords the most favourable opportunities for the perfect practice of every virtue and Christian duty. What advantageous helps to piety did the ancient hermits seek in the deserts, which the circumstances of a country labourer do not offer? The life of St. Isidore is a most sensible proof of this assertion. He was born at Madrid, of poor but very devout parents, and was christened Isidore from the name of their patron, St. Isidore of Seville.—They had not the means to procure him learning or a polite education; but, both by word and example, they infused into his tender soul the utmost horror and dread of all sin, and the most vehement ardour for every virtue, and especially for prayer. Good books are a great help to holy meditation; but not indispensably requisite. St. Irenæus mentions whole nations which believed in Christ, and abounded in exemplary livers, without knowing the use of ink or paper. Many illustrious anchorets knew no other alphabet than that of humility and divine charity. The great St. Antony himself could not so much as read the Greek or Latin languages: nay, from the words of St. Austin, some doubt whether he could read even his own barbarous Egyptian dialect. Yet in the science of the saints, what philosopher or orator ever attained to the A B C of that great man? Learning, if it puff up the mind, or inspire any secret self-sufficiency, is an impediment to the communications of the Holy Ghost; simplicity and sincere humility being the dispositions which invite him into the soul. By these was Isidore prepared to find him an interior instructor and comforter. His earnestness in seeking lessons and instructions of piety made him neglect no opportunity of hearing them; and so much the more tender and the deeper were the impressions which they left in his soul, was his desire the stronger and the more pure. His patience in bearing all injuries, and in overcoming the envy of fellow-servants by cordial kindnesses; his readiness to obey his masters, and in indifferent things to comply with the inclinations of others, and humbly to serve every one, gave him the most complete victory over himself and his passions. Labour he considered as enjoined him by God in punishment of sin, and for a remedy against it. And he performed his work in a spirit of compunction and penance. Many object that their labours and fatigues leave them little time for the exercises of religion. But Isidore, by directing his attention according to the most holy motives of faith, made his work a most perfect act of religion. He considered it as a duty to God. Therefore he applied himself to it with great diligence and care, in imitation of the angels in heaven, who in all things fulfil the will of God with the greatest readiness and alacrity of devotion. The more humbling and the more painful the labour was, the dearer it was to the saint, being a means the more suitable to tame his flesh, and a more noble part of his penance. With the same spirit that the saints subdued their bodies by toils in their deserts, Isidore embraced his task. He moreover sanctified it by continual prayer. Whilst his hand held the plough, he in his heart conversed with God, with his angel guardian, and the other blessed spirits; sometimes deploring the sins of the world, and his own spiritual miseries, at other times, in the melting words of the royal prophet, raising his desires to the glory of the heavenly Jerusalem. It was chiefly by this perfect spirit of prayer, joined with, or rather engrafted upon a most profound humility and spirit of mortification, that St. Isidore arrived at so eminent a degree of sanctity as rendered him the admiration of all Spain. In his youth he was retained servant by a gentleman named John de Vargas of Madrid, to till his land and do his husbandry work. The saint afterwards took a most virtuous woman to wife, named Mary Toribia. Those who call her de la Cabeza were deceived by a chapel to which that name is given, because her head is kept in it. After the birth of one child, which died young, the parents, by mutual consent, served God in perfect continency.
St. Isidore continued always in the service of the same master. On account of his fidelity, he could say to him as Jacob did to Laban, 1 that, to guard and improve his stock, he had often watched the nights, and had suffered the scorching heats of summer, and the cold of winter; and that the stock, which he found small, had been exceedingly increased in his hands.—Don John de Vargas, after long experience of the treasure he possessed in this faithful ploughman, treated him as a brother, according to the advice of Ecclesiasticus, 2 Let a wise servant be dear to thee as thy own soul. He allowed him the liberty of assisting daily at the public office of the church. On the other side, Isidore was careful by rising very early, to make his devotions no impediment to his business, nor any encroachment upon what he owed to his master. This being a duty of justice, it would have been a false devotion to have pretended to please God by a neglect of such an obligation; much less did the good servant indulge his compassionate charity to the poor, by relieving them otherwise than out of his own salary. The saint was sensible that in his fidelity, diligence, and assiduous labour consisted, in great part, the sanctification of his soul; and that his duty to his master was his duty to God. He also inspired his wife with the same confidence in God, the same love of the poor, and the same disengagement from the things of this world: he made her the faithful imitatrix of his virtues, and a partner in his good works. She died in 1175, and is honoured in Spain among the saints. Her immemorial veneration was approved by Pope Innocent XII. in 1697. See Benedict XIV. de Canoniz. l. 2, c. 24, p. 246.
St. Isidore being seized with the sickness of which he died, foretold his last hour, and prepared himself for it with redoubled fervour, and with the most tender devotion, patience, and cheerfulness. The piety with which he received the last sacraments drew tears from all who were present. Repeating inflamed acts of divine love, he expired on the 15th of May, 1170, being near sixty years of age. His death was glorified by miracles. After forty years, his body was removed out of the churchyard into the church of St. Andrew. It has been since placed in the bishop’s chapel, and during these five hundred years remains entire and fresh, being honoured by a succession of frequent miracles down to this time. The following, among others, is very well attested. Philip III. in his return from Lisbon, was taken so ill at Casarubious del Monte, that his life was despaired of by his physicians. Whereupon the shrine of St. Isidore was ordered to be carried in a solemn procession of the clergy, court, and people from Madrid to the chamber of the sick king. The joint prayers of many prevailed. At the same time the shrine was taken out of the church, the fever left the king; and upon its being brought into his chamber, he was perfectly cured. The year following the body of the saint was put into a new rich shrine, which cost one thousand six hundred ducats of gold.—St. Isidore had been beatified a little before by Paul V. in 1619, at the solicitation of the same king. His solemn canonization was performed at the request of the King Philip IV. on the 12th of March, 1622; though the bull was only made public by Benedict XIII. See the life of St. Isidore, written by John of Madrid, one hundred and forty years after his death; and Card. Lambertini, de Canoniz. SS. t. 3
Note 1. Gen. xxxi. 40; xxx. 30. [back]
Note 2. Eccles. vii. 28. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73).  Volume V: May. The Lives of the Saints.  1866.

