St. Isidore of Seville was born in 560 in Spain during a time of great conflict and growth for the Church in that area. The Roman world was crumbling away as the Visigoths (Western Gothic tribes) invaded Spain. The Visigoths were Arians, heretics who believed that Jesus Christ was not divine and therefore not God. As a result, Spain was split in two: Catholic Romans and Arian Goths.
Isidore reunited Spain after one of the Visigoth kings abandoned Arianism. He succeeded his brother (St. Leander) as Archbishop of Seville. He built up the Church and the nation by calling and guiding Church councils, requiring seminaries to be built in every diocese, writing a Rule for religious orders, and completing the Mozarabic liturgy.
An amazingly learned and knowledgeable man, he was often referred to as “The Schoolmaster of the Middle Ages” because the encyclopedia he wrote, the Etymologies (or Origins), was used as a textbook for 9 centuries. In addition to his encyclopedia, he wrote a dictionary, a history of Goths, a history of the world, and many other books.
In his final days, he prepared for death by increasing his charities for the poor and confessing his faults to his people in church. Isidore died on April 4, 636 in Seville, Spain. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1722. His mind was such a vast storehouse of knowledge that Pope Saint John Paul II named him the Patron Saint of the Internet in 1999. His three siblings are also canonized saints.
St. Isidore of Seville, pray for us!
April 16th is the feast of St. Bernadette.
In 1858, Mary appeared to 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France.
Our Lady continued appearing to Bernadette (a total of 18 times over 5 months), and eventually identified herself by saying "I am the Immaculate Conception."
This apparition is known as Our Lady of Lourdes.
St. Bernadette is the patron saint against sickness and poverty.
St. Bernadette, pray for us!
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us!
Click Here for a Summary and Breakdown of the Works of St. Anselm
Click Here for Franciscan Media's Info on St. Anselm (direct source used)
St. Louis de Montfort is known for his great passion and zeal for Mary our Mother. He looked at the devotion to Jesus through Mary as the quickest way to Heaven. He calls us to give everything to Mary for by doing so we will have the gift of Mary on our side. Reflect on the following excerpt from St. Louis de Montfort:
"The most holy Virgin... who never lets herself be outdone in love and liberality, seeing that we give ourselves entirely to her... meets us in the same spirit. She also gives her whole self, and gives it in an unspeakable manner, to him who gives all to her. She causes him to be engulfed in the abyss of her graces. She adorns him with her merits; she supports him with her power; she illuminates him with her light; she inflames him with her love; she communicates to him her virtues: her humility, her faith, her purity, and the rest. ... In a word, as the consecrated person is all Mary's, so Mary is all his."
Let us ask for St. Louis de Montfort's guidance as we draw closer to Jesus through Mary. Let us ask for the same fire and zeal that he had, so that we may more perfectly follow God's will in our lives.