Pause for Prayer: TUESDAY 8/27

        Saint Monica and her son Saint Augustine, in stained

            glass at St. Augustine Church in Washington

Saint Monica whose feast we celebrate today was the mother of Saint Augustine.  At about the age of 17, Augustine began a relationship with a young woman in Carthage. Though his mother wanted him to marry, the woman remained his lover, the couple persisting in the relationship for over fifteen years and producing a son.  In addition to a profligate life, Augustine was a thief and a heretic.  Saint Monica prayed for Augustine's conversion for 17 years. In 385, Augustine ended his relationship with his lover in order to prepare to marry a teenage heiress but before marrying here, Augustine underwent a great conversion, became a priest and bishop and one of the greatest theologians in the history of the Church.  Saint Monica is venerated as the patron saint of mothers (and fathers) who pray for their children to live and grow in their faith in Christ.

 

Lord,

we pray this morning for mothers and fathers

    who long for their children to find a home

        in the faith we share in the life of the Church

where the gospel is preached

    and the grace of the sacraments

        nourish and bind us together,

            all of us, one in you...

 

We pray this morning,

    for mothers and fathers whose hearts break

when they see their children leave the Church,

    laying aside the teachings and truths

that as parents they lived, loved and taught 

    and faithfully handed on...

We pray this morning

    for mothers and fathers who watch their young ones

        and feel that they must have failed them.

Help parents see all the good that they've done

    and trust that you, with patience and mercy,

        delight in their children and care for them;

that you call them by name, move in their hearts,

    heal their hurts and forgive their sins,

        so great is your love and desire for them to  

                to find their faith and peace in you...

We pray this morning for mothers and fathers 

    who've prayed and prayed, for years and years 

and may sometimes have been too strong, even harsh,

    in calling their own to the Church and the faith

        they so much want them to share;

give them patience, Lord, and trust in you,

    in the saving grace you offer us all

as we stumble and bumble our way to you,

    seeking that peace most fully found

in your love, in your word, in your grace,

    in your Church and the gospel of joy...

Saint Monica, 

    pray for all mothers and fathers,

Saint Monica, 

    pray for our children,

Saint Monica, 

    pray for each one of us

        as you prayed for Augustine, your son...

Amen.

 

Since Saint Monica was African, it seems appropriate to have a hymn to Saint Monica in an African language.  I wasn't able to find the translation of these Swahili lyrics, except for the title, Monica Mtakatifu which means - Saint Monica!  Enjoy the music - and the voices of these young people: I'm sure Monica is pleased to see them expressing their faith!

 

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