By Patience Joseph
The Catholic Church honors St. Monica whose feast day is 27 August, for her exceptional Christian virtues, particularly her endurance through the suffering caused by her husband’s adultery and her prayerful dedication to the reformation of her son, Augustine. Saint Augustine, in his “Confessions”, wrote extensively about her pious life and acts.
Married to a harsh and unfaithful husband, Patritius, a pagan, St. Monica’s life was filled with sorrow. Despite his generosity and kind-heartedness, Patritius treated Monica harshly, as did his mother and their servant.
Monica’s grief deepened when Patritius refused to allow their three children—Augustine, Navigius, and Perpetua—to be baptized. When Augustine, the eldest, fell gravely ill, Patritius initially consented to his baptism but withdrew his consent upon Augustine’s recovery.
Through her unwavering patience and prayers, Monica eventually helped Patritius see the error of his ways, leading to his baptism into the Church a year before his death in 371.
Monica’s trials did not end there. Her eldest son, Augustine, influenced by bad company, strayed far from the teachings she had imparted to him. Monica witnessed the acute mental and moral struggles of Augustine, enduring years of grief and incessant prayers for his conversion.
Relying on St. Monica’s prayers, St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, chose to leave Augustine to find his own way, rather than intervene directly. After three years of struggle, Augustine finally succumbed to the influence of his holy mother and turned to God. He was baptized in 387.
Shortly before her death, Monica shared a profound mystical experience with God and Augustine, who chronicled the event in his *Confessions*. Her final words to Augustine and his brother Navigius were: “Remember me at the altar of the Lord wherever you are.”
St. Monica passed away at the age of 56 in the year 387.
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