A Short Reflection as we Approach Mother’s Day

May 4th was the Feast of St. Monnica, the mother of Augustine of Hippo. 

Monnica was born in 331, into a Christian family. Her husband (Patricius) was not a Christian and was known for what one source describes as a “hot and hasty” temper. He, along with his mother (who lived with them), made life difficult for Monnica and it is reported that she suffered much. It is also said that too much wine was being drunk, leading to further problems in the household. After much prayer, and the example of a godly life, Monnica led her husband and mother-in-law to faith and in 370 they were baptized (Patricius died the following year). Monnica was also much in prayer for her three children, and it is for eldest son, Augustine, that she is most remembered. 

Augustine grew up a renegade – rejecting the faith both intellectually (having embraced the teaching of a heretical sect) and morally (living a loose and unholy life). All of this, for obvious reasons, caused his mother no little anxiety and concern. She prayed for him fervently and, especially after her husband had died, traveled to be close to Augustine. Finally her prayers were answered, for when Augustine heard the preaching and teaching of the mighty Ambrose (Bishop of Milan), the Holy Spirit softened his heart and opened his mind to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Ambrose took Augustine under his wing and taught him the faith (the latter then being baptized on Easter Sunday in 387).

(Later Augustine would be made the bishop of Hippo and be revered for his holy life and such great theological works as his “Confessions” and “The City of God.” He lived during a time of cultural and political turmoil, and faithfully led his flock (and the wider church) to a Christ-centered perspective as to all that they were enduring.)

Monnica died in the same year that Augustine was baptized. She did not get to see him rise to become a “doctor” of the church (as he is remembered today), though she did witness the fulfillment of her heart’s desire for him – his full conversion to Christ, which (of course) entailed a radical change in his manner of life.

Monnica is an example of a godly mother, prayerfully suffering as she witnessed the dissolute habits of her husband and children, for whom she never stopped praying. It is easy to see why Monnica (in some traditions) is regarded as a patroness of married women and as a model for Christian mothers.

As we approach “Mother’s Day” – we do well to think of St. Monnica, and the many other mothers who have been so faithful in the life of Christ’s Church.

Many of us are blessed to have had godly mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers, whose love and longsuffering have born great fruit in our lives. (My great-grandmother spent decades praying for the conversion of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I am the beneficiary of her prayers.) Being a mother to others is not restricted, however, to only those women who have biological children of their own. All women are called to the vocation of motherhood by being spiritual mothers to whatever children God puts into their care. Spiritual motherhood can be expressed in a myriad of ways, depending on one’s temperament and giftedness – but every expression will be characterized by an unwavering love for Christ and those for whom he shed his blood, and a steadfast confidence that God will, in his good time, lead all of his straying sheep back into the safety of the sheepfold of his Church. 

On this Mother’s Day, let us bless God both for our natural mothers but also for the great gift of mothers in the faith. Let us give thanks for these true daughters of Mother Church, who have brought us into spiritual life, and have nurtured, supported, guided, corrected, taught, and trained us up in faith, hope, and charity. And let us pray that God would raise up many spiritual mothers within our midst, in order that we might benefit from their godly examples and be blessed by their prayerful devotion.