St. Isidore was born around the year 560 at the city of Cartagena in Spain. He was raised in the Catholic faith his two brothers and his sister are all considered saints by the Church. Isidore received his education from his brother, St. Leander the bishop of Seville. After completing a rigorous education, Isidore was ordained and worked with Leander to battle several heresies rampant in Spain at the time.
In the year 600, Leander died and Isidore was chosen to replace his brother as bishop of Seville. Isidore worked as a unifying force for both the Church in Spain and the state of Spain. He used his influence to attack heresies and used his learning to educate the misinformed. Isidore assisted at several important councils held in Spain during his life and also presided over the Council of Toledo in 610.
Isidore was held in high regard for his learning during his life and for many years after his death. He is often referred to as the "Schoolmaster of the Middle Ages," and is honored as a Doctor of the Church. Isidore wrote an encyclopedia, a dictionary, several histories and several theological works. He was fluent in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew and used this knowledge to educate others.
Near the end of his life, Isidore became well known for his humility and generosity. Before he died, he remitted all debts owed to him and distributed all his belongings among the poor. Isidore died around the year 636.
St. Isidore was recently declared to be the patron of computer users, programmers and Internet related fields
Prayer purifies us, reading instructs us. Both are good when both are possible. Otherwise, prayer is better than reading.
If a man wants to be always in God's company, he must pray regularly and read regularly. When we pray, we talk to God; when we read, God talks to us.
All spiritual growth comes from reading and reflection. By reading we learn what we did not know; by reflection we retain what we have learned.
Reading the holy Scriptures confers two benefits. It trains the mind to understand them; it turns man's attention from the follies of the world and leads him to the love of God.
The conscientious reader will be more concerned to carry out what he has read than merely to acquire knowledge of it. In reading we aim at knowing, but we must put into practice what we have learned in our course of study.
The more you devote yourself to study of the sacred utterances, the richer will be your understanding of them, just as the more the soil is tilled, the richer the harvest.
The man who is slow to grasp things but who really tries hard is rewarded, equally he who does not cultivate his God-given intellectual ability is condemned for despising his gifts and sinning by sloth.
Learning unsupported by grace may get into our ears; it never reaches the heart. But when God's grace touches our innermost minds to bring understanding, his word which has been received by the ear sinks deep into the heart.
from the Book of Maxims by Saint Isidore
"Heresy is from the Greek word meaning 'choice'.... But we are not permitted to believe whatever we choose, nor to choose whatever someone else has believed. We have the Apostles of God as authorities, who did not...choose what they would believe but faithfully transmitted the teachings of Christ. So, even if an angel from heaven should preach otherwise, he shall be called anathema."
-Saint Isidore