ST ISIDORE, MARTYR - 5 FEBRUARY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN FEBRUARY

Saints celebrated on the 5th of February

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST ISIDORE, MARTYR 

Saint Isidore served as a soldier in the army of Emperor Decius, where he held the position of steward (Optio), and came on a war fleet under the commander Numerius (Numerianus) to the island of Chios, where he was recognised as a Christian and subsequently extradited for punishment. 

HE FIRMLY CONFESSED HIS FAITH IN COURT

But since he firmly confessed his faith in court and could not be persuaded by threats or promises, the judge had him beheaded in A.D. 251. 

THEY GAVE HIS BODY A DECENT CHRISTIAN BURIAL

The heathen threw his body in a well. Some Christians retrieved it - namely St Myrope (July 13) and a fellow soldier named Ammonius, who later suffered martyrdom at Cyzicum - and gave the martyr's mortal remains a decent burial. From then onwards, the water from this well was found to heal the sick. 

 HIS RELICS WERE BROUGHT TO VENICE

During the 12th century the relics were brought to Venice, where they were buried in a marble tomb. Some relics are said to have come to Martorell in Spain (northwest near Barcelona). [St Isidore the Martyr is commemorated on February 5, May 14, and May 15, depending on the calendar used.]

(From Fr Butler's Lives of the Saints)