1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 / Matthew 23:23-26 (Memorial of St.Monica)
Today we celebrate the memorial of St Monica, the mother of St Augustine, whose memorial we will celebrate tomorrow.
We celebrate this memorial not simply because St Monica was the mother of a great saint.
Part of the opening prayer for Mass goes like this and it is worth to take note: O God, who console the sorrowful and who mercifully accepted the motherly tears of St. Monica for the the conversion of her son Augustine.
St Monica was born of Christian parents. She married a good man but he had a violent temper and was sometimes unfaithful.
But St Monica managed to convert him to Christianity and he was later baptized.
Her son, Augustine, proved to be a much greater challenge.
When she was exhausted and tired with her son's wild and wheeling ways, she approached a bishop to ask him to intervene.
The bishop responded with these prophetic words: Let him be, and continue to pray for him. It is impossible that a son of so many tears should be lost.
St Monica dedicated most of her life praying for the conversion of St Augustine.
All in all, she prayed for something like 30 years before she finally had the joy of seeing St Augustine baptized.
The consolation, experienced by St Monica and her total abandonment to God can also be ours today when we persevere in patience and in trust.