Franciscan priest Father Richard Rohr, wrote the following in his book Falling Upwards: A Spirituality Through the Two Halves of Life: “I have always wondered why people never want to put a stone monument of the Eight Beatitudes on the courthouse lawn,” like they do for the Ten Commandments. Perhaps that is because the Beatitudes are not as straight forward as the Ten Commandments. They are not so easy to understand, are they? The Beatitudes are supposed to be blessings, but how can it be a blessing to grieve or to be poor or to weep or to be hated? Then I think about how when we are thrown out our comfort zone or when we are challenged or pushed or stretched, those are often the times of the greatest growth and enrichment in our lives. Perhaps the beatitudes challenge those things that we assume to be the foundation of our culture and our values. And it is good for us to be challenged sometimes, isn't it? To look at what we believe and what we stand for in a critical way. Perhaps they challenge our safety, our security, and our complacency. Perhaps we don’t quite know what to make of the beatitudes, even though we have heard them again and again in Scripture. Perhaps the wise elders that we have in society are the ones who exemplify the beatitudes to us. They are not the rich reality stars or sport stars that we see on TV. They are not the ones who bring attention and accolades to themselves, who think that they speak for others and who think they have it all figured out. The beatitudes describe the humble, unassuming individuals who quietly go about living the values of the faith in their lives.
On March 12, 1622, five Spanish men and women were made saints by Pope Gregory XV. The first four announce that day were very famous figures from the Church in Spain: Ignatius of Loyola, Teresa of Avila, Francis Xavier, and Phillip Neri. Everyone wondered who the fifth saint would be. It was announced that it was Isidore, a poor farmer from Madrid who was born in the 11th century. As a youth, his parents were unable to financially provide for him, as they were very poor. He was sent to a rich landowner to work as a laborer. He lived a very holy life, often going to daily mass. Isidore loved the poor and loved the animals. a miracle of the multiplication of food occurred when Isidore fed a flock of starving birds. On another occasion, Isidore shared his food with a large group of beggars. Isidore’s everyday holiness included him in this group of other great Spanish saints. In his simplicity of spirit, Isidore the Farmer exemplifies the spirit of the beatitudes.
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