by Fr. Brian Wirth,
Director of Rural Life
First of all, I want to thank those of you who participated in last month’s Novena to St. Isidore the Farmer (May 15) and have been continuing to pray for safe, seasonal, and sufficient rainfall. Although there is still a lot of ground to make up concerning the statewide drought (and some events of storm damage), God has nevertheless blessed us with the grace of recent moisture across many parts of the state. I am confident this is due, in part, to your concerted efforts of prayer and sacrifice. As such, God, through the intercession of St. Isidore, has generously provided for our needs and will continue to do so.
However, as we continue to pray for safe, seasonal, and sufficient rainfall (yes, we still need rain), let us not forget to ask equally for the intercession of St. Isidore’s wife, Maria. After St. Isidore’s death, Maria became a hermit and performed many miracles. After her death (Sept. 9) she was known as St. Maria de la Cabeza because her head (conserved in a reliquary and still carried in procession today) has often brought rain for lands afflicted with drought.
Certainly, the virtues found in the married life of Ss. Isidore and Maria – commitment to family, love for the land, service to the poor, and a deep spirituality – are qualities that are still found in rural America and are expressed within our Diocese. For our rural and urban families alike, Isidore and Maria are important witnesses. In these virtues, as One Eucharistic Body, together we are united to Christ the true Vine, and we the branches (Jn. 15).
Isidore and Maria’s lives remind me of St. Paul’s loving command to the Corinthians: “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” (1 Cor. 11:1). This was the theme chosen by the retreat master on the first priest retreat over the lives of the saints. I think this is a perfect verse to meditate on as we are now in the month of June, which is devoted to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, that our hearts become more like His.
Overall, there are not many canonized married saints. Thus, for the Church to have a canonized married rural family which imitates Christ’s love is a truly unique and rich treasure. As married farmers, Isidore and Maria provide us further insight not only into Jesus’ Most Sacred Heart, but also into the spousal nature of Christ’s Love for us as the Bridegroom in view of his Bride, the Church.
There is a close unity between the vocation of the farmer and Christ as Bridegroom. (Jn. 17). More, this unity is deeply rooted within the depths of Christ’s Most Sacred Heart as Eternal and High Priest.
The love of Christ as Bridegroom can be characterized in three ways.
As Divine Bridegroom, Christ’s spousal love is self-sacrificing. Through His Sacred Heart, Jesus gives himself entirely in pursuit of his Bride, the Church. In order to unite the Church to himself, Jesus from all eternity willed to die on the Cross for us in order to express the full depths of his Divine Love. Similarly, farmers daily offer countless self-sacrifices in body and spirit alike in order to care and cultivate the earth by the work of their human hands. With Christ, farmers are laborers, a type in view of the model Suffering Servant (Isaiah 52:13-53:12)
Secondly, Christ’s spousal love is self-emptying. In order to be united to the Church, Jesus empties Himself by leaving the Father and the Holy Spirit to become incarnate, all for the sake of emptying Himself entirely through His death on the Cross. Many times, especially during the fall harvest and spring planting, farmers leave their families in these busy seasons in order to empty themselves for the sake of creation and man. In this way, farmers are drawn into the mystery of Philippians 2:
“Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave (or laborer), coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.”
Third, Christ’s love is fruitful. By his self-sacrificing and self-emptying love, Jesus the Eternal Seed dies (Jn. 12:24-26), sowing new life into the Church, through faith and the Sacraments, most notably the fruit of the Eucharist. Again, through the work of human hands, the labor of farmers is indeed fruitful, providing the fruits of bread and wine which become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. In the Eucharist, we receive Christ poured out for us entirely in love. In this way, farmers and Christ are united in expressing a love which goes “to the end.” (Jn. 13:1)
Thus, brothers and sisters, during this month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, we have much to be thankful for. Together, may we strive to be further imitators of Christ, and equally imitators of saintly holiness. As witnesses, may we plant not only the seeds of earthly fruit, but above all, the seeds of the Gospel in our families, parishes, and communities, now and forever.
