Over the past few days, the Church has celebrated the feasts of a trio of great saints: Monica, Augustine and John the Baptist. There is much that can be learned from studying their lives. St. Monica was a holy woman, who never stopped praying for the conversion of her husband and son. After many years of prayer, both of them converted to Christianity. Her son, St. Augustine went on to become a bishop and doctor of the Church. He is regarded as one of the great theological minds in Church history. Augustine is well known for his book, Confessions, in which he details his struggle with desires of the flesh. Today is the memorial of the martyrdom of John the Baptist, which occurred because he spoke out against Herod?s invalid marriage.
Some lessons that we can learn by studying the lives of these saints are:
1. Never stop praying for the conversion of your family members.
2. You will never find true happiness through material possessions.
3. We must never be afraid to speak the truth about our Faith, even if we are persecuted.
St. Monica, St. Augustine and St. John the Baptist?pray for us!
