August 26 Saint of the Day Profile
August 26 Saint of the Day Profile Saint Monica
Saint Augustine before his conversion put God's patience to the test. The ceaseless prayers of his mother Saint Monica was heard by God and Saint Augustine turned away from his wild ways.
Saint Monica
Profile
Raised in a Christian family, she was given in marriage to a
bad-tempered, adulterous pagan named Patricius. Mother of two, one of
whom is Saint Augustine of Hippo whose writings about her are the
primary source of our information about Monica. She prayed constantly
for the conversion of her husband (who converted on his death bed), and
of her son (who converted after a wild life). Spiritual student of Saint
Ambrose of Milan. Reformed alcoholic.
Born
322 at Tagaste (Souk Ahrus), Roman North Africa (modern Algeria)
Died
387 at Ostia, Italy
Patronage
• alcoholics, alcoholism
• difficult marriages
• disappointing children
• homemakers, housewives
• married women, wives
• mothers
• victims of adultery or unfaithfulness
• victims of verbal abuse
• widows
• Archconfraternity of Christian Mothers
• Bevilacqua, Italy
• Mabini, Bohol, Philippines
Representation
• cincture, girdle
• tears
Readings
Nothing is far from God.
- Saint Monica
Son, nothing in this world now affords me delight. I do not know what
there is now for me to do or why I am still here, all my hopes in this
world being now fulfilled.
- Saint Monica, about the conversion of Augustine
The day was now approaching when my mother Monica would depart from
this life; you know that day, Lord, though we did not. She and I
happened to be standing by ourselves at a window that overlooked the
garden in the courtyard of the house. At the time we were in Ostia on
the Tiber. And so the two of us, all alone, were enjoying a very
pleasant conversation, "forgetting the past and pushing on to what is
ahead.." We were asking one another in the presence of the Truth - for
you are the Truth - what it would be like to share the eternal life
enjoyed by the saints, which "eye has not seen, nor ear heard, which has
not even entered into the heart of man." We desired with all our hearts
to drink from the streams of your heavenly fountain, the fountain of
life. That was the substance of our talk, though not the exact words.
But you know, O Lord, that in the course of our conversation that day,
the world and its pleasures lost all their attraction for us. My mother
said, "Son, as far as I am concerned, nothing in this life now gives me
any pleasure. I do not know why I am still here, since I have no further
hopes in this world. I did have one reason for wanting to live a little
longer: to see you become a Catholic Christian before I died. God has
lavished his gifts on me in that respect, for I know that you have even
renounced earthly happiness to be his servant. So what am I doing here?"
I do not really remember how I answered her. Shortly, within five days
or thereabouts, she fell sick with a fever. Then one day during the
course of her illness she became unconscious and for a while she was
unaware of her surroundings. My brother and I rushed to her side, but
she regained consciousness quickly. She looked at us as we stood there
and asked in a puzzled voice: "Where was I?" We were overwhelmed with
grief, but she held her gave steadily upon us, and spoke further: "Here
you shall bury your mother." I remained silent as I held back my tears.
However, my brother haltingly expressed his hope that she might not die
in a strange country but in her own land, since her end would be happier
there. When she heard this, her face was filled with anxiety, and she
reproached him with a glance because he had entertained such earthly
thoughts. Then she looked at me and spoke: "Look what he is saying."
Thereupon she said to both of us, "Bury my body wherever you will; let
not care of it cause you any concern. One thing only I ask you, that you
remember me at the altar of the Lord wherever you may be." Once our
mother had expressed this desire as best she could, she fell silent as
the pain of her illness increased.
- from the Confessions of Saint Augustine
Blog post courtesy:
http://catholicsaints.info/saint-monica/
