In a world that often fears motherhood, St. Monica’s example shines brightly

The Catholic Church has blessed the world with strong and faithful women who not only guide us on our path to heaven but who champion our efforts as we navigate this path. These women come from diverse backgrounds, offering an array of experiences that help us on our own journey. Many were strong mothers who understood the blessings of motherhood and the dignity of all children.

St. Monica was one such woman. She is a fourth-century saint and mother of St. Augustine, who is a Doctor of the Church and one of the Church’s most brilliant minds. Born in 331 in the northern African town of Thagaste, Monica was given in an arranged marriage to a pagan, who not only had an irascible temper but was also unfaithful to her. However, he was tolerant of her faith, and this allowed her to raise their children Catholic. Monica longed for her husband to convert and see the beauty of the faith she so loved, and she prayed daily for his conversion. Shortly before his death, Monica’s prayers were answered, and he converted. But his death left her raising their three children alone.

Augustine, who had always been a difficult child, soon left home, renounced the faith she had taught him, and began living an immoral lifestyle. As any Catholic mother understands, this broke Monica’s heart.

But Monica trusted in God, and she knew she had a role to still play in Augustine’s life. Her faith had taught her that God can move mountains, and her tenacity, her love, and her mental fortitude helped her through many dark days. She loved her son, and she continued to talk with him and teach him when she could. But most importantly, she participated in God’s work by spending countless hours tearfully praying for her son. One biography explains, “On one occasion when she was discussing the matter with a priest, he urged her to remain steadfast in her prayers, stating that it was ‘not possible that the son of so many tears should perish.’”

For 17 years, Monica prayed that her son’s heart would be moved to love Christ and His Church. In 387, Augustine converted, was baptized, and later became a priest.

As Pope Benedict XVI said on Monica’s feast day in 2006, “Augustine himself was to say, his mother gave birth to him twice; the second time required a lengthy spiritual travail of prayers and tears, but it was crowned at last with the joy of seeing him not only embrace the faith and receive baptism, but also dedicate himself without reserve to the service of Christ.”

The transformative power of motherhood

Motherhood is a tremendous gift that women should neither take lightly nor reject. Yet we live in a time when both happen regularly. If we are to change minds and hearts about the beauty of motherhood and children, then we must look to the holy mothers in our lives and to saints such as Monica.

In his Letter to Women, St. John Paul II wrote that “humanity owes its very survival” to the gift of motherhood. And he thanked women who are mothers, saying, “You have sheltered human beings within yourselves in a unique experience of joy and travail. This experience makes you become God’s own smile upon the newborn child, the one who guides your child’s first steps, who helps it to grow, and who is the anchor as the child makes its way along the journey of life.”

St. Monica was undoubtedly the anchor for Augustine, even as he drifted waywardly through life. She knew she had to be strong when he was not; she trusted in God and persevered in prayer, confident that God was working to change her son’s heart. St. Monica is a beautiful example of motherly love and support even through difficult times, as she did not allow her sorrow in his lack of faith to eclipse her devotion as his mother.

The reality, both then and now, is that motherhood is far from easy. While it’s one of the greatest callings a woman can embrace, it’s also one of the most difficult, and it evokes a wide range of emotions that begin when the baby begins to grow in her mother’s body. This intimate knowledge of mother and baby forms a lifelong bond. And when that child is ripped away by the world, by another person, by an ideology, or by something else, it hurts both emotionally and physically. Monica understood this truth all too well.

But despite the varied emotions that mothers feel, they have an unconditional love for their children. Or rather, they should. In our broken world, we know that isn’t always the case. There are absent mothers, abusive mothers, mothers who kill their born or their preborn children, and mothers who advocate for the deaths of preborn children. As Catholics, we are called to combat this culture of death, to follow St. Monica’s example, and to encourage more women to embrace motherhood.

How do we do this? We persevere, just as Monica did. We pray unceasingly, and we teach our own children, our friends, and our acquaintances about the gift of motherhood. We model the virtues of motherhood exhibited by Monica and other saints, and we speak with truth and charity about the sanctity of life, authentic womanhood, and the beauty of the female body.

We do so because we know that, when a society embraces motherhood, it will become a society that also embraces children and that nurtures and protects the vulnerable. In short, it will be a world where more love, less selfishness, and a greater understanding of the dignity of life abound.

Our world today desperately needs the example of St. Monica, for when we look at her life and the lives of other holy women, we cannot help but see the light of Christ. The love she felt for Augustine proves that a mother’s love comes from something infinitely profound and from the source of love itself.

Indeed, a mother’s love gives us a foretaste of the love our Heavenly Father has for His children. And that love is one of the most beautiful gifts we can ever experience.

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