Man Fully Alive

Today we'll examine the quote: "The Glory of God is Man Fully Alive" originally stated by St. Irenaeus.

Well certain things come to mind when the question is asked. What is 'Man Fully Alive'? Well it seems redundant and circular reasoning to say that it is the glory of God. That would lead us nowhere. So let's break it down bit by bit.

Man fully alive seems to suggest man being in the absolute state of doing what it was created for. The words 'fully alive' give the feeling of some sort of pinnacle, the highest order, a sort of utopia if you will. Well I would say then that to achieve this would be do fulfill what man was created for. That would certainly bring about a fullness withing one's self since man would be achieving its purpose. Now what exactly is that purpose?

Our very purpose is deeply written within our hearts. Due to natural law, we were born to be united back with God in Heaven. So to achieve being fully alive we would have to get to Heaven, but how exactly? Well, it would be doing what God wants us to do. Everybody is called to follow God's will; it is the universal call to holiness. Anyone can follow this in his/her own daily life. Whatever the vocation may be, all men are to serve one another to aid each other to get to Heaven.

Now let's look at the first part of the quote, "The Glory of God." Obviously this does not state that God is anything less than perfect. By the very definition, God is omnipotent, omniscient, etc. God is perfection itself. However, the glory of God is something that must be seen. Some people may never come to know God. The Glory of God is revealing Him to the world. This "glory" is the outward showing of God's existence upon the world.

Now to combine the two. "The Glory of God is Man Fully Alive." These two things together make a deep, profound statement. When man follows the will of God through his/her own universal call to holiness, the glory of God continues to spread. Also, man fulfilling his role in life manifests this glory upon the world linking people even closer to God.

The Glory of God is the visible manifestation of achieving the pinnacle point of what man was intended.

St. Isidore the Farmer

St. Isidore the Farmer

Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Isidore the Farmer.

He was born in Madrid, Spain during the 2nd half of the 12th century. When he was young, he was hired by John de Vergas, a rather wealthy man, to work on his estate outside of the city. While there he married his wife, St. Marie de la Cabeza, and also had a child whom died still a child.

St. Isidore was an extremely devout religious man. He would get up in the mornings to go to church and even used his holidays from working to go to famous churches across Madrid. Even during his task of working as a farmer, he always prayed to God. His dedication towards God was so great that he often showed up late because of lingering at church for a long time. It is also said that he received many visions and that angels would help him during his work in the fields. He was also known to be a miracle worker in that he gave a miraculous amount of food to the poor. He also good with animals due to his time on the farm.

He died on May 15, 1130 which is why his feast day is today. Something interesting too is that he was canonized in the year of 1622 along with St. Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier. Due to his work he is the patron saint of farmers, Madrid, and even the United States National Rural Life Conference.