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Sunday, August 28, 2011

"The child of those tears will never perish"

Mothers, Fathers, Granparents, Aunts, Uncles and Friends,  today is a day that will fill you with great hope.  Yesterday we celebrated the feast of St. Monica and today is the feast of her once wayward son Augustine who is now Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church.  Augustine was a difficult child to rear and indeed a difficult young adult.    

St. Monica shed many a tear over her son's unsettled life. As we know St. Monica persisted constantly with her prayers.  She pleaded with the Lord to help her son.  Can you imagine her joy when her prayers were finally answered.

Saint Augustine as a young man led an unsettled life both in the philosophy he professed and in his moral behaviour, but later, in the year 387, he converted and received baptism at Milan from the bishop Saint Ambrose.  He came back to his own country and led the life of an ascetic.  Elected Bishop of Hippo, for thirty four years he was an exemlary bishop to his flock, teaching his people by his sermons and writings, striving to combat the errors of the time and to make the faith understood.  He died in the year 430.

Saint Monica's prayers obtained the grace of a conversion for her son.  So live in hope and learn from her wonderful example.  When the problem is too big for us to handle give it to God in prayer as St. Monica did. 


 "Nothing is impossible to God".