Mothering in the Gospels

A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Monica

Find today’s readings here.

The theme of mothering is particularly present in today’s Gospel, used to commemorate the Memorial of St. Monica. 

In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus encounters the following scene: A group of people are carrying the body of a man who had died. The dead man’s mother, a widow, stands nearby. She now has no one, and Jesus, filled with pity for the woman, tells her, “Do not weep.”

Jesus places his hand on the coffin and says, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” 

And he does. 

Jesus then gives the man to his mother.

Perhaps I chose to reflect on this Gospel passage, as opposed to the alternate readings for today, because the day I’m writing this is the Assumption of Mary, and the general theme of motherhood is in the air.

Today’s Memorial of St. Monica honors one of the most influential mothers in Christian history, though I admit I knew relatively little about her. Tomorrow’s memorial is devoted to St. Augustine, the fourth-century bishop of Hippo, prolific theologian, doctor of the church and patron and namesake of a global religious order that counts Pope Leo XIV among its members. 

But it’s impossible to appreciate St. Augustine without reflecting on the role that his mother, St. Monica, played in his conversion, which is why the church devotes today to remembering her. But who is she?

In her book Women of the Church, Bronwen McShea praises St. Monica’s “dogged faith” and offers a quick bio: Monica was born in modern-day Algeria and lived from A.D. 332 to 387. Her husband, Patricius, was abusive and unfaithful. Monica was a Christian and lamented that her children were not. Augustine eventually converted and accepted mainstream Christian belief, in part because of the teaching of his local bishop, St. Ambrose of Milan, and in part because of his mother’s insistence. 

Augustine himself writes in his Confessions that it was his mother “who brought me to birth, both in her flesh, so that I was born into this temporal light, and in her heart, that I might be born into eternal light.”

Women in the church have so often toiled in the shadows, their contributions going unrecognized. Many of their stories have undoubtedly been lost to history. So it’s remarkable that we know anything about St. Monica, even if her story is incomplete. Who are the women who have played a vital role in your faith journey? Perhaps your mother, or perhaps a Catholic sister? Someone who fills a mothering role for you, an aunt or a sister? How do their stories bolster your faith and serve as witnesses to the Gospel?

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