Saint Isidore of Madrid and Saint Mary of La Cabeza. Engraving by D.H.V. Ugarte, 1768.


St. Isidore the Farmer

by Fr. Richard Butler

Saints are known for the lives they lived and also for the devotion fostered in the years that followed their life on earth. When we think of Isidore we are brought back ten centuries (1070 – 1130) to a farm in Spain, a simple life, Isidore and his wife achieving sanctity through basic family values.

The years that followed saw a steady and growing devotion as generation after generation came to the spiritual journey strengthened by his example. Yet it would be five centuries, (1662) before he would be canonized. And then another five centuries to our own day.

The last century saw particular devotion to him as the dignity of the farmer and his/her role in the world community grew. Here in America Isidore became the patron of the National Rural Life Conference. And here in Stow with the founding of the new parish mid-1900s Isidore was chosen as patron.

In 1992, the parish received a gift of a relic of St. Isidore. See the bulletin announcement here.

Life of St. Isidore and St. Maria de la Cabeza

Isidore was born in Madrid, Spain, 1070; died there in 1130; canonized in 1622.

The saint was born into a peasant family. He was baptized Isidore in honor of the famous archbishop of Seville. His unreliable biography was written about 150 years after his death. Much of it deals with miracles associated with his name.

Isidore was a day laborer, working on the farm of the wealthy John de Vergas at Torrelaguna just outside Madrid. He married a poor girl, Maria Torribia. They had a son who died while still a baby. The couple took a vow of continence to serve God. Isidore's life is a model of simple Christian charity and faith. He prayed while at work, and he visited the many churches in Madrid and the area while on holidays. He shared what he had, even his meals, with the poor. He often gave them the more than he had for himself.

He was steady and hard-working, but a complaint was made against him to his employer that he arrived late to work because he attended early morning Mass each day. When charged with his offense, he did not deny it and explained to his employer: "Sir, it may be true that I am later at my work than some of the other laborers, but I do my utmost to make up for the few minutes snatched for prayer; I pray you compare my work with theirs, and if you find I have defrauded you in the least, gladly will I make amends by paying you out of my private store."

