Memorial of Saint Monica

Saint Monica was the mother to Saint Augustine, who had very little or no interest in matters of faith in the initial stages of his life. The husband of Saint Monica was equally not interested. Saint Monica decided to cry out to God in prayer day and night for the conversion of her beloved. The cry of the poor one always reaches out to God. (Psalm 114)

Celebrating Saint Monica is itself celebrating our faith – it is celebrating the faith of women, especially mothers, and the faith of spouses. This African woman represents the life of many male and female people who have pain in their hearts over the morals of their family. It is evident that today, many families are broken due to issues of faith and morals. Some families are disunited, especially concerning children’s upbringing. Many children have imitated little of their parents’ belief in God. The pain of Saint Monica is present today when science slowly opposes itself with faith. Some children separate their scientific life from faith, creating a religious vacuum in society.

Saint Monica is, therefore, our solace. With prayer, the Lord can intervene to reduce this vacuum slowly. She also reminds us of what love is: That salvation is communal and that we are called to participate in the sanctification of others. And that we should rejoice in the conversion of others. We should turn our eyes from the evil that comes with atheism and put more effort into prayer for the conversion of souls. This attitude will help us to clean both our inside and outside as Jesus asks of us in the gospel.

Let Us Pray:

Loving Father, as we celebrate Saint Monica, we thank you for the gift of family. We are sorry for the moments that we have not given enough concern for the salvation of our family members. We pray that these might find in you joy and that they may slowly embrace you more in their lives. We present to you all the broken families that you extend your presence of mercy and mend them. We make this our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.