May 7th Weekly Word
Monica and the Strength of a Mother’s Prayer
Since this Sunday is Mother's Day, I want to take this time to honor mothers and all who offer a mother's love in our lives and community. I’m especially grateful for my mother, whose deep love and tireless prayers have sustained both my brother and me.
Our prayer book includes a calendar list of Christians we commemorate throughout the year, and this week we honor one of the most celebrated mothers in Christian history: Monica, the mother of St. Augustine of Hippo.
Augustine is arguably the most important theologian of the early church. Later dubbed the Doctor of Grace, he's known for his articulation of original sin, human moral incapacity, and the absolute necessity of divine grace for salvation. So pervasive and respected was his influence that later theologians during the Reformation (both Catholic and Protestant) sited him to defend their views regarding various contested issues.
However, as significant as Augustine's theology was, his influence on the Church was preceded by his mother's influence on him. You see, Augustine didn't always hold to Christian beliefs. In fact, during his youth, he lived a life devoted to philosophy, sensual pleasure, and status. And when his attention did turn toward religion, at first he latched on to a heretical belief system called Manichaeism.
But through all of Augustine's waywardness and confusion, there was one constant. The prayers and influence of his mother, Monica.
Her life had not been easy. The man she wed, through a prearranged marriage, was a pagan and given to a volatile temper. But Monica responded with gentleness, patience, and persistent prayer, through which he softened and converted to Christianity shortly before his death — a change Monica attributed entirely to God’s mercy.
She brought to bear this same disposition of gentleness, patience, and prayer when it came to her son's waywardness. His straying weighed heavy on her heart, and she shed countless tears for him and stayed close, following as his academic career moved him across the region — first to Carthage, then to Rome, and finally to Milan. While in Milan, she met the bishop whose preaching would become the catalyst for Augustine’s conversion. When Augustine finally placed faith in Christ in 387, Monica’s lifelong hope was fulfilled. That same year, she fell ill and died.
Friends, a mother's love and prayers are often behind the scenes of those whom God heals, guides and raises up. Whether biological or not, God ordained the nurturing care of maternal love to be that which God often uses to anchor us in seasons of uncertainty and draw us back to him.
This Mother's Day, let's give thanks to God for our mothers or those whom God has used to showcase maternal love in our lives.
Darin+