 

His employer said nothing, but remained suspicious, and, being determined to find out the truth, rose one morning at daybreak and concealed himself outside the church. In due course, Isidore appeared and entered the building, and afterwards, when the service was over, went to his work. Still following him, his employer saw him take the plough into a field, and was about to confront him when, in the pale, misty light of dawn, he saw, as he thought, a second plough drawn by white oxen moving up and down the furrows. Greatly astonished, he ran towards it, but even as he ran it disappeared and he saw only Isidore and his single-plow.

In such simple tales we find reflected the spirit of Saint Isidore, who never ruled a diocese or was martyred for his faith, but who as truly served God in the fields and on the farm as those in higher places and who bore more famous names.

When he spoke to Isidore and enquired about the second plough he had seen, Isidore replied in surprise: "Sir, I work alone and know of none save God to whom I look for strength." Thus the story grew that so great was his sanctity that the angels helped him even in his plowing. It was characteristic of Isidore's entire life. He was a simple plowman. His speech was clear and direct. His conduct was honest, and his faith pure and steadfast. He was a poor man, but gave away what he could, with a good and generous heart, and with such sympathy and good will that his gifts seemed doubly blessed. He could not neglect doing a kindness to man or beast.

One snowy day, when going to the mill with corn to be ground which his wife had gleaned, he passed a flock of wood-pigeons scratching vainly for food on the hard surface of the frosty ground. Taking pity on the poor animals, he poured half of his sack of precious corn upon the ground for the birds, despite the mocking of witnesses. When he reached the mill, however, the bag was full, and the corn, when it was ground, produced double the expected amount of flour.

His saintly wife survived Isidore for several years. Forty years after his death, his body was transferred to a shrine, and his cultus grew as a result of miracles attributed to his intercession. He is said to have appeared in a vision to King Alphonsus of Castile in 1211, and to have shown him an unknown path, which he used to surprise and defeat the Moors. His canonization occurred at the insistence of King Philip III, who attributed his recovery from a serious illness to Isidore's intercession. He was canonized with four very notable Spanish saints. The group, known as "the five saints", included St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Francis Xavier, St. Phillip Neri, and St. Isidore.

In art, Saint Isidore is portrayed as a peasant holding a sickle and a sheaf of corn. He might also be shown (1) with a sickle and staff, (2) as an angel plows for him, (3) giving a rosary to children by a well, mattock on his feet, water springing from the well, (4) striking water from dry earth with an angel plowing in the background, (5) before a cross, or (6) with an angel and white oxen near him.

St. Maria de la Cabeza

Maria died c. 1175 and was beatified in 1697. She became a hermit like St. Isidore; 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.

SOURCE : https://www.stisidorestow.org/About/stIsidore.html

Hüttau ( Salzburg / Austria ). Parish church: Saint Isidore the Labourer on a ceremonial standard.

Hüttau ( Salzburg / Österreich ). Pfarrkirche: St. Isidor von Madrid auf einer Prozessionsfahne.



Sant' Isidoro l'agricoltore Laico


Madrid (Spagna), ca. 1080 - 15 maggio 1130

Nacque a Madrid intorno al 1070 e lasciò giovanissimo la casa paterna per essere impiegato come contadino. Grazie al suo impegno i campi, che fino allora rendevano poco, diedero molto frutto. Nonostante lavorasse duramente la terra, partecipava ogni giorno all'Eucaristia e dedicava molto spazio alla preghiera, tanto che alcuni colleghi invidiosi lo accusarono, peraltro ingiustamente, di togliere ore al lavoro. Quando Madrid fu conquistata dagli Almoravidi si rifugiò a Torrelaguna dove sposò la giovane Maria. Un matrimonio che fu sempre contraddistinto dalla grande attenzione verso i più poveri, con cui condividevano il poco che possedevano. Nessuno si allontanava da Isidoro senza aver ricevuto qualcosa. Morì il 15 maggio 1130. Venne canonizzato il 12 marzo 1622 da Papa Gregorio XV. Le sue spoglie sono conservate nella chiesa madrilena di Sant'Andrea. (Avvenire)

Patronato: Madrid

Etimologia: Isidoro = dono di Iside, dal greco

Martirologio Romano: A Madrid nella Castiglia in Spagna, sant’Isidoro, contadino, che insieme con sua moglie la beata Maria de la Cabeza attese con impegno alle fatiche dei campi, cogliendo con pazienza la ricompensa celeste più ancora dei frutti terreni, e fu vero modello di contadino cristiano.

