Editorial: Sts. Monica and Augustine remind us to keep up hope

One of the more common wounds among Catholics is loved ones, especially children, who have stopped practicing the faith. 

We want to pass on our best to our children and other loved ones, and most of all we want to pass on the very best of all, the Gospel, the “pearl of great price,” in the salvation offered by Jesus through his church. 

For many centuries, many who are concerned for the faith of their loved ones have turned to the example and intercession of St. Monica and her son, St. Augustine, whose liturgical feasts are normally on back-to-back days, Aug. 27-28. 

The great fourth century doctor of the church famously resisted his mother’s faith and lived a dissolute life, but in his conversion story, he describes the persistent tearful prayers his mother had prayed for him, and after her death, he asked people to pray for the repose of her soul in return. 

In a particular way, St. Monica’s persistence is a great model for all who are in such situations. The words of St. Ambrose to her, that “it cannot be that the son of those tears shall perish,” should console all who are undergoing this trial. 

St. Monica, St. Augustine, pray for us!