Regula Fraternitatis Sancti Isidori Agricolae
Motto: Ora et Aratro Deo Servio — “With prayer and plough I serve God.”
Prologue
1. Moved by charity towards the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and encouraged by the humble example of Saint Isidore the Farmer, this Fraternity receives a Rule of life by which its members, whether clergy or lay, dispersed or household-bound, elderly, infirm, or charged with family duties, may offer to God their days in prayer, labour, and reparation.
2. The Fraternity confesses that the Heart of Jesus, pierced upon the Cross and present sacramentally in the Most Holy Eucharist, is the fountain of mercy, the school of obedience, and the measure of charity. Therefore all observances are ordered to this Heart: to love it, to console it, to make it known.
3. Following the sainted husbandman of Madrid, members sanctify ordinary work, accept poverty of spirit, keep truth in speech, and practise kindness at home and abroad. What is arduous is tempered by prudence; what is optional yields to charity; what is required is borne in hope.
4. Members of this Fraternity make public vows—of obedience, chastity according to one’s state, and poverty of spirit—to the Patriarch, who guards and interprets this Rule. These vows bind in conscience according to the sense herein expressed.
5. Let none be disquieted by weakness of age or sickness of body: patience is labour, prayer is work, and every duty fulfilled for love of the Sacred Heart is an oblation dear to God.
Chapter I — Of Name, Purpose, and Spirit
1. The association shall be called Fraternity of Saint Isidore the Farmer (Fraternitas Sancti Isidori Agricolae), hereafter “the Fraternity.”
2. Purpose: to glorify the Sacred Heart of Jesus by (a) consecrated daily prayer, (b) sanctification of labour and domestic duty, (c) works of mercy according to capacity, and (d) reparation for sins, especially irreverence towards the Most Holy Eucharist.
3. Spirit: humility, simplicity, constancy, and peace. The model and heavenly patron is Saint Isidore the Farmer; secondary patrons may be appointed by the Patriarch.
Chapter II — Of Governance and Obedience
1. The Patriarch is the Father and Ordinary of the Fraternity, custodian of the Rule, interpreter of its observance, and granter of dispensations.
2. The Patriarch may appoint a Vicar and regional Custodes for oversight of admissions, formation, and discipline, and a Cellarer for temporal matters of common works of mercy.
3. Members vow obedience to the Patriarch in matters touching this Rule, and to those legitimately delegated by him; all exercise of authority shall be paternal, discreet, and ordered to salvation.
4. No custom contrary to this Rule obtains force without the Patriarch’s explicit approbation.
Chapter III — Of Admission, Formation, and Profession
1. Inquiry. An enquirer presents himself in writing to the Custos; after suitable counsel and prayer he may be received as a Postulant for not less than three months.
2. Noviciate. The Postulant, if approved, is clothed with the Fraternity’s sign and received as Novice for six to twelve months. He begins the daily observances in a moderated form and studies the Rule.
3. Profession. At the completion of the noviciate, the Novice, if judged prepared, makes public vows before the Patriarch or his delegate, according to the approved formula (Appendix A). The day of profession is entered in the roll; the member may append the post-nominal S.I.A.
4. Renewal. Vows are renewed annually on the Feast of the Sacred Heart; perpetual profession may be admitted at the Patriarch’s discretion after at least three years of faithful observance.
5. Separation. For grave cause, temporary suspension or dismissal may be decreed by the Patriarch, with paternal remedy and equity.
Chapter IV — Of the Evangelical Counsels in this Fraternity
1. Obedience. Members obey the Patriarch in all that pertains to this Rule; they receive corrections with gratitude and seek counsel before significant changes to their Personal Rule of observance.
2. Chastity according to state. Clerics and the unmarried keep celibate chastity; the married keep conjugal chastity and fidelity; all practise custody of the senses, modesty, and purity of intention.
3. Poverty of spirit. Members live simply, avoid ostentation, and hold goods in detachment; they practise monthly alms-giving according to ability and gladly share their skills with the needy.
Chapter V — Of Daily Prayer and the Little Office of the Sacred Heart
1. The daily prayer of the Fraternity is the Little Office of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
a) Ordinary observance: at least Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer of the Little Office.
b) Commended observance: add Compline; where able, a midday verse or brief chapter of Scripture.
2. Members unable by reason of age, infirmity, employment, or care-giving to complete the Office shall offer the Minimum Rule (Appendix B) without scruple.
3. All begin the day with an Offering to the Sacred Heart and end with an Examen and Act of Contrition.
4. The Our Father and the Angelus (or Regina Caeli in Paschaltide) is prayed thrice daily. The Jesus Prayer may be used frequently.
