April 4 -- St. Isidore of Seville (c. 560-636)
Cartegena, Spain is the birthplace of St. Isidore, considered one of the most learned men of his time. His older brother was St. Leander ,his younger brother, St. Fulgentius, while his sister was a superior who ruled over forty convents and one thousand religious. A prolific writer, he blessed Spain with his uncompromising zeal against heresy, especially Arianism.
In "Lamentations of a Sinner", St. Isidore tells us: " In all your acts, in all your works, in all your behavior, imitate the good; be a competitor of the saints, keep your eye on the heroism of the martyrs, follow the example of the just.
It is my wish that the life and teachings of the saints be for you an encouragement to virtue." " Seek the good, desire their company. Look for the company of the saints. If you will share their way of acting, you will share their virtue. If you walk with wise men, you will be wise; if you walk with idiots, you will be an idiot, for persons seek those of similar stripe. It is dangerous to live among bad persons; it is harmful to be surrounded by those with perverse wills. You will feed yourself on their infamy if you associate with the undignified. It is better to suffer the hatred of evil persons than their company. Analogously, just as much good comes from the lives of the saints, much evil comes from the lives of bad persons, for those who touch what is filthy become contaminated."
Basically, St. Isidore counsels us to surround ourselves with everything that is in consonance with Catholic doctrine and to reject all that opposes it. He refutes the idea that the good should "mix" with the bad in order to "convert" them. Unless there is a special grace in this instance, it is usually the good that gets infected with the anti-Catholic behavior. One should observe today's society to see the truth of this.
Let us ask St. Isidore of Seville to give us the discernment to know the good and to follow it; to reject evil and to oppose it
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