Feasts of Saint Monica & Saint Augustine

This week we celebrate two great saints of the Church: Monica (August 27) and Augustine (August 28). Saint Monica (322?-387) was a devout Christian woman married to a pagan husband, Patricius, in Tagaste, North Africa. She was the loving mother of three children and a patient caregiver for a cantankerous mother-in-law. After years of Monica's heartfelt prayers, both her husband and mother-in-law eventually were baptized. Her eldest son, Augustine (354-430), lived an immoral life, fathered a child, and was an ardent supporter of the Manichean heresy before his conversion. Monica followed him when he travelled, tirelessly praying that he would repent, and lived to see her prayers realized when Augustine not only came to faith but soon thereafter became a priest and later a bishop. His prolific writings, especially his Confessions and many of his sermons, remain spiritual classics. One of his most quoted statements is: "You have made us for Yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You."

May we be as persistent in prayer as St. Monica and as passionate in our zeal for God as St. Augustine!