Chapter VI — Of Eucharistic Life and Reparation
1. The Eucharist is the living Heart of Jesus. Members assist at Sunday Mass without fail and, where possible, at weekday Mass.
2. Holy Communion is received frequently and with due preparation; when prevented, members make a Spiritual Communion.
3. The First Fridays are kept with confession, Communion, and an Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart; where impossible, an equivalent devotion is offered.
4. Each house, if feasible, keeps a visible image of the Sacred Heart and is consecrated to Him; families are invited to enthrone His image.
Chapter VII — Of Devotion to Saint Isidore the Farmer
1. The Feast of Saint Isidore the Farmer is kept with special devotion; members commend to him labourers, farmers, and the poor.
2. A Chaplet of Saint Isidore and Novena may be used, particularly in times of unemployment, drought, household need, or before significant work and on behalf of others.
3. Members strive to imitate his meekness, diligence, and fidelity in marriage and labour.
Chapter VIII — Of Labour, Domestic Duty, and Study
1. Labour, whether hired, household, pastoral, scholarly, or hidden through sickness, is offered to the Sacred Heart at its beginning and completion.
2. Members keep their tools, rooms, and books in order; they avoid idleness and vain talk.
3. Study, according to time and ability, shall include the Bible, a sound catechism, and the life of Saint Isidore; those with learning assist others with patience and clarity.
Chapter IX — Of Charity, Speech, and Works of Mercy
1. Chastity is lived according to one’s state. Purity of intention, modesty of dress and speech, and custody of the senses bind all. The married shall keep exclusive and faithful conjugal love, reverencing the sacrament of Matrimony and, by mutual consent, embracing suitable periods of abstinence in harmony with the fasts and usages of their rite. The unmarried, bishops, hieromonks (and all who have freely embraced the monastic state), and widowed clergy observe perfect continence. Widowed clergy shall not contract a new marriage. All clerics and laity alike shall avoid scandal, guard their homes and devices with prudence, and seek counsel promptly when temptations threaten charity or fidelity.
2. Each week, at least one work of mercy is undertaken according to capacity: a visit, a letter, a call, a parcel, intercession, or material alms.
3. Members remember the dead and commend the dying to the Mercy of Jesus.
Chapter X — Of Simplicity, Fast, and Feasts
1. Simplicity in dress and furnishings is observed; waste is shunned; gratitude is cultivated.
2. Fridays are kept as days of penance, fasting from meat, strict sexual abstinence or an equivalent act of charity; Lent and Advent are observed in a manner suited to health and state.
3. Principal feasts of the Fraternity are: the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Saint Isidore the Farmer, the Corpus Christi, and the Christ the King. On these days, members strive for unity of intention.
Chapter XI — Of Fraternal Bond and Communication
1. Though dispersed, members are united in the Sacred Heart. Where feasible they form bands (small circles) for monthly prayer by meeting, letter, telephone, or video.
2. The Fraternity holds an Annual Chapter (in person or online) for reports, instruction, and renewal; proceedings are submitted to the Patriarch.
3. The elderly, isolated, or infirm are assigned a fraternal visitor for monthly contact.
Chapter XII — Of Dispensation, Perseverance, and Amendment
1. The Patriarch, or one lawfully delegated, may dispense from observances for causes of illness, age, care-giving, travel, or employment, substituting what charity proposes.
2. Members examine their state of life at least monthly, making resolutions with humility; confession is sought monthly where possible.
3. Each year on the Feast of the Sacred Heart, vows are renewed; every third year the Rule is reviewed under the Patriarch for clarity and pastoral fitness.
4. Perseverance is commended to the maternal care of the Blessed Virgin Mary; may the mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus bring to completion what it has begun.
Conclusion
Let all, sustained by grace, walk the narrow path in peace, until labour yields to rest and hope to vision. Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Saint Isidore the Farmer, pray for us.
Appendix A — Formula of Profession
English Form
I, N., trusting in the mercy of God and desiring to love and console the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in the presence of God and His Church, before you, N., Patriarch (or his lawful delegate), do publicly vow obedience, chastity according to my state of life, and poverty of spirit, and I embrace the Rule of the Fraternity of Saint Isidore the Farmer, promising to observe it faithfully all the days of my life (or: for the period of one year), according to the interpretation and direction of the Patriarch.
So help me God, and these His holy Gospels I touch with my hand.
Signed: N.
Date: N.
Witnesses: N., N.
Latin Title for Certificates
Professio in Fraternitate Sancti Isidori Agricolae coram Patrarcha — Vota Obedientiae, Castitatis iuxta statum, et Paupertatis Animi.
