St. Monica and Simplicity in our Spiritual Lives

Today is the feast of St. Monica. She had a very difficult life. Her husband loved her but was a hard man to be married to for he was an angry man and often unfaithful. Her son we know as St. Augustine who as a young man was wild and passionate in his embrace of a sinful life. Worse still he was brilliant. How she suffered with these two men she loved more than anything else in the world. How many tears she shed for the salvation of their souls. Before she died she saw them both converted and Baptized. How did she do it? Two men, two simple principles. First of all she knew God to be a God of Mercy and she trusted in Him. Secondly she knew God was the Comfort of the Sorrowful and she took comfort in Him. She suffered and she cried but she trusted in God's Mercy and allowed Him to comfort her in all her trials. Many years of suffering for Monica were comforted in God's Mercy. If we could embrace this as well, our tears and sorrow would be comforted today in God's Mercy and eventually will be turned to Joy. After Augustine's conversion Monica felt her joy was complete and she could die peacefully which she did. If we follow her simple way our joy will be complete and we will know God's Peace in our lives. Not all the mysteries of our faith are that complicated. The witness of this simple wife and mother who persevered in love teaches the Church a profound lesson about God's Loving Mercy.