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| Monica's famously wayward son |
Monica was born in 331 AD at Thagaste (modern day Souk Ahras
in Algeria). Monica’s name indicates a
Berber lineage as the name is derived from the Libyan god Mon. She is raised in a devoutly Catholic home and
remains a practicing Christian her entire life.
Although she was a strong Christian, her faith was shaped by the
widespread atmosphere of superstition that was the culture of North
Africa. She kept a fast on the Sabbath
day and was known to participate in “death anniversary” observances where a
picnic was brought to the grave of a departed Christian and “shared” with them
on their special day. Monica also paid
very close attention to her dreams and considered them to be messages from the
other world.
When she was of marriageable age, she was joined to
Patricius who was a local town prefect for the Roman government and a pagan as
concerning his religious beliefs. They
had 3 children (at least that we know about) Augustine being the first-born
(when Monica was 24 years old), another son Navigius, and a daughter whom we
are not given a name for but is known through Augustine’s Confessions as having made a religious profession and heading an abbey
in adulthood. Rounding out the family
was her mother-in-law who came to live with them late in her life (presumably
when she was widowed). Her name is also
unknown to us but what is known is that she had a real gift for being quite
cantankerous.
Patricius and Monica had a secure but troubled
marriage. Patricius had a least one
extra-marital affair, was possibly an alcoholic and on occasion given over to
domestic violence. However, Monica was
instrumental in her husband’s conversion to the Christian faith the year before
he died. She was humble, spoke of God to
him, and worked very conscientiously in carrying out her household duties
(winning him over with her deeds more than her words as we read in 1 Peter 3). It is also believed her mother-in-law was won
to the faith in the same way. Monica was
known for being longsuffering and a peacemaker at heart. On one occasion she rebuked her fellow
friends who were complaining about their husbands for speaking evil towards
their masters. Monica became a widow at
age 40 and never pursued marriage again but rather devoted her remaining time
on earth to her children, especially her famously wayward son Augustine.
As a mother Monica was known to be a caring but strict disciplinarian
of her children. She was very dedicated
to their education and religious upbringing.
There are conflicting stories about Monica and Augustine’s baptism. Some say Monica had Augustine baptized as an
infant and even in early adolescence when it was feared he may not live through
an illness. Others say that Monica had a
strong belief that Augustine should put off his baptism until the raging
hormones of teenage life had passed because baptism only covered prior sins and
penance (what you did when you sinned afterwards) was quite arduous in the
early church.
Either way, Augustine was to prove a great disappointment at
this stage of his life. He was attending
school near home and had enrolled in the Catechumenate (classes which prepare
you for baptism and church membership), but when he moved to Carthage to
receive his higher education in rhetoric (a communication degree) he, like many
college students even today, abandoned his parent’s faith and joined an eastern
religious sect known as the Manicheans.
When he came home from college for a weekend visit and announced his new
found faith, Monica was so mad at him she refused to eat with him and didn’t
let him sleep in the house.
She was so distraught about her son that she went and sought
the counsel of her local bishop who told her “it is not possible that a son of
so many tears will be lost.” Then one
night the Lord gave her assurance that Augustine would eventually come back to
the faith. From that day forward she
fasted and patiently prayed for his conversion until it happened.
It’s funny how none of us truly know what is in the hearts
of the people we know and love.
Augustine writes in his Confessions
(written after his mother’s death) that he drank of the milk of Christ’s love
from his mother and that he had always loved and was fascinated with
Jesus. He just didn’t think Christianity
was intellectually satisfying enough for him and he of course didn’t like any
of the moral restraints that came with it either.
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| Monica left behind in Carthage |
But Monica was the ‘hound of Heaven’ in his life and seemed
to follow her son wherever he was living.
She sternly warned him about his dissipation and sexual exploits as she
saw this tendency in him and knew it was the undoing of his father. She stood by and watched with disappointment
as her son took a concubine (what we would call today a live-in girlfriend) and
received her first grandson from her.
She loved him through his rebellion against God and continued her
prayers for him.
When Augustine had had enough of Carthage, he wanted to move
to the greener pastures of Rome.
Apparently, he also wanted a break from his mother and so he told her
they would be leaving the next morning by boat.
When she arrived, she found out that Augustine had lied to her and had
already set sail on a much earlier ship.
Augustine found his work in Rome difficult and even more competitive
than it was in Carthage, but it did lead to a connection for him in civil service
work in the imperial capital of Milan.
This was a great career move for Augustine who is soon joined by his
mother, younger siblings, and some cousins who all get to share in his good
fortune.
