“The five saints“
The 15th May is the feast day of San Isidro Labrador, Saint Isidore the Farmer, and of his wife Blessed Maria Toribia, known to the Spanish people as Santa Maria de la Cabeza.
This couple lived in the High Middle Ages (Isidore died in 1130, Maria in 1175), and Saint Isidore was declared a saint several centuries later, in the year 1622 – together with Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila, and Philip Neri. This group of saints is known in Spain as “the five saints“.
Among these five, Saint Isidore is the only layman – a man who tilled the ground, and was a husband, and a father. He is the patron saint of Madrid, and of farmers, farm workers, agriculture, and rural communities.
A pious farmer seeking first the kingdom of God and assisted by angels
Saint Isidore was born in Madrid, Spain. As a young man he entered into the service of a wealthy landowner by the name John de Vergas. He worked on this man‘s estate near Madrid, plowing the fields. He met Maria and married her.
According to lore, Blessed Maria always made sure to have a pot with food warm and ready for guests. She knew that her husband would often invite poor people into their little and simple rural home. After the death of Isidore, Maria lived as a hermit for several decades. Their only son Illan died as a child.
Saint Isidore was doing his daily labor in the fields diligently. Yet he made it his first and foremost priority to assist daily at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the morning, to begin each day with hours of prayer before taking up the duties of his work. Compared to the other laborers in the field, he was therefore always “late“ in picking up the tools and beginning to work, yet assisted by divine grace he was able to accomplish at least as much as them, even surpassing their performance – in less time.
There is a legend about angels helping him in his work. Complaints were made about Saint Isidore to his master because of his habit to visit the churches of Madrid in the morning before laboring. His master found everything in the right order, with no lack of acquittal on Saint Isidore‘s part. Besides, he suddenly had a vision, seeing companions plowing with oxen alongside Isidore:
“‘I beg you, dearest one, by God whom you serve so faithfully, not to hesitate to disclose to me who were your companions standing there and helping you as you farmed a short time ago. I saw certain ones assisting you and working while you worked, but suddenly, in the blink of an eye, they vanished from sight.‘ Then the just man of God, well aware of what (the knight) meant, responded simply and in this manner: ‘In the presence of God, whom I serve as fully as I am able, let me faithfully reveal to you that I have neither summoned nor seen any helpers in this field, other than God alone, whom I invoke and implore and whom I always have as a helper.‘ Then the knight, pierced in his heart and illumined from on high by the things that he had seen, realized that divine grace adhered to the servant of God.‘“
The Life of San Isidro Labrador, translated by Kenneth Baxter Wolf
“So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?‘ or ‘What are we to drink?‘ or ‘What are we to wear?‘ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.“
Matthew 6: 31-34
Almsgiving
“Following the example of that just man Tobias – who admonished his son, saying, ‘If you have much, give abundantly, but if you have little, strive to share freely‘ – with true mercy flowing out of his innermost being, Isidro never stopped giving alms insofar as he was able. It happened on a certain sabbath, when had had just given alms, as was his custom, to some poor people from the bowl that contained his very own meal, a certain pitiable person suddenly came to him, asking that Isidro give him something in the way of alms. But he head nothing (to offer) except his hands. So, led by his great piety, he simply said to his wife: ‘I beg you, by God, my dearest wife, if there is any food left over, then give it as alms to this poor person.‘ Knowing that there was nothing left over, she went to show (her husband) that the pot was empty. But, with the complicity of God who wanted to satisfy the most pious desire of his pious servant, she found the pot full of food.“
The Life of San Isidro Labrador, translated by Kenneth Baxter Wolf
Tobias, or Tobit, is mentioned here as the biblical example Saint Isidore followed. Like Isidore, Tobit was married, had one son, enjoyed due to his righteous living the help of angels, of the archangel Saint Raphael even, and performed many deeds of mercy and charity:
“Then on our holy festival of Pentecost, the holy feast of Weeks, a fine dinner was prepared for me, and I reclined to eat. The table was set for me, and the dishes placed before me were many. So I said to my son Tobiah: ‘Son, go out and bring in whatever poor person you find among our kindred exiled here in Nineveh who may be a sincere worshiper of God to share this meal with me.“
Tobit 2: 1-2
“Through all your days, son, keep the Lord in mind, and do not seek to sin or to transgress the commandments. Perform righteous deeds all the days of your life, and do not tread the paths of wickedness. For those who act with fidelity, all who practice righteousness, will prosper in their affairs. Give alms from your possessions. Do not turn your face away from any of the poor, so that God‘s face will not be turned away from you.“
Tobit 4: 5-7; 9-11
“You will be storing up a goodly treasure for yourself against the day of adversity. For almsgiving delivereth from death and keeps one from entering into Darkness. Almsgiving is a worthy offering in the sight of the Most High for all who practice it.“
This teaching which Tobit passes on to his son is later confirmed in the exhortation given by Saint Raphael the Archangel:
“It is better to give alms than to store up gold, for almsgiving saves from death, and purges all sin. Those who give alms will enjoy a full life, but those who commit sin and do evil are their own worst enemies.“
Tobit 12: 8-10
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.“
Matthew 6: 19-21
Caring about animals
Yet Saint Isidore did not only care about the well-being of his fellow men – but about animals, about his fellow creatures, as well, teaching his son to be mindful even of little birds:
“Ignited with the grace of charity, (Isidro) burned with divine love, and although he was not rich, having nothing and yet possessing everything (that really mattered), he put out food not only for men but also for birds, laboring in their hunger and in the cold. In fact one winter day, when the land was covered with snow, Isidro was making his way to the mill, in the company of his young son to grind his grain, when he saw a flock of doves sitting together on the branch of a tree. Realizing that the birds had been suffering for a long time and were in danger of starving, he was moved by pity towards them. He brushed (the snow away from) the ground with his feet and hands and placed there for the birds a good amount of the very grain that he had intended for his own needs. Seeing this, a certain acquaintance of his was irritated and mocked blessed Isidro, treating him as if he were stupid for wasting the grain. But when they arrived at the mill, they discovered that there was no less grain in his sack (than there had been before). Indeed, marvelous to behold, the (amount of) flour (that was produced from his grain) actually increased to such an extent that the bags of both (men), which had been half empty, were abundantly filled.“
The Life of San Isidro Labrador, translated by Kenneth Baxter Wolf
San Isidro Labrador and Blessed Maria, pray for us!