Forse è stato messo poco in risalto l’ambizioso traguardo di “santità di coppia” che due semplici contadini di Madrid sono riusciti a raggiungere nel XII secolo: probabilmente perché la pratica devozionale ha fatto prevalere, nel marito, l’aspetto prodigioso e miracolistico, e la popolarità che lui si è guadagnato praticamente in tutto il mondo come patrono dei raccolti e dei contadini ha finito per oscurare un po’ quella di lei, che pure si è fatta santa condividendo gli stessi ideali di generosità e laboriosità del marito, raggiungendo la perfezione tra casseruole, bucati e lavori nei campi. Parliamo di San Isidoro di Madrid e della beata Maria Toribia, la cui festa si celebra nel mese di maggio (il 10 o il 15, dipende dai calendari), anche se lui, per il fatto di essere patrono dei campi, viene invocato e festeggiato praticamente in ogni stagione dell’anno, al tempo della semina come al tempo dei raccolti. Isidoro nasce a Madrid intorno al 1070 da una poverissima famiglia di contadini, contadino egli stesso tutta la vita, per necessità. Non sa né leggere né scrivere, ma sa parlare con Dio. Anzi, a Dio dedica molto tempo, sacrificando il riposo, ma non il lavoro, al quale si dedica appassionatamente. E quando l’urgenza di parlare con Dio arriva anche durante il lavoro, sono gli angeli a venirgli in aiuto e a guidare l’aratro al posto suo: un modo poetico e significativo per dire come Isidoro abbia imparato a dare a Dio il primo posto, senza venir mai meno ai suoi doveri terreni. Per i colleghi invidiosi è facile così accusarlo di “assenteismo”, ma è il padrone stesso a verificare che Isidoro ha tutte le carte in regola, con Dio e con gli uomini. L’invidia, che è davvero vecchia quanto il mondo, gli procura anche un’accusa di malversazione e di furto ai danni dell’azienda, perché ha il “brutto vizio” di aiutare con generosità i poveri, attingendo abbondantemente da un sacco, il cui livello tuttavia non si abbassa mai. E pensare che la generosità di Isidoro non si limita alle persone, ma si estende anche agli animali della campagna, ai quali d’inverno non fa mancare il necessario sostentamento. In questo continuo esercizio di carità e preghiera è seguito passo passo dalla moglie Maria, che una certa agiografia ha dipinto dapprima avara e poi “conquistata” dall’esempio del marito. Certo è comunque che sulla strada della perfezione avanzano entrambi, sostenendosi a vicenda e aiutandosi anche a sopportare i dolori della vita, come quello cocente della morte in tenerissima età del loro unico figlio. Isidoro muore nel 1130 e lo seppelliscono senza particolari onori nel cimitero di Sant’Andrea, ma anche da quel campo egli continua a “fare la carità”, dispensando grazie e favori a chi lo invoca, al punto che quarant’anni dopo devono a furor di popolo esumare il suo corpo incorrotto e portarlo in chiesa. A canonizzarlo, però, nessuno ci pensa. Ci vuole un grosso miracolo, cinque secoli dopo, in favore del re Filippo II a sbloccare la situazione. E il 12 marzo 1622 papa Gregorio XV gli concede la gloria degli altari insieme a quattro “grossi” santi (Filippo Neri, Teresa d’Avila, Ignazio di Loyola e Francesco Saverio) in mezzo ai quali, qui in terra, l’illetterato contadino si sarebbe sentito un po’ a disagio. E da allora, come recita l’enciclopedia dei santi, diventa il “patrono degli affittuari agricoli, dei birocciai, di Centallo e di Verzuolo”.

