Today's Ornament of Grace for Wednesday of the second week of Advent is St. Monica.
Isaiah 40:25-31
The Lord is the eternal God, creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint nor grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny. He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak he makes vigor abound. Though the young faint and grow weary, and youths stagger and fall, they that hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar as with eagles’ wings; they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.
Monica, patron saint of mothers, was born in present-day Algeria, western North Africa. Her parents, small landowners, gave her in marriage early in life to Patricius, a Roman pagan with authority in their city. He had an abusive mother who caused Monica a great deal of sorrow. But she drew strength from prayer and accepted her mother-in-law. Her husband also led a wild life of infidelity and extreme sensual pleasures. While all this would cause most of us to “faint and grow weary,” Monica remained faithful to prayer, daily Mass, and good works, renewing her strength day by day.
Monica counseled women who complained of difficulties at home, saying, “If you can master your tongue, not only do you run less risk of being beaten, but perhaps you may even, one day, make your husband better.” Her gentle kindness soon brought her mother-in-law around. And, after thirty years of Monica loving her husband into wholeness, he converted.
Monica and Patricius had three children who survived infancy, two boys and a girl. One of her sons and her daughter became religious. The other son became well-known later as St. Augustine of Hippo. His road to sanctity was not an easy one for his mother, as he would admit in his famous book, Confessions.
Augustine was a lazy boy, so Monica sent him to Carthage to study when he was 17. HIs father died while he was there, and Monica watched Augustine’s progress carefully. He excelled in school and became a teacher. Monica was proud of her son for that. Sadly, though, he was converted to Manicheanism which saw the world dualistically, with the material part being dark or bad and the spiritual as light or good. Such dualism did not leave room for the goodness of all creation. As we know, creation is a gift from God that we are to treasure. To heighten Monica’s distress, Augustine chose to live with a mistress for around ten years.
Monica, however, never gave up on her son, praying for him with tears every day for many years. Monica followed her son to Rome, but she found he had gone to Milan from there. So, she followed him to Milan. There, she asked St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, to speak with Augustine. Ambrose was an instrument of grace for Augustine. At 28, Augustine opened his heart to God.
After this, Monica and Augustine enjoyed six wonderful months together in the Italian Lombardy region, both striving for holiness. Then, Monica and Augustine headed back to Africa, stopping in the Roman seaport city of Ostia on the way. There, Monica died in peace, knowing that her wayward son, all her children, as well as her husband and mother-in-law were now in God’s hands. Monica never gave up, and she drew upon strength from God to walk with those who needed her by them. Surely, she sailed right into heaven!
OBSERVING THE BEAUTIFUL ORNAMENTS
During the Advent Season, who can you pray and sacrifice for who is struggling with the faith?
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