In March 1622, five great saints were canonized together. They
included St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Francis Xavier, St. Teresa
of Avila, and St. Philip Neri. The fifth, St. Isidore, stood apart.
He founded no order; he accomplished no great deeds (apart
from tilling the land). He was, in fact, a simple farmworker,
born in Madrid, who spent his entire working life in the service of the same wealthy landowner. With his good wife,
Maria, he bore one son, who died in childhood. He knew the
hardships, the toil, and sorrows of all farmworkers then and
since. And he displayed the simple though profound faith so
common to campesinos the world over. He attended Mass
daily and prayed continuously as he worked the fields. In
Isidore’s case, however, his faith was attended by visible signs
and wonders. It was reported, for example, that angels were
seen assisting him as he plowed.
Isidore was famous for his generosity toward those even
poorer than himself. His table was always open to the indigent, while he lived on the scraps left over. His kindness extended to animals. One winter day, he was so moved by the
sorrowful noise of some hungry birds that he opened the sack
of corn he was carrying and poured out half its contents.
Though witnesses scoffed at his prodigality, later, at the mill,
the bag was found miraculously to be full. Other similar
stories are told of this holy peasant, who died on May 15, 1130. In the list of canonized saints, his type is surprisingly rare; in heaven, presumably, less so.
“Listen! A sower went out to sow . . .”
—Matthew 13:3
