Saint: Saint Monica (331-387)
Readings of the Day
Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 69 The Presumption of Defending Another in the Monastery
Mass: 1 Cor 1:26-31; Resp Ps 33; Mt 25:14-30
Our soul waits for the Lord.
MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,
HEART OF MARY, FLOODED WITH GRACE,
PRAY FOR US.
Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.
(1 Cor 1:31)
Today we commemorate Saint Monica, the wife of a not so virtuous no initial fan of Christianity husband, and the mother of initially not so virtuous Augustine turned Saint Augustine, recognized as a Doctor of the Church in 1298, along with Saint Gregory the Great, Saint Ambrose, and Saint Jerome. How's that for a mouth full! ☺ Shortly before Monica's death, she and her son were in Ostia on the Tiber, which happens to be one of favorite places to visit when in Rome (see today's photo). Mother and son made their way to Ostia in the late 4th century to rest, escape the noisy crowd, and prepare for a journey on the sea. We know from Augustine's Confessions that one day, they stood by themselves at a window that overlooked the garden in the courtyard of the house. Alone there, mother and son enjoyed a pleasant conversation, forgetting the past and pushing on to what is ahead. It goes like this:
We were asking one another in the presence of 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 ...
But you know, O Lord, that in the course of our conversation that day, the world and all its pleasures lost all their attraction for us. My mother said: "Son, as far as I am concerned, nothing in this life 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 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?"
(From the Confessions of Saint Augustine, bishop, in Office of Readings, August 27)
Saint Monica, a woman with deep faith and of outstanding virtue, is a profound witness and wonderful example of a Christian mother. She is great inspiration for all the faithful, wives, mothers, or otherwise. She certainly inspires me. May Saint Monica intercede for all wives and mothers, especially those with husbands or children who have abandoned the faith or may even despise the faith. We think too of Servant of God Elisabeth Leseur whose husband despised the faith. By Elisabeth's witness and prayer, her husband Felix became a Dominican priest after Elisabeth died! With God all things are possible. United in faith and prayer, and by the grace of God, we go forth.
For great you are, Lord, and you look kindly on what is humble, but the lofty minded you regard from afar. Only to those whose hearts are crushed do you draw close. You will not let yourself be found by the proud, not even by those who in their inquisitive skill count stars for grains of sand, or measure the expanses of Heaven, or trace the paths of the planets.
(Saint Augustine, Confessions)
SAINT MONICA,
SAINT AUGUSTINE,
SERVANT OF GOD ELISABETH LESEUR,
PRAY FOR US.
Today's photo: Hi from Anna and Gertrude, at the entrance to Ostia Antica in 2015. The Lord is our help and our shield.
© Gertrude Feick 2022
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