St. Monica is the patroness of wives and abuse victims. Her son was St. Augustine.
Starts: August 18th
Feastday: August 27th
Introduction
St. Monica was born in AD 332 in North Africa. She married a pagan man named Patricius, who by all accounts had a violent temper. He was unsympathetic to St. Monica’s Catholic faith.
St. Monica’s son was St. Augustine, but he rejected Christ and the Church for many years, living a life of sensuality and hedonism. After long years of St. Monica’s prayers, St. Augustine was converted to Christ and became one of the greatest Doctors of the Church.
She is the patroness of wives and abuse victims.
St. Monica Novena
Intro Prayer (to be said each day)
Exemplary Mother of the Great Augustine, you perserveringly pursued your wayward son not with wild threats but with prayerful cries to heaven.
Intercede for all mothers in our day so that they may learn to draw their children to God. Teach them how to remain close to their children, even the prodigal sons and daughters who have sadly gone astray.
Daily Novena Prayers
Day 1: Today we pray for all God’s people who have left the Church. May the Holy Spirit open their ears and hearts so they may hear this invitation to come home.
Day 2: Today we pray for those who were baptized Catholic, but were not blessed with families to guide them to spiritual maturity. May the Holy Spirit guide them back to the Catholic Church.
Day 3: Today we pray for those who have been hurt by someone in the Church. May those of us in the Church today be a source of healing.
Day 4: Today we pray for those who reject the Church’s God-given teachings. May the Holy Spirit open their hearts and minds to the truth and wisdom of those teachings.
Day 5: Today we pray for those whose sins make them feel unworthy to come to God. May they repent with hope and feel the warm embrace of Our Father’s loving forgiveness.
Day 6: Today we pray for all those children who have grown up and, like St. Augustine as a young man, rejected Christ and His Church. May the grace of God and our prayers draw them back to the Church.
Day 7: Today we pray for those who are resisting Your call due to pressures from friends and family members. May the Holy Spirit give them strength in their convictions and may the Holy Spirit fill the hearts of their friends and family with love and support.
Day 8: Today we pray for those who feel abandoned by God. May they come to see God working in their lives, restore their faith in Him, and come home to His Church.
Day 9: Today we pray for those who are ready to come home and just need to be invited. May the Holy Spirit open our hearts and eyes to them that we may be the inviting and welcoming presence they seek.
Concluding Prayer (to be said each day)
Dear St Monica, troubled wife and mother, many sorrows pierced your heart during your lifetime. Yet you never despaired or lost faith. With confidence, persistence and profound faith, you prayed daily for the conversion of your beloved husband, Patricius and your beloved son, Augustine.
Grant me that same fortitude, patience and trust in the Lord. Intercede for me, dear St. Monica, that God may favorably hear my plea for (mention your petition here).
And grant me the grace to accept his will in all things, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
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