By Christina Langella
Augustine is considered one of the greatest theologians of all time. Christian History magazine writes, “After Jesus and Paul, Augustine of Hippo is the most influential figure in the history of Christianity.” [1]
And, if the familiar adage is true, “Behind every great man is a great woman” there can be no greater example than Augustine and his mother, Monica.
But don’t take my word for it. Take Augustine’s.
“It is to my mother that I owe all.”
“If I am thy child, O my God, it is because Thou gavest me such a mother.”
“If I prefer the truth to all other things, it is the fruit of my mother’s teaching.”
“If I did not long ago perish in sin and misery, it is because of the long faithful tears with which she pleaded for me.”
Monica
That’s a powerful witness to a mother’s influence, don’t you think?
But don’t be fooled.
It didn’t come easy.
Monica’s short 56 years on earth were marked by travail and tears – largely for a wayward son who, more often than not, gave her reason to despair and not hope.
From her life story, I’ve gleaned a few lessons to encourage parents – especially mothers – to persevere in prayer for wayward children.
God’s Purposes Will Be Accomplished Regardless Of An Imperfect Upbringing:
Even though Monica came from a devout Christian home, her parents (oddly enough) arranged her marriage to a pagan. He was a foul-mouthed, ill-tempered man, who subjected his wife to the pain of multiple adulteries. Though Monica rejoiced to see his conversion to Christianity one year before he died, his influence on Augustine was considerably bad and seemingly irreversible. But God’s grace is greater.
Too many Christian parents, especially those who came to Christ later in life, live with the guilt of the “damage” they’ve done to their children.
But God overrules our mistakes!
Sexual Immorality Will Not Have The Final Word:
As Augustine grew into manhood he struggled with sexuality.
By the time he was 16 years old, he admits, “the frenzy gripped me and I surrendered myself entirely to lust.”
Having learned his father’s promiscuous ways, he admits to “floundering in the broiling sea of … fornication. ” He lived with a woman out-of-wedlock for over 13 years and fathered a son with her.
As God began to work in Augustine’s heart, his prayer reveals an inner turmoil. “Give me chastity … but not yet.” Though Augustine describes his break-up in extremely painful terms (it was clear there was a deep emotional bond between the two) the relationship was nonetheless permanently severed.
Maybe you despair over a sexually immoral relationship your child is involved in. As time goes on the unholy partnership gets deeper, more attached, and more complex. But with God, none of that matters!
When He says, “It’s over!” It’s over.
Period.
The True Gospel Prevails Over A Counterfeit Gospel:
At age 17, Augustine left home to attend school in Carthage. There he became a member of a Christian-gnostic group called Manichaeism.
The particular sect he was involved with “saw themselves as the sole possessors of true Christian knowledge and interpretation of the Bible. Other Christians, they maintained, believed absurdities about God and accepted falsified versions of the Scriptures.” [2]
Augustine was not just an adherent, he was an ardent defender who employed his strong oratory skills to lead others into this error.
Back in Rome, Monica pleaded earnestly with Bishop Ambrose. “Talk to my son!” she begged. But the Bishop wisely refrained. He knew Augustine was not ready to listen. Instead he told Monica, “Go your way; as sure as you live, it is impossible that the son of these tears should perish.” [3]
God, in His time, shook the foundations of Manichaeism and led Augustine to the saving knowledge of Christ.
Maybe your child has been seduced by a false gospel.
Remember, no matter what lie has taken up residence in your child’s life, God can tear it down and bring it to naught.
Don’t Make Judgements Based Upon What You See:
For years it seemed like Augustine grew worse.
His journey was a long one.
“He had periods of skepticism and doubt; there was a gradual detachment from past errors, fits of starts and stops.” [2] But after 32 years of vain and worldly pursuits, the tears and prayers of his mother caught up. Augustine recounts the day the Word came alive: “Not in revelry and drunkenness, not in chambering and shamelessness, not in strife and envying, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh” [Rom. 13:13–14]. I neither wanted nor needed to read further. Immediately with the end of that sentence, a light, as it were, of certainty poured in my heart and put all my shadowy doubts to flight.”
If, at any point, Monica would have settled on what her eyes saw, she would have missed out on the great work that God brought about!
For us, this is a walk of faith, just as it was for Monica!
The 4th-Century pagan philosopher, Libanius, once exclaimed, “What women these Christians have!” [5] Well, if Monica is any example, I can certainly see how he can say that.
