Readings
for the Memorial of
St Isidore of Seville
Bishop and Doctor
April 4
MASS
COLLECT
Graciously hear the prayers, O Lord,
which we make in commemoration of Saint Isidore,
that your Church may be aided by his intercession,
just as she has been instructed by his heavenly teaching.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
FIRST READING 2 Corinthians 4:1-2,5-7
Brothers and sisters: Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. We have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways; we refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM 37:3-4, 5-6, 30-31
R. (30a) The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.
d do good
that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security.
Take delight in the LORD,
and he will grant you your heart's requests.
R. The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.
Commit to the LORD your way;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will make justice dawn for you like the light;
bright as the noonday shall be your vindication.
R. The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.
The mouth of the just tells of wisdom
and his tongue utters what is right.
The law of his God is in his heart,
and his steps do not falter.
R. The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.
VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL Jn 15:5
I am the vine, you are the branches, says the Lord:
whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.
GOSPEL Luke 6:43-45
Jesus said to his disciples: "For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure produces evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Liturgy of the Hours
St. Isidore of Seville
From the Common of Pastors or Doctors of the Church, except the following:
Morning Prayer
For a commemoration during Lent:
BENEDICTUS (Canticle of Zechariah)
Antiphon:Those who are learned will be as radiant as the sky in all its beauty; those who instruct the people in goodness will shine like the stars for all eternity.
COLLECT
Graciously hear the prayers, O Lord,
which we make in commemoration of Saint Isidore,
that your Church may be aided by his intercession,
just as she has been instructed by his heavenly teaching.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Evening Prayer
For a commemoration during Lent:
MAGNIFICAT (Canticle of Mary)
Antiphon:
O blessed doctor, Saint Isidore, light of holy Church and lover of God's law, pray to the Son of God for us.
COLLECT
Graciously hear the prayers, O Lord,
which we make in commemoration of Saint Isidore,
that your Church may be aided by his intercession,
just as she has been instructed by his heavenly teaching.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
From the Book of Maxims by Saint Isidore, bishop
(Lib. 3, 8-10: PL 83, 679-682)
The scholar who is learned about the kingdom of heaven
Prayer purifies us, reading instructs us. Both are good when both are possible. Otherwise, prayer is better than reading.
If a man wants to be always in God’s company, he must pray regularly and read regularly. When we pray, we talk to God; when we read, God talks to us.
All spiritual growth comes from reading and reflection. By reading we learn what we did not know; by reflection we retain what we have learned.
Reading the holy Scriptures confers two benefits. It trains the mind to understand them; it turns man’s attention from the follies of the world and leads him to the love of God.
Two kinds of study are called for here. We must first learn how the Scriptures are to be understood, and then see how to expound them with profit and in a manner worthy of them. A man must first be eager to understand what he is reading before he is fit to proclaim what he has learned.
The conscientious reader will be more concerned to carry out what he has read than merely to acquire knowledge of it. For it is less serious fault to be ignorant of an objective than it is to fail to carry out what we do know. In reading we aim at knowing, but we must put into practice what we have learned in our course of study.
No one can understand holy Scripture without constant reading, according to the words: Love her and she will exalt you. Embrace her and she will glorify you.
The more you devote yourself to a study of the sacred utterances, the richer will be your understanding of them, just as the more the soil is tilled, the richer the harvest.
Some people have great mental powers but cannot be bothered with reading; what reading could have taught them is devalued by their neglect. Others have a desire to know but are hampered by their slow mental processes; yet application to reading will teach them things which the clever fail to learn through laziness.
The man who is slow to grasp things but who really tries hard is rewarded; equally he who does not cultivate his God-given intellectual ability is condemned for despising his gifts and sinning by sloth.
Learning unsupported by grace may get into our ears; it never reaches the heart. It makes a great noise outside but serves no inner purpose. But when God’s grace touches our innermost minds to bring understanding, his word which has been received by the ear sinks deep into the heart.
RESPONSORY Matthew 13:52; Proverbs 14:33
When a teacher of the law becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven,
- he is like the head of a household
who is able to take from his storeroom treasures new and old (alleluia).
Wisdom makes its home in a discerning heart,
and it can even teach those who are foolish.
- he is like the head of a household
who is able to take from his storeroom treasures new and old (alleluia).
COLLECT
Graciously hear the prayers, O Lord,
which we make in commemoration of Saint Isidore,
that your Church may be aided by his intercession,
just as she has been instructed by his heavenly teaching.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
The English translation of Psalm Responses, Alleluia Verses, Gospel Verses from Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL); the English translation of Antiphons, Invitatories, Responsories, Intercessions, Psalm 95, the Canticle of the Lamb, Psalm Prayers, Non-Biblical Readings from The Liturgy of the Hours © 1973, 1974, 1975, ICEL; excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, ICEL. All rights reserved. Used with permission.