15 May 2009

St Isidore the Farmer

The bulk of this entry was originally posted on May 15, 2008, but I feel it bears repeating. I am not sure why old comments are still there, but they are. Sorry!   Life is busy, so this post is a bit late, but better late that never!

St. Isidore, the Farmer
Sunday was the Feast of St Isidore the Farmer -- what a great Saint to emulate. He didn't do anything grand, fantastic, or even all that notable. He was just an  honest, hard working man who loved God above all else. The legend surrounding him tell how he would go to Mass each morning before he began his work in the fields. One morning he was running late and the other farm hands were angry. When they went to fields to confront him, he was working away, surrounded by angelic helpers.

St Isidore is a special Saint to our family because my grandfather was not only named Isidore, but he was also a farmer. I always imagine St. Izzy plowing the fields with mules as my grandpa once did, although I am sure farming in twelfth century Spain was much different than early twentieth century America!

Another great legend surrounding St. Isidore is that one day he was returning from the fields with sacks of corn. He looked up into a tree to find hungry birds unable to find food. Having pity on the poor birds, he poured out a bag of corn for them. When he returned to the other farm hands, they were astonished to find that the corn bags were entirely filled and when ground, the corn produced twice as much meal as the rest.




And here is a photo of my other favorite Izzy, pitching horseshoes on his farm. My sources tell me that it was taken in the late 1950's.


Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

God, through the intercession of St. Isidore, the holy Farmer, grant that we may overcome all feelings of pride. May we always serve You with that humility which pleases You, through his merits and example.




And lastly, our other favorite Izzy.  Isn't she cute?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a nice post, Sarah. Thank you.

Daddy

Anonymous said...

Hi Sarah,

As you know, I am not at all faithful. BUT, we have a church out here that is St. Isidore the Farmer's and even I, happily fallen heathen that I am, think of Grandpa when driving by.

Your post was great to read.

Thanks, Sam

Anonymous said...

Sarah: You do such a great job with your children. How lucky they are to have such a devoted and devout Mama. And it shows.
Your Mama

Jessica Gordon said...

You've inspired me! I am going to make some corn bread for with dinner as well! Thanks!

sexy said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Stephanie B. said...

I want to know what comment was deleted! :)

Stephanie B. said...

Oh, my goodness. I can't believe I finally got a comment posted. I've tried a number of times, and it always fails from my computer.

Anna May said...

I'm very late reading this neat post of yours. You did a beautiful job. The picture you have posted is looking past the wood shed (which you never saw), with the dog Butdock, a portion of the wheels you probably remember pushing around the yard, and Daddy and Uncle Herman pitching horseshoes. Uncle Herman is the one in motion, and Daddy standing there waiting to pitch.

I cried reading your post. It is beautifully written and a great tribute to Daddy. Thanks so much.
Daddys been gone 8 1/2 years and I still cry when I think of him. Mother too. I'm glad that the grandchildren remember them fondly.

Sarah said...

Those are the wheels?? I had no idea! Thanks for chiming in and adding all of that!

Anna May said...

Yes. There once was a platform with sides. You can still see part of the platform along with the "handle" used to push it around. After each milking, Daddy would put the cans of milk in this cart and push it to the house to cool the milk. For the life of me, I can't remember where he cooled the milk.