St. Isidore the Farmer and Lessons in Ordinary Holiness, by Michele Chronister

By Michele Chronister, Catholic Exchange, May 16, 2022

ay 16, 2022Michele Chronister is a wife, and mother to three little girls and one little one in heaven. She received her BA and MA in theology from the University of Notre Dame (’09 and ’11). …

St. Isidore the Farmer was a lay person (and farmer!) who lived an ordinary life in Spain and died in 1130. I have long loved his story, because he is an example of what a desire for holiness can look like in ordinary, mundane, life. St. Isidore desired holiness and wanted to go to daily Mass, and pious tradition says that while he was at daily Mass, angels would attend to his farm work. Although most of us do not have angels assisting us with our daily tasks, many of us do want to grow in our practice of the faith. Here are some of the foundational lessons that St. Isidore teaches us.

Sanctity is for the Laity

Lay ministry was not an established role in the Church of St. Isidore’s time. He reminds us that sanctity isn’t about what you do but about your assent to God’s will in your personal life. …