St. Isidore the Farmer

[CyrilSebastian]

                                         St. Isidore the Farmer (1070-1130) was a Spanish farmworker.   
                                          His real name was Isidro de Merlo y Quintana. He was born in     
                                           Madrid, Spain. He was christened Isidore from the name of the patron,   
                                            St. Isidore of Seveille.

[CyrilSebastian]

                        Isidore became a hired hand in the service of the wealthy landowner     
                          Juan de Vargas on a farm in the vicinity of Madrid.   
                           He shared what he had, even his meals, with the poor.

[CyrilSebastian]

Isidore had deep religious instincts. He rose early in the morning to go to church.   
He spent many a holiday devoutly visiting the churches of Madrid and surrounding areas.

[CyrilSebastian]

Isidore married Maria de la Cabeza, a devout woman who herself became a canonized woman.

[Poche]

Because St Isidore went to mass every day, he was accused of slacking off. The land owner went to that part of the farm and hid himself to see what was going on. He saw the farm animals working on thei own guided by unseen hands while Isidore was at mass.   

[CyrilSebastian]

St. Isidore the Farmer is said to have appeared to King Alfonso VIII of Castile and to have shown him   
the hidden path by which he surprised the Moors and gained the victory of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212.

[eschator83]

Thanks once again to Cyril for his inspiration to join in honor and celebration of our Saints.  I struggle with the Lives edition I'm reading this year, because the details of the Lives are very sparse.  Today, the entry for St Isidore has only 14 lines (6 sentences) plus a 5-line prayer which I've posted in our short prayer forum. The fifth sentence reports Isidore was favored with celestial visions and, it is said, the Angels sometimes helped him with his work in the fields.  In 1947 he was proclaimed patron of the National Rural Life Conference in the United States.  He was canonized in 1622.  St Isidore pray for us.