Saint Isidore the Farmer, whose feast we celebrate today, is a great model of holiness, simplicity, and work in my life, writes Greg Ingle of Benedictus Farm near Mason, pictured with son, Isidore. Greg is also a full-time teacher at Lansing Catholic High School. He continues:
My devotion to him began in an unseemly fashion. I had just entered diocesan seminary and a brother seminarian had a big stack of saint prayer cards that he invited me to look through. I saw the image of Saint Isidore the Farmer, a laborer kneeling in prayer in a field with angles manning the plow behind him.
This stirred something in me that had been long forgotten, my desire to be a farmer. Soon my aspiration became dreaming of being a humble priest at a country parish raising a few pigs, chickens, and dairy cow at the rectory – just enough to feed myself and those in need in the parish community. Fast forward, after discerning that the Lord was calling me to a life of marriage, I had the opportunity to buy my first home, a 22-acre run down farm. This was an invitation from God to lean into the life of Saint Isidore the Farmer. My first-born son is named Isidore in honor of the saint and my grandfather, also a farmer, had Isidore as his middle name.
Saint Isidore the Farmer lived the heroic silent life of a hired farm hand in 11th century Spain. In his life he showed that holiness is not something that is achieved through extraordinary means, but through the ordinary routine work of daily life. He demonstrated that the work that I engage in as a farmer is not below the dignity of a saint but rather, it is an invitation to grace as I care for creation.
Similar to the great Saint Benedict, Saint Isidore the Farmer is a testament to the practice of prayer and work. Work is necessary and efficacious, yet it ought not take precedence over prayer. Relationship with God comes first and work is a momentary interruption of the constant work of our heart of prayer.
Saint Isidore the Farmer, pray for us!