Post scriptum no. 1: Prayer to Saint Isidore the Farmer
“Saint Isidore, we give glory to Almighty God for the beauty of your Christian life, your devotion to your family, and your compassionate love for the poor. As a farmer who labored in working the land, we ask your heavenly intercession for all those who till the soil to provide grain and food for our tables. May the Lord prosper the works of their hands. Amen.“
Post scriptum no. 2: Excerpts from Pope Pius XII‘s address On Rural Life, 1946
“(…) More than anyone else, you live in continual contact with nature. It is actual contact, since your lives are lived in places still remote from the excesses of an artificial civilization. Under the sun of the Heavenly Father your lives are dedicated to bringing forth from the depths of the earth the abundant riches which His hand has hidden there for you. Your contact with Mother Earth has also a deep social significance, because your families are not merely consumer-communities but also and especially producer-communities.
His Holiness Pope Pius XII: On Rural Life, address given to farmers in the year 1946 at Rome
Your lives are rooted in the family – universally, deeply, and completely; consequently, they conform very closely to nature. In this fact lies your economic strength and your ability to withstand adversity in critical times. Your being so strongly rooted in the family constitutes the importance of your contribution to the correct development of the private and public order of society. You are called upon for this reason to perform an indispensable function as source and defense of a stainless moral and religious life. For the land is a kind of nursery which supplies men, sound in soul and body, for all occupations, for the Church, and for the State.
So much the more, then, must great care be taken to preserve for the nation the essential elements of what might be called genuine rural culture. We must preserve the qualities of industriousness, simple and honest living, respect for authority, especially for parental authority, love of country, and loyalty to traditions which have proved a source of good throughout the centuries. We must preserve readiness to aid one another within the family circle and amongst families, from home to home. All of these qualities we must have animated with a true religious spirit, for without such a spirit these very virtues tend to degenerate into unbridled greed for profit. May the fear of God and faith in God, a faith which finds daily expression in prayers recited together by the whole family, sustain and guide the life of the workers of the fields. Let the Church remain the heart of the village, the shrine of the people. Sunday after Sunday, may it gather the faithful, true to the sacred traditions of their ancestors. There may they lift their minds above material things to the praise and service of God and to supplication for the strength to think and live in a truly Christian manner during the coming week. (…)
Be adaptable, attentive, and active stewards of your native soil, which is to be used but never exploited. Let it be seen that you are thinking, thrifty men, open to progress, men who courageously employ your own and others’ capital to help and supplement your labor, provided that such expenditure does not endanger the future of your families. Show that you are honest in your sales, that you are not greedily shrewd at the expense of the public, and that you are well-disposed buyers in your country’s markets.
We know well how often it is possible to fall short of this ideal. Notwithstanding uprightness of intention and dignity of conduct upon which many farmers may pride themselves, it is none the less true that the present day demands great firmness of principle and strength of will. You must prefer to earn a living in the sweat of your brow rather than succumb to the diabolical temptation of easy gain, which would take advantage of the dire need of a neighbor. (…)
The earth is a huge wounded creature; she is ill. Bending over her, not as a slave over the clod, but as the physician over a prostrate sufferer, the tiller lovingly showers on her his care. But love, for all that it is so necessary, is not enough. To know nature, to know, so to speak, the temperament of one’s own piece of land, sometimes so different from that of the very next plot; to be able to discover the germs that spoil it, the rodents that would burrow beneath it, the worms that would eat its fruits, the weeds that would infest its crops; to determine what elements it lacks and to choose the successive plantings that will enrich it even while it rests — these and so many other things require wide and varied knowledge and information. (…)
You tillers of the soil form within your families a community of labor. You and your fellow-members and associates also form another community of labor. Finally, you desire to form with all the other occupational groups a great community of labor. This is in keeping with what has been ordained by God and nature. This is the true Catholic concept of labor. Work unites all men in common service to the needs of the people and in a unified effort towards perfection of self in honor of the Creator and Redeemer. In any case, remain firm in regarding your labor from the point of view of its essential value. (…)
With all Our heart, dear sons, We invoke heaven’s choicest blessings on you and on your families. The Church has always blessed you in a particular manner, and in many ways has brought your working year into her liturgical year. We invoke these blessings upon the work of your hands, from which the holy altar of God receives the bread and wine. May the Lord give you, in the words of Holy Scripture, ‘the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, abundance of corn and wine!‘ (Gen., XXVII:28) (…)“