St. Monica
Patroness of Mothers and Widows
St. Monica is remembered as an example of patience and perserverance in prayer. Through her constant prayer, her pagan husband became a Christian before his death, and her son, St. Augustine, became one of the greatest saints of the Church.
When this holy card was produced her feast day must have been May 4th (the printers published that on the left side of the card) but now, it is celebrated on August 27th.
9 comments:
Hi, Micki.
Through the years, since I was a kid, I have come across several holy cards in the series from which today's card comes. Although I sometimes dislike "stylized" art (i.e., art that is not "photo-realistic"), there is something about this "modern" series of cards that appeals to me.
Yes, you were right about the date (May 4). In 1969, in conjunction with the publication of the first edition of the new Roman Missal by Pope Paul VI -- giving us what is now called the "ordinary form of the Roman Rite of the Mass" -- the pope promulgated a radically revised liturgical calendar. In it, the former feast of St. Monica (May 4) became the memorial of St. Monica (August 27). I believe that this was done in order to place mother in proximity to son (St. Augustine, unchanged from August 28).
By the way, there is a small percentage of Catholics who have papal permission to follow the old calendar at Mass and in praying the Divine Office.
John
PS: Did you notice St. Monica's sad eyes and the tear coming from one of them? These things make me remember how my parents shed many prayerful tears for me (for which I will be eternally grateful).
Oops!
Above, I wrote, "... there is a small percentage of Catholics who have papal permission to follow the old calendar at Mass ...".
I should have explained that the old calendar cannot be followed by priests who celebrate the "ordinary form," but only by those who celebrate the "extraordinary form" (according to the old missal of 1962).
John
John - How nice to hear that you had several of this series holy cards. I think I have about 85 saints in the series. I'm with you too in not particularly being crazy about that art form... but I do like the cards because they usually have the feast day and what they are patrons of. I wonder how many are in the series, over one hundred I bet.
It was good to learn about the Rite of the Mass etc.
Yes, St. Monica does look sad. I'm sure all mothers have had times that they felt like St. Monica. What a model of prayer for your children.
Today we celebrate the feast of St Monica, the mother of one of my favourite saints: St Augustine. I like St Monica cause she is a witty and naggy mom. She gave fitting and witty replies to her Great Son St Augustine. What follows is a brief history of this saint.
Our knowledge of Monica comes almost entirely from the writings of her son, the great Doctor of the Church, St. Augustine of Hippo. His relationship with his mother was a close one, especially during Monica's last years. In Book IX of St. Augustine's he gives us many details of her life, and expresses his gratitude for her devotion in moving terms.
St. Monica was born about the year 332 in Tagaste, North Africa, of a Christian family of some substance. We are given one episode of her childhood which suggests a possible origin for her firmness of will. She was sometimes sent down to the cellar to draw wine for the family, and fell into the habit of taking secret sips. She developed such a passion for wine that before long she was drinking great draughts of it whenever opportunity offered. One day a family slave who had been spying on the little girl denounced her as a wine-bibber, and Monica, covered with shame, gave up the habit. Soon afterward she was baptized, and thenceforth seems to have led a life of irreproachable virtue.
print prescription - Thank you for posting so much more about St. Monica. I only wish it was done earlier so more people could read it. Well done.
Hi
I think St. Monica belongs to Christianity religion.
It was helpful. Monica is now my confirmation name and we have to write about the saint we picked
thank you for this website monica is now my confirmation name , we are doing projects on our saints and i am including this website as one of my resources
Thank you. I'm sure ST. Monica will bless you and help you whenever she can.
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