THE MEMORIAL OF ST MONICA.
The MEMORIAL OF ST MONICA, MOTHER OF ST AUGUSTINE.
Stay Awake and Be Prepared for the Coming of Jesus.
"Jesus said to his disciples: “Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
"Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.
“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time?
"Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
"But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is long delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, the servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” (Matthew 24: 42 - 51).
Thursday August 27th 2026 in the 21st Week in Ordinary Time is the Memorial of St Monica, the mother of St Augustine.
"The woman who fears the Lord will herself be praised. Her children have called her most blessed, her husband has sung her praises." (Entrance Antiphon. Cf. Prv 31:30, 28).
Thursday August 27th in the 21st Week in Ordinary Time is the Memorial of St Monica, the Mother of St Augustine, whose feast day is tomorrow August 28th.
The Entrance Antiphon from the Book of Proverbs can be aptly applied to St Monica:
"The woman who fears the Lord will herself be praised. Her children have called her most blessed, her husband has sung her praises." ( Cf. Prv 31:30, 28). Entrance Antiphon.
St Monica was born in 331 in Tagaste in modern Algeria in N. Africa and died in 387 near Rome at the age of 56. Monica is the mother of St Augustine, Bishop, Father and Doctor of the Church.
The Church cannot praise our saint of the day enough. Look at the Entrance Antiphon from the special Mass for St Monica. Look also at the Collect prayer to the Father. Almighty Father accepted the motherly tears of St Monica for the conversion of the once prodigal Augustine and made Augustine a great Shepherd of souls.
St Monica also handled a difficult husband, the once alcoholic and hot tempered Patricius, a pagan and city councilor. He died a baptized Christian!
At a time when wife beating was not considered a crime, Monica counseled her female married friends how to handle their husbands. According to Monica, despite the fact that her husband was both a pagan and alcoholic, Patricius never threatened nor abused her in any way.
The Church made Monica the patron saint of married women and a model for Christian mothers.
Who will doubt that we need many Monicas today. We need women who are strong in Christian virtue and able to mother a Christian household. How can the young preserve purity and chastity today? Maternal advice can go like this:
#1 Daily Prayer: Vital Necessity.
#2 Daily word of God.
#3 Frequent Holy Communion.
#4 Frequent Confession.
#5 Spiritual Reading.
O woman, if you do this, "God will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." (Cf 1 Corinthians 1: 9).
August is the Month dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Mary says: "In the end. My Immaculate Heart will triumph."
For Prayers of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Litany, Promises of Mary to those who say the Holy Rosary, etc click the link below:
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