One of my favourite
passages from the writings of Saint Paul comes from the Letter to the
Romans: “And not only that, but we also
boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance
produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint
us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit
that has been given to us.” (Romans 5.3-4)
Of the many Christians whose lives are captured in these two verses
Monnica, the mother of Augustine of Hippo, certainly tops the list.
Born around 331 in
North Africa, probably of Berber origin, Monnica married a Roman citizen of
some status and bore three children, one of whom, Augustine, became one of the
most significant Christian thinkers of all time. However, Augustine had what can only be
called a misspent youth and only came to be baptized and mature faith as an
adult. Before his conversion Augustine
wandered the Mediterranean world with his mother close behind him. Monnica prayed for Augustine, cajoled him and
lived to see him baptized and living the life she believed he was called to
lead. She died in 387, a year after
Augustine’s baptism.
Now, it’s easy to see
Monnica as a Christian version of the ‘stage mother’ who will not let go of her
prodigy. Perhaps there is some truth in
this. But what cannot be denied is
Monnica’s endurance. She suffered her
son’s youthful indiscretions, learned endurance, strengthened her own character
and lived in the hope that the Spirit would lead Augustine into the embrace of
God and his vocation as a teacher.
Throughout the
history of the Christian movement we have experienced our ups and our downs,
our conspicuous successes and our dismal failures, but we are still here. We have suffered and, to be honest, we have
contributed to the sufferings of others.
But we have endured. Our endurance
has forged a character rooted in justice, covenantal love and humility. Our suffering, our endurance, our character
have instilled in us a hope in a world in which all of God’s children are
free. Because of our endurance, because
of our hope, some may find us annoying, but the hope in which we live is worth
being a nuisance to those who are satisfied in the status quo. I think that Monnica would be proud of us.
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