More than a saint for moms...

As best we think, Monica was born in Thagaste, now known as Souk Ahras, in what we call Algeria, North Africa. She was most likely a Berber, an indigenous tribe in North Africa prior to the arrival of the Arabs. Thagaste, part of the Roman Empire, accepted Christianity which had been legalized just twenty years before Monica was born. She was raised in a Christian home, became quite devout in her practice of the faith, but was part of a minority at the time. She married Patricius (Patrick), a pagan with a temper not unlike his mother's and an immoral lifestyle. They had three children: sons Augustine and Navigius and a daughter whose name is unknown.

Monica’s marriage and home life were not at all easy. It appears that she may have had a bit of an alcohol problem earlier in life. Her husband was not easy to live with but she earned a rather grudging respect for her piety and devotion to prayer.  That did not lead to his approval of the baptism of their children. Augustine might have been baptized when he became ill as a child, but his recovery no longer seemed to his father to present a need of it. The Scriptures say that the prayer of the righteous (faithful) avails much.  So it was for Monica.  Patricius’ and his mother converted and both were baptized about 370 AD but he died one year later.

Augustine was sixteen when his father died. He had been well schooled locally but the next year went to Carthage to study rhetoric. The heart of Carthage was Greek culture and there Augustine pursued his thirst for learning but he also had other interests.  He was living with a woman and they had a child out of wedlock. It was in Carthage, Augustine was introduced to the teachings of Mani who claimed to be the final prophet in a line of prophets including Buddha, Zoroaster, and Jesus. Mani emphasized the conflict between the co-eternal principles of light and darkness. Light was good; darkness was evil. For him, the material world was a union of light and darkness, good and evil, and the noble pursuit was to release the light trapped within the darkness. Augustine became a Manichaean but his mother was not keen on this.  She prayed earnestly for him.

Augustine decided to go to Rome, open a school of Rhetoric, and seek out his place in the world now at age 31. His siblings had already converted and been baptized.  Monica decided to go with Augustine who had gone to Milan. She prayed fervently for him and Augustine's interest in learning led him into circles that included Bishop Ambrose. At age thirty-three, Augustine converted to Christianity and was baptized by the good Bishop.  He decided to return home but Monica fell ill and died just outside of Rome.

In his book, Confessions, Saint Augustine shares his mother's story, particularly her tears and prayers for him.  It is a testament to the influence of mother's (and fathers) upon the spiritual lives of their children and particularly to the power of prayer.  Every parent needs to read the story of Monica and her relentless prayers for her children's conversion, baptism, and faith.  Without Monica, one could hardly imagine a Saint Augustine -- or perhaps even a Luther!