April 4--St. Benedict the African, Religious

St. Benedict of Palermo attributed to Juan Pascual de Mena, photograph by Maia C licensed under 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

St. Benedict the African, also known as Benedetto Manasseri, was born in Messina, Sicily, Italy in 1526 to slaves brought from Africa who converted to Catholicism.  He was freed and worked as a shepherd and farmer.  At the age of 21 he was publicly insulted due to his skin color and he did not respond in kind.  Because of this, he was invited to join a group of hermits living the Rule of St. Francis of Assisi.  He served as a cook for the community and at age 28 became leader of the group.  At age 38 Pope Pius VI disbanded hermit groups and encouraged the members to join the Order of St. Francis.  St. Benedict became a lay brother to a group in Palermo, Sicily.  He started there as a cook and then became Master of Novices and Guardian of the Community even though he never became a priest.  He taught the Scriptures and had healing abilities, which attracted visitors to the monastery.  After his time as leader, he went back to being cook.  He died in 1589.

"Benedict is remembered for his patience and understanding when confronted with racial prejudice and taunts. He was declared a patron saint of African Americans,along with the Dominican lay brother, [St.] Martin de Porres. In the United States, at least seven historically Black Catholic parishes bear his name, including" St. Benedict the Moor Church in Omaha, Nebraska.

Injustice needs to be confronted in all its manifestations.  This is especially true for America with its history of slavery, racism, and lynchings!  However, St. Benedict showed heroism, as did Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., by not responding to insult with violence.  He turned the other cheek, not as a victim, but as a witness to the love of Jesus.  St. Benedict, pray for us.

April 4—St. Isidore of Seville, Bishop

The Church oftentimes names a person as a patron saint of a cause or group or even a nation.  For example, Mary, the Immaculate Conception is the patroness of the United States and St. Thomas Aquinas is the patron of Catholic schools.  However, there is no patron of the Internet.  Today’s saint has been proposed as the patron of the Internet because of his encyclopedia, which was used as a textbook for 900 years!

St. Isidore of Seville is considered the last of the Church Fathers.  He was the bishop of Seville, Spain and was influential in the conversion of the Visigoths in Spain in the seventh century.  He also established schools and seminaries, completed a Spanish version of the liturgy (Mozarabic), and played a major role in two councils in Spain.  His efforts inspired the education system of the Middle Ages.

We are fortunate to live in an age that values learning.  We have numerous junior colleges, colleges, and universities that educate our youth in various arts and disciplines.  We have numerous professions that contribute to the common good.  We owe their skills to men and women who have dedicated themselves to the vocation of teaching, the passing on of a lore of knowledge and the skill of processing that knowledge so that students may benefit society.  

But knowledge and skill are useless without wisdom.  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Ps. 111:10).  It is vital that we educate our youth not just in arts and disciplines that may benefit society, but also in the ways of God so that society, in turn, may benefit individuals respectful of Truth.  St. Isidore knew about learning, but he also knew about God and the necessity of faith to guide reason.