Autore: Gianpiero Pettiti

File:Preitenegg Pfarrkirche Heiliger Martin Leinwandbild Heiliger Isidorus

 
Nasce in una Spagna che per buona parte è in mano araba, e nell’infanzia sente raccontare le gesta di tre grandi condottieri. Ecco Alfonso VI il Bravo, re di Castiglia e di León, che ha conquistato tante città. E poi Yusuf ibn Tashufin, capo della dinastia musulmana degli Almorávidi, che ha sconfitto Alfonso nel 1081 e ha incorporato i domìni arabi di Spagna nel suo impero nordafricano. Infine, c’è il condottiero dei condottieri, l’eroe nazionale Ruiz Díaz de Bivar detto il Cid, el que en buena çinxo espada (colui che in buon’ora cinse la spada).

Isidoro non ha spada né cavallo. Orfano del padre fin da piccolo, va poi a lavorare la terra sotto padrone, nelle campagne intorno a Madrid. A causa della guerra, cerca rifugio e lavoro più verso nord, a Torrelaguna. E vi trova anche moglie: Maria Toribia, contadina come lui. 

Isidoro è un credente schietto. Partecipa ogni giorno alla Messa mattutina, e durante la giornata lo si vede spesso appartato in preghiera. Questo gli tira addosso le accuse di altri salariati: ha poca voglia di lavorare, perde tempo, sfrutta le nostre fatiche. È già accaduto agli inizi, nelle campagne di Madrid; poi continua a Torrelaguna, e più tardi a Madrid ancora, quando lui vi ritorna alla fine dei combattimenti. A queste accuse Isidoro non si ribella, ma neppure si piega. Il padrone è preoccupato, non si fida di lui? E allora sorvegli, controlli, verifichi i risultati del suo lavoro... E questo fa appunto il padrone, scoprendo che Isidoro ha sì perso tempo inginocchiandosi ogni tanto a pregare, ma che alla sera aveva mietuto la stessa quantità di grano degli altri. E così al tempo dell’aratura: tanta orazione pure lì, ma a fine giornata tutta la sua parte di terra era dissodata. 

Juan de Vargas si chiama questo proprietario, che dapprima tiene d’occhio Isidoro con diffidenza; ma alla fine, toccata con mano la sua onestà, arriva a dire che quei risultati non si spiegano solo con la capacità di lavoro; ci sono anche degli interventi soprannaturali: avvengono miracoli, insomma, sulle sue terre. 

E altri diffondono via via la voce: in tempo di mietitura, il grano raccolto da Isidoro veniva prodigiosamente moltiplicato. Durante l’aratura, mentre lui pregava in ginocchio, gli angeli lavoravano al posto suo con l’aratro e con i buoi. Così il bracciante malvisto diventa l’uomo di fiducia del padrone, porta a casa più soldi e li divide tra i poveri. Né lui né sua moglie cambiano vita: è intorno a loro e grazie a loro che la povera gente incomincia a vivere un po’meglio. Nel tempo delle epiche gesta di tanti conquistatori, le imprese di Isidoro sono queste, fino alla morte. 

A volte certi suoi atti fanno pensare a Francesco d’Assisi. Per esempio, quando d’inverno si preoccupa per gli uccelli affamati: e per loro, andando al mulino con un sacco di grano, ne sparge i chicchi a grandi manciate sulla neve; ma quando arriva al mulino, il sacco è di nuovo prodigiosamente pieno. 

Lavorare, pregare, donare: le sue gesta sono tutte qui, e dopo la morte lo rendono famoso come Alfonso il Bravo e come il Cid. Nel 1170 il suo corpo viene deposto nella chiesa madrilena di Sant’Andrea, e col tempo la sua fama si divulga in Spagna, nelle colonie spagnole d’America e in alcune regioni del Nord europa.
Nel 1622, Isidoro l’Agricoltore viene canonizzato da Gregorio XV (con Ignazio di Loyola e Francesco Saverio). Nel 1697 papa Innocenzo XII proclama beata sua moglie Maria Toribia. Le reliquie di sant’Isidoro si trovano ora nella cattedrale di Madrid.

Autore:
Domenico Agasso



Józef Buchbinder  (1839–1909). Św. Izydor Oracz, 1907, kozirynek.online.pl