Maybe you are a hurting mom.
You’ve wept, you’ve agonized, you’ve prayed and still, your wayward child grows worse.
Pray on, sister!
This is so very encouraging!
She shares an historical event (and Scripture) that unmistakably shows why our persistent prayers make all the difference! Let it be your devotional today!
It’s true, not every child is destined to be an Augustine, but God will be glorified in all your tears and prayers.
Or, maybe you know a Monica. Churches are full of them.
I have a few in my life. I know that behind their smile is a broken, hemorrhaging heart.
Pray for her. Encourage her when she grows weary.
And tell her about Monica, whose twenty-five years of weeping and praying ended in a torrent of triumph!
Recommended Reading: Augustine: A Mother’s Son by Dolina MacCuish
[1] Christian History Magazine-Issue 15: St. Augustine of Hippo (Worcester, PA: Christian History Institute, 1987).
[2] Stephen Cooper, Augustine for Armchair Theologians, Armchair Theologians Series (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 8-9.
[3] Christian History Magazine-Issue 67: St. Augustine: Sinner, Bishop, Saint (Carol Stream, IL: Christianity Today, 2000).
Christine writes on topics such as Reformation theology, the doctrines of grace, church history, Christian biography, book reviews, and more. She is from Brooklyn but now lives in Long Island with her husband.
She enjoys American History, baking pastries and desserts, cooking different regional cuisines and also is an avid dog lover.
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Charlotte Moore
WOW!! I can sure relate to some this. Many tears and PRAYERS for our children and grandchildren. We know GOD is able to do above and beyond anything we could say or ask.
GOD BLESS!! Hope you are doing well.
Dominic Adams
Wow!!! Thanks for the inspiration and hope!
Jacqueline
You are welcome, Dominic. Monica has encouraged me many a time, too! (((Hugs)))
Faith B.
Oh, I love St. Monica. Tomorrow is her feast day on the ancient Catholic calendar. Everyday I ask her to intercede for me and my family. You see, the saints who we know are in Heaven can pray for us, just like our friends here on earth pray for us. She is part of the great cloud of witnesses.
Jacqueline
Dear Faith, I am so glad you enjoyed the post and that it brought encouragement, however, I would like to challenge (gently) your thoughts on praying to the departed dead. This is a wonderful rebuttal to the Catholic church’s teaching. I would like to know your thoughts afterward, if possible: http://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/do-loved-ones-in-heaven-look-down-on-us
God bless you,dear one!
Faith B.
Hi Jacqueline. I will be happy to hear it. Would you prefer I respond privately, through email? If so, please send me a note at [email protected]. If not, I will just get back to you right here. Thanks for the gentle challenge. I have mentioned this, I think, in other replies, but your blog is definitely my favorite homemaking, family, health, cooking etc. blog. And your warm and welcoming nature make it a joy to read. I will get back to you with my thoughts. God bless you.
Faith B.
Dear Jacqueline,
Thanks for asking for me to respond to Pastor Johns comment. I appreciate your (gently:) challenging my viewpoint because most people don’t ask. They just make assumptions or they go on the rumors that have been circulating about Catholics for the past 500 years among non-Catholics.
Let me just begin by mentioning that I am a convert to the Catholic Church. I was raised as an Evangelical Charismatic. My father was raised Catholic and left the Faith as a young man. My mother was raised a secular Jew. They became hippies and lived an absolutely chaotic lifestyle — which is what I was born into and lived the first few years of my life. They then became born-again Christians, my dad becoming a non-denominational pastor for many years. (He returned to Catholicism before his death.) I left Christianity completely as soon as I graduated from high school and considered myself an agnostic for many years. Eventually I found my way into the Catholic Church and was absolutely amazed by what I found there. Today I celebrate Catholicism in the traditional manner — meaning the unchanged Latin Mass. Most Catholics today celebrate the new Mass which was changed in 1969 and is in the vernacular.
The Catholic Church is literally 2000 years old. When Jesus told Peter, -I name thee Peter (rock) and upon this rock I will build my Church-, he meant it. The apostle Peter has always been called the First Pope. And St. Peters Basilica was actually built on his remains after he was crucified upside down for his love for Jesus Christ. So the Catholic Church was, quite literally, built upon Peter! There is a very interesting article about that here. http://catholicstraightanswers.com/church-possess-actual-bones-st-peter/ The article mentions that archeologists in 1950 unearthed his tomb and on it found graffiti in Greek, some of which asked Peter to pray to Jesus for them! Christians have been venerating the saints and asking for their intercession since the severe persecution which marked the first three centuries of Christianity.
