St. Monica prays with St. Augustine
On these feasts of St. Monica and St. Augustine, I’m thinking of all the incredible mothers in the world praying that their sons and daughters find God. So many parents today are heartbroken that their children do not share the same kind of love for God that they do. They are disappointed in themselves that their kids only go to church when their parents are around.
So what do they do? They pray. Like St. Monica, the mother of one of the greatest saints in history, many mothers pray daily to God with deep worry for their children. Whether these children are young or in their teens or even grown adults, mothers continue to pray for their children hoping for the best for them.
What do these mothers hope to achieve? What do they really want? Is it just the acceptance of a belief system? Is it just the act of going to church that interests them?
No, what they really want is for their children to thrive. They want them to be happy. They want them to experience the joys of heaven and taste a little bit of that today–just like they have experienced in their own lives. They want their kids to find healing for the pains they see them going through. They want their kids to turn away from the distracting things in life (parties, drugs and alcohol, laziness, money) and turn to God instead.
St. Monica shows us the power of prayer. St. Monica is an incredible example of evangelization–not because of her great preaching or teaching or even her public ministry. She is an incredible example of the power of prayer as an essential component of spreading the good news to those we love the most.
Mothers: do not lose hope.
Trust in God that he will find your sons and daughters even in their darkest hour. It may seem like your children will never ever turn to God. Don’t give up. Continue to pray just as St. Monica did for St. Augustine.
Praying for your kids in desperation will change your heart. By placing your trust in God and asking him to take away your worry and replace it with confident love, you will begin to show your children what faith in God is all about. Find joy in praying for your kids and hold on to the hope. It will be contagious.
St. Monica, patron saint of mothers, pray for us!
