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Saint Isidore Catholic Sales Guild

A Catholic Consortium for Ethics in Internet Sales

The Saint Isidore Catholic Sales Guild chose this Doctor of the Church as our Patron because he has been proposed as the Patron Saint of the Internet by the Observation Service for Internet, an initiative inspired by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

Born in Seville, Spain in 556, Saint Isidore was the last of the ancient Christian Philosophers as well as the last Great Latin Father. His outstanding intellect brought him to an advanced understanding of the perils facing the Church in the Middle Ages, and, like Saint Benedict, he was inspired to preserve the wealth of classical knowledge that otherwise would have been lost.

Like Saint Isidore, the members of this guild are inspired to preserve the wealth of spiritual knowledge and the rich heritage of Catholic Culture of the last age before it is lost.

Saint Isidore’s family included three Saints who exercised great influence in the Church and culture of the time. His brothers, Saints Leander and Fulgentius were Bishops, and his sister, Saint Florentina, was a nun presiding over forty convents. Whether Saint Isidore’s belonged to a particular order or monastery is unknown, but when he himself became a Bishop he immediately sought to protect all monasteries and monks within this jurisdiction.

We turn to Saint Isidore for inspiration and intercession as we pursue our mission of ensuring that the material goods of our Catholic Culture, especially those obtained from Churches, Monasteries and Convents, are obtained fairly, and sold to those who would never profane their sacred nature.

Saint Isidore and his Saintly siblings lived in a tumultuous era. The barbaric Goths, who were deeply influenced by the Arian Heresy and held intellectual pursuits in contempt, asserted enormous authority over the culture of Spain. Seeking to restore the Hispano-Gothic Kingdom to a homogenous nation, he created resources for religion and education that strengthened Spanish culture while preserving classical learning throughout the Middle Ages. He was the first Christian writer to compile a summa of universal knowledge, the Etymologiae. Written shortly before his death.

The members of the Guild petition Saint Isidore to assist our work in disseminating the wealth of Catholic literature, guiding it into the proper hands so that the spirit and culture of Catholicism will enjoy a renewal in an era when the secular culture also holds disdain for scholarship.

Saint Isidore’s Etymologiae was structured much like a database, a unique system for the time. He also introduced a system of thought known today as “flashes,” which was revolutionary considering its development in the sixth century. His work is outstanding for its coherence and complementary content and flow.

As internet sellers, the members of the Guild seek the protection of our Patron Saint for our inventory and customer databases, as well as the integrity of the files and images we preserve for posterity. We ask his assistance in research and in developing coherent descriptive copy that not only informs, but inspires others to embrace the culture of Catholicism

Saint Isidore died

on April 4, 636.

His body was interred in

his cathedral between

those of his brother Saint

Leander and his sister

Saint Florentine.

King Ferdinand later recovered his bones

from the Moors and placed them in the

church of Saint John Baptist at Leon,

where they remain.

To our knowledge, they have not been

offered for sale on eBay.

Prayer of Saint Isidore

Here we are in front of You, Holy Spirit.
We feel the burden of our infirmities,
but we are united all together in Your Name.
Come to us, help us, enter our hearts.

Teach us what we should do, the path to follow.

Do for us what You ask us to do.

Be the only one to propose and guide our decisions,

because only You, with the Father and the Son

have a name that is glorious and holy.

Do not allow us to offend justice,

You who love order and peace.

Don’t let ignorance lead us astray.

Don’t let human sympathy bias us.

Don’t let people of office influence us.

Keep us intimately close to You

with the gift of Your Grace,

so that we may be only one thing with You,

and nothing may separate us from the truth.

Gathered in Your Holy Name, may we be good and firm,

so that all we do may be in harmony with You,

awaiting that faithful fulfillment of our duty

may lead us to the eternal good.

Amen.

Gilded Holy Card

In Honor of

Saint Isidore

Saint Isidore’s Diagram of the World

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Christine Hirschfeld

I never intended to run a Catholic antiquities and book business. Not in a million years. As a cradle Catholic, I grew up in a house that was filled with Catholic images and sacramentals not to mention an abundance of excellent books provided by family members who worked in publishing houses famous for their Catholic catalogues. The beautiful images and concepts presented in those books certainly had their effect in enhancing my identity as a Catholic. As the years passed, even in the midst of very un-Catholic settings, I became a repository for my friends’ Catholic “found objects.” Eventually, I had a family of my own. We’re a small family. There are just three of us. And two of us were born with the “junk collecting gene.” Garage sales attracted us like a magnet.

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