The Virtual Order of St Isidore of Seville

On February 7, 2002 I was invested into ... The Order of St Isidore of Seville Donald J. Plefka, KStI		St Isidore of Seville
On November 30, 2005 I was promoted to ... `KCStI with Knights Award`
On September 27, 2007 I was promoted to ... Knight Grand Officer KGOStI And appointed At-Large Priory Commander Awarded the Order of Merit III On January 1, 2010 the title of Venerable Knight was conferred.

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The Order of St Isidore of Seville
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The Order makes no claims of antiquity nor does it have endless lists of protocols. Simply, it aims to instill in its members a Chivalric Code so as to be conscious of their duties as Christians and as Knights or Dames of the Order and so use the Internet in an appropriate manner. To that end the Order aims to provide them with the mental and spiritual armor to help claim the Internet for Christ.

As these aims of the order fit so well into my ideals and the purpose of my web site, and after investigating the structure of the order, I immediately applied to them for admission. The prime requirement for admission is the belief in the Nicene Creed. My knighthood was granted. Their website includes the Knight's Chapel which features the prayers of the hours. It is interesting to note that St. Julie's pastor, Fr. Steve Lanza would like to institute at our parish the practice of Morning Prayer, which is part of the Prayer of the Hours.

Church celebrates scholar-bishop St. Isidore of Seville on April 4
By Benjamin Mann

St. Isidore of Seville

Denver, Colo., Apr 1, 2012 / 06:01 am (_CNA/EWTN News_
(http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/) ).- On April 4 the Catholic Church honors Saint Isidore of Seville, a bishop and scholar who helped the Church preserve its own
traditions, and the heritage of western civilization, in the early middle ages.

In 653, less than two decades after his death, a council of bishops in Spain acclaimed St. Isidore as “an illustrious teacher of our time and the
glory of the Catholic Church.” He is regarded as being among the last of the early Church Fathers, who combined Christian faith and classical education.
Isidore was born in Cartagena, Spain, in approximately 560. Three of his siblings – his brothers Leander and Fulgentius, who became bishops, and his
sister Florentina, a nun – were later canonized as saints along with him. As the Archbishop of Seville, Leander was an important influence on his
younger brother, helping Isidore develop a commitment to study, prayer, and intense work for the good of the Church. Isidore, in turn, joined his
brother's mission to convert the generally heretical Visigoths who had invaded Spain.

When St. Leander died around the year 600, his brother succeeded him as Seville's archbishop. Isidore inherited his brother's responsibility for
Church affairs in an intense period of change, as the institutions of the Western Roman Empire gave way to the culture of the barbarian tribes.
For the good of the Church and civilization, Isidore was determined to preserve the wisdom and knowledge of the past, maintaining the fruitful
synthesis of classical Roman culture and Christian faith. He was also intent on preventing false teachings from shattering the unity of the Church in Spain.
Responsible above all for the good of the Church, Isidore also sought the common good by encouraging study and development in areas such as law,
medicine, foreign languages, and philosophy. He compiled the “Etymologiae,” the first encyclopedia written from a Catholic perspective.
Under Isidore's leadership, a series of local councils solidified the orthodoxy of the Spanish Church against errors about Christ and the Trinity.
Systematic and extensive education of the clergy was stressed as a necessary means of guarding the faithful against false doctrine.

Prolific in his writings and and diligent in governing the Church, Isidore did not neglect the service of those in need. “Indeed, just as we must love God in contemplation, so we must love our neighbor with action,” he declared. “It is therefore impossible to live without the presence of both the one and the other form of life, nor can we live
without experiencing both the one and the other.” In the last months of his life, the Isidore offered a moving testament to these words, intensifying his charitable outreach to the poor. Crowds of people in need flocked to his residence from far and wide, as the bishop offered his final works of mercy on earth. St. Isidore of Seville died on April 4 of the year 636. Later named a Doctor of the Church, he was more recently proposed as a patron saint of Internet users, because of his determination to use the world's accumulated
knowledge for the service of God's glory.
_http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/church-celebrates-scholar-bishop-st.
-isidore-of-seville-on-April-4_
(http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/church-celebrates-scholar-bishop-st.-isidore-of-seville-on-April-4)

The Knights Award

"Venerable: calling forth respect through age, character, and attainments". I am indeed honored and humbled by this recognition and take it as a sign that I am doing what God would want me to do and that is to use whatever talents and abilities He has given me to be a worker in building His Kingdom. I enlisted in the Order of St Isidore of Seville because it espoused a noble cause, not for titles or honors but these are humbly accepted as a mark of recognition that I am doing what I should be doing. There is no doubt that at 78 I qualify to the "Age" requirement. I have always tried my best to be of good "character", honest, truthful and maintaining high moral standards. If one is to be "a light to the world" as directed by Jesus, and this I believe to be our reason for being here, good character is a basic requirement. My "attainments" or accomplishments are not grand in scale nor are they spectacular in any way, but mainly consist in what I put on these pages. These pages are, by the way, shared with the members of the Order. If they are recognized as special in any way it is only that it takes a little bravery to put ones self in opposition to the common or normal way of things and espouse the noble cause ... truth, love, respect and charity. But it is something that anyone can do and I claim no extraordinary talent for it. It may be that "age" is a great help here in that I am near, or maybe at, the point when no mortal foe can hurt me.

And so it is with humble gratitude that I accept this honor and with pride that I join the other ten ladies and gentlemen having been so honored. May we succeed in being role models for others both within the order and to those outside. We do what we do not for our personal aggrandizement but to be a light and example to those who see what we do and hope to have them follow by leading others in God's way.