AUGUST 27, 2010-
FEAST OF SAINT MONICA: SIRACH 26:1-4,13-16; LUKE
7:11-17
In the course of
his reflections on his conversion Saint Augustine, recalling the role in his
spiritual life of his mother Monica, whose feast we celebrate at this
Eucharist, addressed our Lord in words that refer to today’s Gospel text: “she
bore me in the arms of her prayer that you (Lord) might say to the son of the
widow “YOUNG MAN I BID
YOU RISE UP.” For Monica had
become a widow some time prior to his baptism.
Due to her humble, patient and faith-filled way of dealing with her
difficult husband he became a Catholic and received baptism before his death.
Even so Augustine has very little to say about his father, who was given to
fits of strong anger. Yet he does recount how his parents did not hesitate to
sacrifice that he might receive a good education in
It is because of Augustine, her extraordinary son, so gifted in mind
and spirit, so human in his relations, that Monica is remembered today.
Augustine realized how much he owed to her. He said as much quite explicitly:
“I can find no words to express how intensely she loves me: with far more
anxious solicitude did she give birth to me in the spirit than ever she had in
the flesh.” (Confessions V.16) She would have been soon forgotten, no doubt,
had he not written of her with such honest and loving artful narrative, like so
many other holy women of faith, selflessly devoted to their family, encouraging
their husbands and children in faithful living. We know of her only through the
words of the son who was deeply attached to her, united more closely with her in
the last years of her life by bonds of faith as well as by natural affection.
He did not fail, however, to inform his readers that she, like so many mothers,
could be insistently possessive of his presence. In order to escape her as he was about to leave
Africa for Italy, he could find no better devise than a lie. As he sailed off, still unconverted
from his unregenerate ways, leaving her behind, he comments “she wept and
wailed, and these cries of pain revealed what there was left of Eve in her, as
in anguish she sought the son whom in anguish she had brought to birth.” (V.15)
Still she did not lose hope. He adds: “when she had finished blaming my
deception and cruelty, she resumed he entreaties for me and returned to her
accustomed haunts while I went to
With his customary insight into the workings of the human heart, he
observed that his grief at her death was all the more acutely felt because of
the fact that, living together in the familiar setting of daily life,
especially in the extended period prior to her death, they bonded with stronger
ties. He came to realize how much he owed to her indomitable faith, her
persevering prayer, and her love. Living the ordinary life of a married woman,
she was sanctified by fidelity to her husband and her son, neither of whom, for
very different reasons, were easy to deal with. Her husband was a passionate
man, given to outburst of violent anger; her son, while affectionate was also
sensual, and rebellious to authority’s restrictions. Monica, however, by her
intelligence and prudence, as well as by her ardent faith and persevering,
trusting prayer was able to influence both men in decisive, life-changing ways.
She left her mark, not only on her family and associates, but on succeeding
generations, though she never wrote nor engaged in public activities or office.
Through her constancy and perseverance in the face of difficulties and
opposition, by what she gave to her son, she made a major contribution to the
Church’s life and growth. Still today, we profit from Augustine’s teachings and
witness, both of which owed so much to his mother’s holy, prayerful, hidden
life. May she intercede for us today and for all our families as we offer this
Eucharist in her memory and thank our Lord for all he gives us at her prayer
and that of her Augustine, the son of her faith and of her love.
&
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