Today we celebrate the feast of one of the most celebrated mothers in Church history: St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine, whose feast we will celebrate tomorrow. Both lived in the 4th century!
Constant, vigilant, prayer and fasting was Monica's most amazing gift from God to use for the benefit of others – and she used it well! Though married into a noble family – her husband Patricius was anything but a kind and loving husband. She endured much hardship just being married to him – and to compound the situation she had her mother-in-law living with her as well.
But she prayed long and hard for conversion for her husband – and the year before he died he was baptized! It was a wonderful event.
But even more wonderful is the fact that her ceaseless prayers for one of her sons named Augustine – who very much took after his carousing father as a young man – resulted in his conversion to Christianity with the help of his friend, Ambrose the Bishop of Milan. And Ambrose had a great effect on bringing about a deep moral conversion in Augustine – again as the direct result of a mother's prayers!
Augustine later became a priest and a bishop, and along with Ambrose one of the great doctors and Fathers of the Early Church.
What makes Augustine's writings so believable is because the first half of his life was spent "experiencing the full range of human living and sinning" – therefore, when he learned the right and true way of living and loving from the Church – he could more easily translate it into language and concepts that everyone could understand. He always regretted what he had done in his earlier life, which made him appreciate each and every morning – the great depths of God's mercy and favor that were shown to him – so that he could now share them with others – and hopefully show them some shortcuts so they wouldn't have to sink so low as he did in order to experience God's love!
But, chances are none of his great insights and example would have been possible without the help of the prayers of his beloved mother Monica.
In a sense, like the widow in the gospel passage, Jesus raised her son Augustine to the newness of life – when he was steeped in the death of sin and misery! May she intercede for us this day– and ask Jesus to raise us up as well – so that all the days of our life can be filled with joy and peace and hope as we continue to long for our eternal home in heaven!
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life!
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