Feast of St. Monica, Housewife and Mother

Burial of Saint Monica and Saint Augustine
Departing from Africa Master of Osservanza
via Wikipedia

Widow; born of Christian parents at Tagaste, North Africa, in 333; died at Ostia, near Rome, in 387.

She was married early in life to Patritius who, a pagan, though like so many at that period, his religion was no more than a name. His temper was violent and he appears to have been of dissolute habits. Consequently Monica’s married life was far from being a happy one, more especially as Patritius’s mother seems to have been of a like disposition with himself. Monica’s almsgiving and her habits of prayer annoyed her husband, but it is said that he always held her in a sort of reverence and he converted to Christianity before he died.

Monica was not the only matron of Tagaste whose married life was unhappy, but, by her sweetness and patience, she was able to exercise a veritable apostolate amongst the wives and mothers of her native town; they knew that she suffered as they did, and her words and example had a proportionate effect.

Monica had three children but all her anxiety centred in her oldest son. He was wayward and, as he himself tells us, lazy. As he grew up, he kept seeking the truth but getting interested in heresies. It was at this time that she went to see a certain holy bishop, whose name is not given, but who consoled her with the now famous words, “the child of those tears shall never perish.”

There is no more pathetic story in the annals of the Saints than that of Monica pursuing her wayward son to Rome, wither he had gone by stealth; when she arrived he had already gone to Milan, but she followed him. Here she found St. Ambrose and through him she ultimately had the joy of seeing her yield, after seventeen years of resistance.

Mother and son had six months of true peace together after his baptism. Then Monica died and her son went on to become St. Augustine, one of the one of the most important figures in the development of Western Christianity

Patron:

• difficult marriages
• disappointing children
• victims of adultery or unfaithfulness
• victims of (verbal) abuse
• conversion of relatives

Catholic Encyclopedia

I helped out with our parish's RCIA classes for a couple of years and would give a talk about St. Monica which included the above basics as well as my personal experience with her and St. Augustine. It made me realize that, without thinking about it, I'd grown very fond of St. Monica.

Augustine of Hippo and his mother Monica of Hippo,
Ary Scheffer, 1846, via Wikipedia

Heavens to Betsy, I Almost Forgot St. Monica!

Icon Source
where you also may find a three day novena to St. Monica
(I know ... three day novena ... never mind, you might like the prayers anyway)

I don't mention St. Monica yet, but she and her son, St. Augustine, and I have been on a prayer journey together since right after I came into the Church. I have a special intention and told them that I'd pray for ten years, if necessary, just like she did for her bad, wandering son's conversion.

Thank goodness I didn't realize it was 26 years (or something like that)!

Now, I may be praying for the entire 26 years (or something like that) anyway, because I know God doesn't answer prayers according to our timetables. Good thing I have St. Monica to help me out with persistence in the face of never seeing a single sign that your prayers for someone will be answered. (We're on year 8 by the way.)

St. Monica has much more to recommend her to us than her prayers and persistence over Augustine, however. She put up with a lot and, indeed, is an excellent example for those who might like to insist that though Christ turned the other cheek, we weren't meant to be door mats.

Monica was married to a pagan official by the name of Patricius. He was a very generous man, but violent tempered and dissolute, although tradition tells us he never laid a hand on her. She also had her mother-in-law living with her and this woman is described as being very cantankerous. Monica suffered much insult and ridicule because of her family, but her patience, gentleness, compassion and love won out in the end and both her husband and mother-in-law were converted.

A brief, but good history of her may be read here.