Appendix B — Daily Prayer Rubrics (graded for condition and duty)
B-1. Ordinary Observance (commended to all who are able)
1. Morning: Offering to the Sacred Heart; Little Office of the Sacred Heart — Morning Prayer; brief Lectio (Gospel or Psalm, 5–10 minutes).
2. Midday: Angelus/Regina Caeli; one short aspiration (e.g., “Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in Thee”).
3. Evening: Little Office — Evening Prayer; decade of the Rosary or Chaplet of the Sacred Heart; intercessions for the Fraternity; Compline.
4. Weekly: Confession where possible; at least one hour of Eucharistic Adoration or, if not feasible, a sustained quarter hour of spiritual communion and silence.
5. Monthly: Day of recollection (one hour spread through the day), alms-giving according to means.
B-2. Reduced Observance (caregivers, labourers with long hours)
1. Morning: Offering; one Hour of the Little Office (Morning or Evening).
2. Midday: Angelus/Regina Caeli or three invocations to the Sacred Heart.
3. Night: Compline or three slow Our Fathers with examen.
B-3. Minimum Observance (the very elderly, the sick, the exhausted)
1. Upon waking: Sign of the Cross; “Sacred Heart of Jesus, I offer Thee this day.”
2. At midday: one short aspiration (as above).
3. At night: Act of Contrition; “Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on me.”
Note: On First Fridays and the titular solemnity, say at least one Act of Reparation or three invocations to the Sacred Heart.
Appendix C — Signs, Seals, and Post-Nominals
1. The Fraternity’s device shall feature the Sacred Heart surmounted by a small ploughshare, with the legend: Fraternitas Sancti Isidori Agricolae — Ora et Aratro Deo Servio.
2. Members in good standing may append S.I.A. after their names; use begins at profession and follows the form: N. N., S.I.A.
3. A modest pin or pendant bearing the device may be worn; sobriety in all externals is observed.
Appendix D — Of Alms-giving and Works of Mercy
1. Each member shall set aside, monthly, a proportion of income or time for the poor, the parish, or a work of mercy approved by the Custos.
2. When money cannot be spared, a work may be offered in lieu: a visit, letter, call, parcel, or an hour of intercession for the afflicted.
Appendix E — On Dispensation and Equity
1. In cases of illness, age, care-giving, employment, travel, or other just cause, the Patriarch or his delegate may dispense from any observance not of divine law.
2. Pastoral charity governs all applications of the Rule. Where the letter burdens, the spirit relieves; where pride intrudes, humility corrects.
Appendix F — On Charism of the Fraternity
To glorify the Sacred Heart of Jesus by consecrating ordinary life—work, home, and hidden suffering—through stable daily prayer, humble labour, and acts of reparation, after the example of Saint Isidore the Farmer, and to teach others about the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Pillars.
1. Eucharistic Heart: Centrality of the Blessed Sacrament; First Friday reparation; frequent Communion or Spiritual Communion; domestic enthronement of the Sacred Heart.
2. Sanctified Labour: Every task offered at its beginning and end; diligence, honesty, order, and gratitude; patience in illness as a true work.
3. Obedience in Charity: Public vows to the Patriarch; docility to the Rule; fraternal courtesy and truth in speech.
4. Simplicity and Poverty of Spirit: Contented use of goods; monthly alms-giving according to means; preference for the poor and the overlooked.
5. Chastity according to state: Purity of heart and modest conduct; for the married—laity and married clerics—exclusive and faithful conjugal love; for the unmarried, bishops and hieromonks, and widowed clergy, perfect continence; all observe the discipline proper to their rite.
6. Intercession and Reparation: Daily offering to the Sacred Heart; prayer for sinners, the dying, priests, and labourers; remembrance of the departed.
Proper Devotions.
• The Little Office of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (graded observance by condition and duty).
• Chaplet and Novenas of Saint Isidore the Farmer, especially for workers, the unemployed, and rural or domestic needs.
• Our Father, Angelus/Regina Caeli; short aspirations to the Sacred Heart through the day.
Manner of Life.
Dispersed yet united; members live in homes, parishes, and places of work, embracing stability of heart rather than strict enclosure. Family duty, age, infirmity, and pastoral obligation are treated as the primary field of obedience.
Distinguishing Notes.
• Domestic holiness: A domestic altar or a prayer corner, ordered tools and books, courteous speech, small works of mercy each week.
• Fraternal bond: simple bands for mutual support; annual renewal on the Feast of the Sacred Heart.
• Equity in observance: graded rubrics and ready dispensations so that charity governs all applications of the Rule.
Fruit Sought.
A steady spirit, repaired reverence for the Eucharist, comfort for the poor and forgotten, and homes made warm with the Heart of Christ—until labour gives way to rest in Him.
Approved under the seal and signature of the Patriarch.
