Persistence in Prayer

Saint Monica is one of the best examples we have of the power of consistent prayer and the way God answers those prayers. When her son Augustine came of age he told his mother that he had become a Manichean. Manichaeism was a pagan philosophical religion that directly contradicted Christianity.

For seventeen years Augustine pursued his career, searching for God in rhetoric and philosophy. And for every day and night of those ten years Monica prayed and wept for the return of her son to the Faith.

When Augustine left for Rome he departed secretly to prevent his mother from following him. But she followed anyway, first to Rome and then to Milan, praying constantly for the sake of his soul. Her persistence was finally rewarded when Augustine was baptized into the Church in Milan at the age of thirty-three.

Later in his life Augustine reflected on his mother’s prayers and how God answered them. He wrote:

“That night I stole away without her; she remained praying and weeping. And what she was praying for, O my God, with all those tears, but that you should not allow me to sail! But you saw deeper and granted the essential part of her prayer; you did not do what she was at that moment asking, that you might do the thing she was always asking.”

God hears our prayers. But He answers them in His own way and in His own time. It is our part to pray persistently and accept His wisdom.

Pax Vobiscum
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time