Isidore of Seville

Saints Who Guide Us Through the Digital Age: Holy Helpers for Modern Technology

/ chicoinematt

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In our family home, we have a running joke about my parents calling me or my siblings whenever they have a technology problem. “The router’s not working!” or “How do I save this document?” We’ve become the default tech support. This experience got me thinking about how we use technology as Catholics in today’s digital environment.

Technology itself—whether it’s smartphones, artificial intelligence, or social media—is morally neutral. Like a hammer, car, or telephone, these tools aren’t inherently good or evil. It’s how we choose to use them that matters. This perspective isn’t new to Catholic thinking. The Church has always recognized that human innovation serves a purpose in God’s plan when used properly. 

While seeking digital balance, I discovered we have spiritual guides for this journey too. The communion of saints offers us models for using technology virtuously, even saints who lived long before the internet age.

Saint Isidore of Seville: The Ancient Patron of the Internet

“The 7th century patron saint of the internet seems odd, but Saint Isidore of Seville connects logically to our digital world.

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Spiritual Surgeons— Saint Isidore of Seville

/ chicoinematt

doctors of the church

 

The Catholic Church even has a saint dedicated as the patron of the Internet. His name is Saint Isidore of Seville. As a bishop he brought unity to present-day Spain in the 7th century. Yes, you heard me right, Isidore lived in the 600s! Why was he chosen as patron of the Internet? Almost all our daily routines contain things not even invented his Isidore’s time!

say what gif

In 1997 Pope John Paul II named Isidore as patron of the Internet. This is due to the structure of his writings was similar to that of databases. Isidore desired unity. He brought peace to a society devastated by years of war and united all Christians in Spain. As Doctor of the Church, Isidore’s writing promote unity and healing for those suffering separation or doubts about the faith.

isidore of seville

We can also use the Internet in a similar fashion to evangelize and advocate ecumenism among various Christian denominations. This can occur through teaching friends via social media about the Church or even educating yourself on Catholic doctrine.

Be in Good Company

surround yourself with the best

According to Orpah Winfrey, “Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.” Timeless advice, St. Isidore definitely stood in good company. Pope Benedict XVI, in his General Audience on June 18, 2008, as ”
He was a younger brother of Leander, Archbishop of Seville, and a great friend of Pope Gregory the Great.” His humility and fervor for knowledge helper him to better evangelize the Visigoths and other converts to Christianity at the time. The emeritus pope put it this way, “The wealth of cultural knowledge that Isidore had assimilated enabled him to constantly compare the Christian newness with the Greco-Roman cultural heritage (
General Audience on June 18, 2008).

Isidore— An Excellent Teacher

Commonly referred to as the Schoolmaster of the Middle Ages, Isidore acted as a true model of Christ the Teacher for the Catholic Church as a whole. Setting up rigorous schools and seminaries, the saint desired to properly form the newly converted Visigoths in the faith. The words of the 15th Council of Toledo, in 688, sums up Isidore’s character best, “The extraordinary doctor, the latest ornament of the Catholic Church, the most learned man of the latter ages, always to be named with reverence, Isidore.”

Isidore, archbishop of Seville, ranks as an outstanding leader in the Church during the 7th century. His personal acumen along with the desire to catalogue human knowledge with precision makes him the perfect patron for the internet, computer technicians, and computer users!

internet

While you surf the net, reflect on life St. Isidore. Seek to imitate his life by uniting Christians and all humans around you in worship of Jesus Christ. 

Prayer Before Logging onto Internet

Almighty and eternal God, who created us in Thy image and bade us to seek after all that is good, true and beautiful, especially in the divine person of Thy only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that, through the intercession of Saint Isidore, bishop and doctor, during our journeys through the internet we will direct our hands and eyes only to that which is pleasing to Thee and treat with charity and patience all those souls whom we encounter. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Sources

Benedict XVI General Audience: June 18, 2008

Patron Saint of the Internet

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