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Also known as: Isidore
the Bishop; Schoolmaster of the Middle Ages
Memorial: 4 April
Profile
Son of Severianus and Theodora, known for their piety. Brother of Saint
Fulgentius, Saint Florentina, and Saint Leander of Seville, who raised him
after their father's death. Initially a poor student, he gave the problem
over to God and became one of the most learned men of his time. Priest.
Helped his brother Leander, archbishop of Seville, in the conversion the
Visigoth Arians. Hermit.
Archbishop of Seville c.601, succeeding his brother to the position.
Teacher, founder, reformer. Required seminaries in every diocese, wrote a
rule for religious orders. Prolific writer including a dictionary, an
encyclopedia, a history of Goths, and a history of the world beginning
with creation. Completed the Mozarabic liturgy which is still in use in
Toledo, Spain. Presided at the Second Council of Seville, and the Fourth
Council of Toledo. Introduced the works of Aristotle to Spain.
Proclaimed Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XIV in 1722, and became
the leading candidate for patron of computer users and the Internet in
1999.
Born: c.560 at Cartagena, Spain
Died: 4 April 636 at Seville, Spain
Patronage: computer technicians, computer users, computers, the
Internet, schoolchildren, students
Representation: bees; bishop holding a pen surrounded by a swarm of
bees; bishop standing near a beehive; old bishop with a prince at his
feet; pen; priest or bishop with pen and book; with Saint Leander, Saint
Fulgentius, and Saint Florentina; with his Etymologia
Reading
Prayer purifies us, reading instructs us. Both are good when both are
possible. Otherwise, prayer is better than reading.
If a man wants to be always in God's company, he must pray regularly and
read regularly. When we pray, we talk to God; when we read, God talks to
us.
All spiritual growth comes from reading and reflection. By reading we
learn what we did not know; by reflection we retain what we have learned.
Reading the holy Scriptures confers two benefits. It trains the mind to
understand them; it turns man's attention from the follies of the world
and leads him to the love of God.
The conscientious reader will be more concerned to carry out what he has
read than merely to acquire knowledge of it. In reading we aim at knowing,
but we must put into practice what we have learned in our course of study.
The more you devote yourself to study of the sacred utterances, the richer
will be your understanding of them, just as the more the soil is tilled,
the richer the harvest.
The man who is slow to grasp things but who really tries hard is rewarded,
equally he who does not cultivate his God-given intellectual ability is
condemned for despising his gifts and sinning by sloth.
Learning unsupported by grace may get into our ears; it never reaches the
heart. But when God's grace touches our innermost minds to bring
understanding, his word which has been received by the ear sinks deep into
the heart.
from Book of Maxims by Saint Isidore
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"Heresy is from the Greek word meaning 'choice'.... But we are not
permitted to believe whatever we choose, nor to choose whatever someone
else has believed. We have the Apostles of God as authorities, who did
not...choose what they would believe but faithfully transmitted the
teachings of Christ. So, even if an angel from heaven should preach
otherwise, he shall be called anathema."
-Saint Isidore
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