With two Augustinian priests we stood in the rain and read book nine from the Confessions of St. Monica's death and burial being recounted by Augustine a dozen years later. It was amazing. The priest began to weep as he read each time. It would be a changed world if every eighteen year old would read the Confessions.
just to point out that the body of St. Monica is at San Agostino near Piazza Navona
ReplyDeleteI read an article awhile ago about Saint Monica, and how she prayed for her son's conversion from a life of sin. She suffered greatly over his lifestyle and behavior, and never gave up praying that he would be converted.
ReplyDeleteShe was a wonderful mother, and accompanied her son after his conversion to Rome. She became ill and died just as they were about to return to their homeland (which I think was near Carthage) in North Africa.
There was some speculation in the article as to whether , being from N. Africa if Saint Monica and St. Augustine were actually black. That part of the story was all political type stuff, but the main point was that St. Monica was a pious, devout, and wonderful mother.
I've seen pictures of her depicted as an old woman, but was rather depressed to actually read from an account from actual documents that she probably was no more than in her very late 50's at the time of her death.
Apparently as she and Augustine were preparing to return home, she contracted what today we would call a bad virus or the flu, and died.
Thank you! I so much appreciate your posts about St. Monica!
ReplyDeleteMariana