Do you have a loved one who has fallen away from the faith? Consider turning to the saintly intercession and holy testimony of Saint Monica!
For many Catholic parents and grandparents, watching a child or grandchild drift from the faith can bring a uniquely painful kind of heartbreak.
You may pray for them every day. You may wonder what you did wrong. You may feel helpless when conversations about God become tense—or when your loved one simply seems uninterested.
More than 1,600 years ago, St. Monica carried a similar cross for her son, Augustine. Today, St. Augustine is one of the Church’s greatest saints and theologians. But before his conversion, his path looked very different.
St. Monica longed for Augustine to know Christ. Her husband, Patricius, was not Catholic and did not allow Augustine to be baptized as a child. Later, Augustine left home, embraced beliefs outside Christianity, and lived far from the faith his mother had hoped he would embrace.
For 17 years, Monica prayed and wept for her son’s conversion.
Her prayers were not answered overnight. Yet she continued to trust God, even when she could not see how Augustine’s story could change. Eventually, Augustine encountered Christ, was baptized by St. Ambrose, and went
