Monica

You are someone who stays faithful where no one is watching, no stage, no applause, just quiet constancy year after year. That is Monica. She bears a difficult marriage with patience, and when her son goes astray, she refuses to give up on him. For seventeen years she prays for him, with tears and a persistence that will not tire. That son is Augustine. Shortly before her death, mother and son stand together at Ostia, speaking of eternity, the wayward son has become a saint, and Monica dies happy. Her strength was never the loud word or the grand gesture, but a prayer that would not quit. Who are you willing to keep praying for, even when years pass and nothing seems to change?