Prayer before going on the internet. . .

I had never thought of it before.  Given the preponderance of virus, malware, tracking cookies, and other things that you can catch while perusing the internet, I can understand why you might pray before hitting the Firefox, IE, Chrome, or other icon that opens the door to the broad expanse of the virtual world at your fingertips.  But that is not the subject of the prayer I found.

Almighty and eternal God, who created us in Thine image and bade us to seek after all that is good, true and beautiful, especially in the divine person of Thine 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.

It seems we are more conditioned to think of what works, what is safe for our computer, what will give us what we seek, etc... instead of what is pleasing to Christ.  I know for a fact we are barely concerned about treating others we encounter with charity and patience (check the comment line of any blog and you find a whole slew of angry, intolerant, and uncharitable rants and raves -- not to mention the blogs (my own mea culpa here). Not a bad thing to pray before heading out on the internet. 

As to St. Isidore, well, I am not sure it refers to Saint Isidore of Seville (c. 560 – 4 April 636) who served as Archbishop of Seville and who was said to be "The last scholar of the ancient world" OR Isidore the Laborer, also known as Isidore the Farmer (c. 1070 – 15 May 1130), a Spanish day laborer known for his piety toward the poor and animals.  While I am intellectually inclined to say the Isidore of the prayer refers to one who might have been called the "last scholar of the ancient world," my heart thinks that perhaps we ought be praying with one who worked with animals and the poor (also given the popularity of Farmville and its spin off sites).

So whether or not you plead for the intercession of Saint Isidore or not, praying before entering the unknown and uncertain dimension we call the internet is not a bad idea at all...