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Reprinted with Permission
Pope Bids Mothers to Persevere
in Prayer
Presents St. Monica as Hope for Families
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 27, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI proposed
Sts. Monica and Augustine as two signs of hope for today's struggling
families.
Although the mother and son lived in the fourth century, "their testimonies
can be of great consolation and help for many families also of our time,"
the Pope said to the crowds gathered to pray the Angelus in the courtyard of
the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo.
The Holy Father said St. Monica, whose feast day is today, lived "her
mission of wife and mother" with excellence.
She helped "her husband, Patricius, to discover, little by little, the
beauty of faith in Christ and the strength of evangelical love," and after
being widowed, dedicated herself to caring for her three children, the
Pontiff said.
Benedict XVI said that St. Augustine made his mother "suffer with his rather
rebellious temperament."
"As Augustine himself would say later," the Pope continued, "his mother gave
him birth twice; the second time required a long spiritual labor, made up of
prayer and tears, but crowned in the end by the joy of seeing him not only
embrace the faith and receive baptism, but also dedicate himself entirely to
the service of Christ."
The Pontiff added: "How many difficulties there are also today in family
relationships and how many mothers are anguished because their children
choose mistaken ways!"
St. Monica invites all these mothers "not to be discouraged, but to
persevere in their mission of wives and mothers, maintaining firm their
confidence in God and clinging with perseverance to prayer," the Holy Father
said.
Truth seeker
The Holy Father highlighted Augustine's "impassioned search for truth."
The saint, "attracted by earthly beauty ... 'fell upon' it," said the Pope.
"Through a toilsome journey," the Holy Father continued, and with the help
of his mother's prayers, Augustine "discovered in Christ the ultimate and
full meaning of his life and of the whole of human history."
That is why Augustine, whose feast is on Monday, is a "model of the way to
God, supreme truth and good," added the Pontiff.
Benedict XVI expressed the hope that St. Augustine may "obtain for us also
the gift of a sincere and profound encounter with Christ," especially "for
all those young people who, thirsty for happiness, seek it in mistaken ways
and get lost in dead ends."
The Bishop of Rome entrusted to the Virgin Mary "Christian parents so that,
like Monica, they will support their children on their way with their
example and prayer, and young people so that, as Augustine, they will always
tend to the fullness of truth and love, which is Christ."
The Pope added that Christ "alone can satisfy the profound needs of the
human heart."
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