St. Monica 332-387

August 27

Moms are great, aren't they?

   Moms are great when they fix our dinner, help us with our homework, and play games with us. Moms are great when they listen to our problems and take us to soccer practice. Moms are great when they worry. 

   Wait a minute. Did I really just say that moms are great when they worry? 

   If your mom has ever worried about you, you might not agree. You probably want her to trust you and to believe that you know what you're doing. You probably wish your mom wouldn't remind you to be safe every time you walk out the door or get on a bike. 

   A boy named Augustine who lived more than sixteen centuries ago had a mom just like yours. Her name was Monica. She loved Augustine a lot, and he loved her too.

   Just like your mom, Monica loved her child so much that she had to worry about him. And just like you, Augustine was happy that his mom loved him, but her worrying bugged him. It took a long time for Augustine to really see that his mom worried for a good reason. She loved him and wanted him to be truly happy.

   Monica, Augustine, and the rest of their family lived in northern Africa during the fourth century. At that time, northern Africa was part of the Roman Empire. Many of the people who lived there were Christians, including Monica. 

   Little Augustine wasn't baptized, though. In the church in those days, baptism was still mostly for grown-ups. But like any good Christian parent, Monica worked hard to teach her son all about Jesus so that he would make the right decision later. 

   Augustine was a very smart boy. He went to school to learn how to be a teacher and a lawyer. Monica was excited. She knew that Augustine had a bright future ahead of him, maybe even as an important person in the Roman government. 

   Monica was happy about Augustine's career, but something even more important made her sad. When he grew up, Augustine didn't get baptized after all. He joined a religious group called the Manicheans. These people believed some strange and even dangerous things. They believed that there were two Gods, a good one and an evil one. They believed that if you really wanted to be good, you shouldn't get married or have children.

   When Augustine joined this strange group, Monica was angrier than she'd ever been with him. She was so angry that she told him something your mom probably has never told you----she told him he could never come back home.

  But soon after that, Monica had a dream. In this dream, she saw something that made her feel much better----she and Augustine were standing next to each other. 

   She told her son about this. Augustine decided that it mean't that one day his mother would join the Manicheans too, but Monica knew better! She knew God was telling her through her dream that someday Augustine would share her faith in Jesus. After that, even though Monica disagreed with Augustine's beliefs, she let him come back home. 

   Then Augustine decided to move far away----to Rome, across the sea from northern Africa. Monica didn't want him to go. She was afraid that if Augustine went so far away from home, he would never return to god. 

Augustine went to the port. Of course, Monica went too, because she was still trying to talk Augustine out of leaving. On this calm, warm night Augustine told her he had to wait for a better wind before he could set sail. But Augustine wasn't telling the truth. That very night, while Monica was sleeping, he caught another boat to Rome!

   Many years later, Augustine wrote about this secret journey. He was really sorry he had lied to his mother, and he knew it was wrong. But he also knew that this step in his life had been the start of something wonderful. While crossing the ocean, he had come closer to Christ. 

   You can read about what happen to Augustine and exactly how he became a Christian in another part of this book (page 173) for part 2 of Augustine and his mom Monica's journey. For now, we'll just talk about Monica and what she did to help.

   That's right----a mother's work is never done, and that's the way it was for Monica. She had taught Augustine about Jesus when he was little and had prayed for him his whole life. All of those prayers were finally answered when Augustine was thirty-four years old and living in a city in Italy called Milan. He was almost ready to believe in Jesus, but first he needed answers to some hard questions. 

   You won't be surprised to know that by this time, Monica had moved to Milan too. She knew the bishop, Ambrose (you can read about him on page 197) for part 3 of Augustine and his mom Monica's journey, and she knew that Ambrose was smart enough to answer her son's questions. She asked Ambrose to talk to Augustine. He did, and his answers helped Augustine finally open his heart to God. 

   Monica was overjoyed. But she did not live very long after that. She never saw Augustine become a priest and then a bishop. She never saw him lead the Church through hard times and write important books that we still read today. But she knew that her son had come to God. Monica didn't have to worry anymore.

   Although Monica's worrying had sometimes bothered Augustine, when he looked back on his life, he was always grateful.

   His mother's prayers were an important reason why Augustine finally found happiness in God. He knew Monica had worried only because she loved him and wanted the best for him.

   And that's why your mom worried too!

   St. Monica prayed and hoped that her son Augustine would see how much God loved him. Do you have the same hopes for people in your family? 

This is from the book called Loyola Kids Book of SAINTS. By: Amy Welborn