The Branches
For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected
when received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the invocation of God in prayer.
(1 Timothy 4:4-5)
May 12, 2026
Hello Everyone –
When is the last time you used the word “husbandman” in polite company or at a cocktail party? It is not a term that necessarily slips off the tongue or is found often in common parlance. Nonetheless, I’m campaigning to bring it back. Remember, I’m a farm boy by birth.
Merriam-Webster defines the term as someone who plows and cultivates land or is a specialist in some aspect of the farm. The term’s usage dates back to the 14th century. But before the term existed, St. Isidore, the Farmer (1080-1130) walked the earth.
A cursory reading of “Butler’s Lives of the Saints” provides us with a barebones sketch of St. Isidore, a.k.a. the husbandman. Although mostly unknown during his lifetime, his reputation grew considerably after his death, leading to his canonization in 1622. And if accomplishment is measured by those with whom a person is associated, Isidore won it in spades as he was raised to the dignity of the altar in the company of Ss. Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila, and Philip Neri. Quite an outstanding class of saints!
One biography concerning the saintly husbandman from Madrid, written about 150 years after his death, captured the miraculous occurrences that punctuated the life of this farm worker, resulting from his prayerfulness and great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. By a special decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, dated February 22, 1947, St. Isidore was constituted as the special protector of Catholic rural life and American farmers.
So, as the Church celebrates the memory of St. Isidore on Friday, May 15, we are given the opportunity to turn our attention to the large portion of this archdiocese that is rural and populated with farms. We raise up in our prayer the many farmers, farming families, and migrant workers who till the soil, plant and harvest, raise livestock for food or dairy products, and otherwise cooperate with God’s creative plan.
St. Isidore’s feast also allows me to draw attention to a renewed collaboration with Catholic Rural Life (CRL), a faith-based organization focused on renewing the Catholic faith in rural communities. Since 1923, CRL has been applying the teachings of Jesus Christ for the social, economic, and spiritual development of rural America, strengthening and sustaining the Church in the countryside by educating and inspiring leaders (priests, deacons, religious, and laity) through various programs and resources.
Let us ask for St. Isidore’s intercession on all dimensions of rural life in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
O God,
who taught Adam the simple art of tilling the soil,
and who through Jesus Christ, the true vine,
revealed Yourself the husbandman of our souls,
deign, we pray, through the merits of blessed Isidore,
to instill into our hearts a horror of sin and a love of prayer,
so that, working the soil in the sweat of our brow,
we may enjoy eternal happiness in heaven,
through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Additionally, I ask your specific prayers for the following young men who will be ordained to the priesthood on Saturday, May 16, at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.
Deacon Alexander Becker
Deacon Peter Danner
Deacon Joel Kolb
Deacon Andrew Swietlik
Deacon Redmond Tuttle
Deacon Nicholas Waddell
May Mary Immaculate surround them with her motherly care and love, and may St. John Vianney accompany them always.
As I do for you, please pray for me,
Most Reverend Jeffrey S. Grob
Archbishop of Milwaukee