Prayers in the Mass often refer to the intercession of the saints. For example, the following is a prayer from the ancient Mass of St. Monicas feast day: -O God, the comforter of the sorrowful and the salvation of them that put their trust in Thee, who had merciful regard to the loving tears of blessed Monica in bringing about the conversion of her son Augustine: grant that by their united intercession, we may grieve over our sins and attain grace and pardon from Thee. Through our Lord.- (This prayer is at least 500 years old, BTW.)
Asking deceased saints to pray for us is deeply intertwined in the entire life of the Church and has been since the beginning of Christianity. Now back to Pastor John.
First off let me mention that the question that was directed to him had nothing to do with the Catholic teaching about asking saints to intercede in prayer for us. The question given to him was about whether or not it is okay to think that our deceased loved ones are looking down on us from heaven because it makes us feel comfort. Neither the Catholic Church nor Her theology were mentioned in the question. The Catholic Church in no way teaches us to communicate with our deceased loved ones.
Praying to the saints strictly refers to asking for prayer from the Christians who have died and have been canonized by the Catholic Church. Im not sure why the pastor even mentions the Roman Catholic Church in his response. Out of the blue he brings up the Catholic practice and quotes 1 Timothy 2:5 which reads: For there is one God, and one mediator of God and men, the man Jesus Christ. Im not really sure how that is a rebuttal. Of course Jesus Christ is the mediator. Asking someone to pray for us — whether they are in heaven or on earth — has nothing to do with eschewing the role of Jesus as mediator! If we are to go to Scripture, we could look at Revelation 5:8 which describes -golden bowls of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.- Scripture refers to the prayers of the saints.
Let me just mention that venerating the saints as we Catholics do brings a whole amazing new dimension to our spiritual lives. First off, we would never have heard of many of these people, such as St. Monica, if they hadn’t been canonized as saints. It opens up the history of the past 2000 years in such an amazing way. My children become very fascinated with the world of the 1400s in which St. Joan of Arc was born, or the 1800s when St. John Bosco lived. They can then understand the context of historical events. They also hold these saints up (many of whom suffered and died for love of Jesus) as amazing heroes whom they strive to imitate. We long to be closer to Jesus Christ when we read the writings of some saints, such as those of St. Augustine (St. Monicas son) or St. Teresa of Avila. We find that God uses everyone to build his Kingdom, from the lowliest shepherds to the greatest kings. There are canonized saints from every walk of life, every age, every level of intelligence, wealth, etc. We feel an excitement to be part of this huge family of Christians. In short, we pray WITH the saints not TO the saints.
Im sorry this is so long (and that my quotations key does not work)! I would be happy to discuss anything about the Catholic Faith. If you are interested, I have a very fascinating book, a conversion story from a former minister, which does go into some detail on some of the misunderstood aspects of the Catholic Faith that I would happily send to you (or anyone else who is interested, if you are not.) Thanks for hearing me out. God bless you!
Jacqueline
Thank you, Faith, for your encouragement. Such a topic that needs time to sit down and read. I am leaving for a week without computer and will try to get back to read this when I get back and settled. God bless you, friend!
Lorena
Each one who has placed their trust in Jesus is a Saint. All the word means as used in the bible, is those that are saved. It does not mean a super Christian. It does not mean a person recognized as specially spiritual. The term refers to each and every one of Gods children. Therefore the Prayers of the Saints” that you quote is referring to earthly dwellers.
Jacqueline
Hi, Lorena!
Yes, every child of God is a saint! I love that He gave us teachers and such “For the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” ~Ephesians 4:12. Scripturally speaking, the “saints” are the body of Christ, Christians, the church. All Christians are considered saints. All Christians are saints—and at the same time are called to be saints.
My dad was raised CAtholic but in his later years accepted Jesus as His Savior and still he might have called Monica “Saint Monica.” I just think of her as a faithful mother! 😀
Faith B.
Thank you, Jacqueline. You are one lovely lady. Have a wonderful computer-free week!
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After Jesus and Paul, Augustine of Hippo is the most influential figure in the history of Christianity