Monica begins attending the main church of Milan which is
pastored by bishop Ambrose. Ambrose is a
man of towering intellect but is also an extremely engaging preacher. This factor attracts Augustine to attend
services with his mother. He, being a
rhetorician, enjoyed hearing powerful communicators even if he didn’t believe
in their message. But in time, Augustine
found the message itself quite compelling and slowly but surely began to open
his heart to it. Outside of church, Ambrose
also made time to meet with Augustine to answer his questions and concerns
about the faith. Augustine and Ambrose
were intellectually equals and I think this inspired, at least on a human
level, confidence in the answers Augustine was getting to his questions.
Augustine’s spiritual struggle gives way to faith as he
reads the Scriptures for himself and to the joy of his mother announces his
conversion. This was the answer to her
heartfelt prayer of 30 years and her son’s life and future ministry were to
prove how God answers prayers with an abundance beyond our hopes and dreams.
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| Augustine's spiritual crisis ends in his backyard |
Over the next few years Augustine, Monica, his son
Adeodatus, his brother and some friends move to the villa of a friend on the
shores of Lake Como. Inspired by the
desert monk Anthony of Egypt, Augustine wants to form a community that seeks
truth through the study of scripture and the exploration of philosophy. This is a period of great joy and new
learning that lasted over several years.
Augustine also found his estimation of his mother quite inaccurate. Though she was largely illiterate (as many women
were in this time) and was known to be a bit superstitious, she held her own in
many philosophical and theological discussions and was often found to have
penetrating insight.
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| Lake Como in Italy |
Ostia was a place of embarkation back to Africa. After a few
years Augustine wanted to return to his homeland of North Africa and pursue a
similar community devoted to learning and serving the Lord. Making their way to the port of Ostia (the
ancient sea port of Rome) they found they would have to wait for a while as the
outbreak of war was making travel to North Africa impossible. The group rented a home there in Ostia until
they could get back home.
During this time of waiting, Augustine and Monica sat
overlooking the garden of their home and were caught up in a mutual vision of
glory and felt such peace and delight that nothing on earth seemed of any
importance. Monica expressed that now
that her son was truly a strong Christian, she was content to die. Which she did shortly thereafter
following a sudden illness. As she died in the arms of Augustine, she
told him she didn’t mind dying in a foreign land because it makes no difference
at the resurrection. Just bury me
anywhere. But wherever you live, just
remember me at the altar of God.
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| Augustine and Monica at Ostia |
Augustine buried Monica in Ostia and eventually journeyed
back to North Africa but was never really able to fully realize the monastic
community he envisioned. Duty called and
he was pressed into the service of the church as a bishop leading through a
period of great turmoil and trouble. Despite
the demands of ministry, Augustine was prolific as a writer. At age 46, 16 years after his conversion he
writes The Confessions, an honest,
unvarnished look at his spiritual pilgrimage.
It is in this book that posterity knows of Monica, the mother who prayed
her entire family into the Kingdom of Heaven.
1000 years after her death, the Pope ordered her remains to
be removed from Ostia and reburied in a chapel dedicated to her in the Basilica
Saint Augustine in Rome.
The Christian historian Philip Schaff says that Monica
travailed with him to be born of the Spirit with greater pain than when she
gave birth to him in the flesh. He also
calls her the encouragement to all Christian mothers who worry about the salvation
of their children. Her life is an
illustration of Jesus’s teaching that we should pray at all times and not lose
heart (Lk.18:1).
Sources:
Augustine. The Confessions of St. Augustine. Edward B. Pusey trans. (New York: Pocket Books, 1952)
Cairns, Earle E. Christianity Through The Centuries : A
History of the Christian Church. (Grand
Rapids : Zondervan, 1981)
Day, Malcolm. A Treasury of Saints. (New York : Chartwell Books, 2002)
Knowles, Andrew and Pachomios Penkett. Augustine
and His World. (Downers Grove :
Intervarsity Press, 2004)
Latourette, Kenneth Scott.
A History of Christianity Vol. 1
rev. ed. (New York : Harper and Row,
1975)
MacCulloch, Diarmaid.
Christianity: The First Three
Thousand Years. (New York : Penguin,
2009)
“Monica, St.” Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and
Ecclesiastical Literature Vol. VI. McClintock
and Strong eds. (Grand Rapids : Baker
Books, 1981)
“Monica” Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity. Angelo Di Berardino, Gen. Ed. (Downers Grove : Intervarsity, 2014)
“Monica” Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons, and
Feasts. Foley & McCloskey O.F.M.
eds. (Cincinnati : St. Anthony Messenger
Press, 2001)
Pope Benedict XVI. The Fathers. (Huntington : Our Sunday Visitor Publishing,
2008)
Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church Vol. 3 (Grand
Rapids : Eerdmanns, 1910)
Shelley, Bruce L. Church History in Plain Language. (Dallas:Word, 1995)
Wills, Garry. St. Augustine. (New York: Viking Publishing, 1999)
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