A Dedicated Widow

After her husband’s premature death, St. Monica dedicated her life to raising her children. As a widowed mother of
three, she persevered in the face of many difficulties. Her greatest desire was for her children to follow Christ.
Although later in life he was known as a fervent man of God, St. Augustine did not easily come to see God’s truth.
As a child, he proved to be quite difficult, causing Monica much grief, and as a young adult he remained uninterested in Christianity. But St. Monica never stopped praying for his eternal soul, in spite of the circumstances. On one particular occasion, when she was discussing the matter with a priest, he urged her to remain steadfast in her prayers, stating
that it was “not possible that the son of so many tears should perish.”