St. Monica
Patron Saint of the Women Association
Introduction:
The circumstances of St. Monica’s life could have made her a nagging wife, a bitter daughter-in-law and a despairing parent, yet she did not give way to any of these temptations. Her long years of prayer, coupled with a strong well-disciplined character finally led to the conversion of her hot-tempered husband, her cantankerous mother-in-law and her brilliant but wayward son, Augustine.
Infancy: She was born in Roman Africa. Monica was born about the year 332 in Tagaste, North Africa, of a Christian family of some substance. We are given one episode of her childhood which suggests a possible origin for her firmness of will. She developed such a passion for wine that before long she was drinking great draughts of it whenever opportunity offered. One day a family slave who had been spying on the little girl denounced her as a wine-bibber, and Monica, covered with shame, gave up the habit. Soon afterwards she was baptized, and thenceforth seems to have led a life of irreproachable virtue.
Married life: Although she was a Christian, her parents got her married to an older pagan man named Patricius who held an official position in Tagaste. He was a pagan, though like so many at that period, his religion was no more than a name; his temper was violent and he appears to have been of dissolute habits. Monica endured his outbursts with the utmost patience her married life was unhappy, but, by her sweetness and patience, she was able to exercise a veritable apostolate amongst the wives and mothers of her native town. They knew that she suffered as they did, and her words and example had a proportionate effect despite the prevalence of domestic violence at that time. Three children were born of this marriage: Augustine the eldest, Navigius the second, and a daughter, Perpetua. Monica had been unable to secure baptism for her children, and her grief was great when Augustine fell ill; in her distress she besought Patritius to allow him to be baptized. He agreed, but on the boy's recovery withdrew his consent.
Reward for her perseverance: Monica attended Holy Mass daily and cultivated the virtue of patience. She advised other wives, who were beaten, to hold their tongues around their husbands, rather than proudly withstand them.Monica's last years: in Book IX of St. Augustine's Confessions he gives us many details of her life, and expresses his gratitude for her devotion in moving terms.
The painful departure: At the port of Ostia, Monica fell ill. She knew that her work had been accomplished. Her last words to her son Augustine is: "I do not know what there is left for me to do or why I am still here, all my hopes in this world being now fulfilled. All I wished for was that I might see you a Catholic and a child of Heaven. "Nothing is far from God," and indicated that she was content to be buried where she died. . Monica is indeed, an ideal Christian mother to be imitated. She died at the age of 56 at the port of Ostia.
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