Monica was a Christian woman in North Africa married to a pagan with a bad temper. She won him over slowly, and he was baptized before he died. Her son was harder. Augustine was brilliant, restless and far from the faith for most of his twenties. She prayed for him for seventeen years, followed him across the sea to Italy, and saw him baptized in Milan at Easter 387. A few months later she died at Ostia, telling him she had nothing left to wish for.
Historical Context
Augustine recorded his mother’s last words in his Confessions: she asked only that he remember her at the altar of the Lord, wherever he was.
An August 27 Prayer to St Monica
St Monica, you never stopped praying for your son,
even when it looked hopeless.
I bring you my children (or name the person),
especially those who have walked away from the faith.
Pray that God will find them, as he found Augustine,
and give me your patience, your tears and your hope.
Amen.
For Patience in Prayer
Lord, I’ve been praying for this for years.
Like Monica, help me keep going.
Amen.
For Difficult Marriages
St Monica, you lived with a hard husband and won him with patience.
Pray for marriages under strain.
Amen.
Best Times for This Prayer
- On 27 August, St Monica’s feast.
- As a novena from 19 to 27 August.
- Whenever you’re praying for a child far from God.
Scripture Connection
“And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” — Luke 18:1
Jesus told the parable of the persistent widow so we wouldn’t give up. Monica is that parable in real life.
Related prayers
For mothers, see A Mother’s Prayer. For yesterday’s feast, the August 26 Prayer. For a son, the Short Prayer for My Son.