St. Monica is a personal favorite saint. I admire her steadfast faith in God, persistence in prayer and her undying devotion to her son. St. Monica is St. Augustine’s mother. As a young student, St. Augustine found himself in “a cauldron of illicit loves”. He lived with a woman for many years and had a son out-of-wedlock. At one point he even adopted the faith of a Manichean.
In Monica’s lifetime, communication and travel were not as expedient as they are today. However, St. Monica kept in touch with her wayward son and even traveled to distant lands to care for him. More importantly, St. Monica stormed Heaven with maternal untiring prayers for her son’s conversion. For more than fifteen years, this loving mother lifted her son in prayer. Even though she had fallen victim to her son’s deceits and trickery, she remained a loving mother and constant in her prayer for him.
When a parent shares words and worries of anguish with me because of a child’s behavior, I share life of St. Monica. I explain the painful and disappointing relationship Monica experienced with her son. But, I always end by stating that Monica never lost hope and kept praying for her son’s conversion; and, in God’s time, her pleas were answered. Not only did her son return to a God-fearing life, but he grew in faith and became a wise Doctor of the Church; and his life and writings have formed countless holy men and women over the centuries.
Nothing is far from God – St. Monica