"Saints of Empowered Prayer: Introduction, and St. Monica"

          This series of reflections on the lives of the saints is about men and women who have taken their baptismal identity in Jesus Christ very seriously. The call to become a contemplative intercessor is a call to sainthood. For, a saint is one whose life is given over completely to God. A saint is someone who allows Jesus to live in them. The reason why the prayer of a saint is so powerful is that it is Jesus within the saint who is praying to the Father. Jesus is the one Intercessor in the presence of the Father. The lives of the saints spur us on to strive to live the fullness of the truth of our baptismal identity.

St. Monica: Was an early Christian saint born in the year 331 AD. She is also known as Monica of Hippo and the mother of St. Augustine of Hippo. We learn of her from her son's writings in his Confessions where he wrote of her pious acts. She suffered with an abusive husband, lived with an uncaring mean mother-in-law and never gave up prayerfully interceding for her family especially her son St. Augustine who abandoned his faith. Her prayers were answered when her husband converted on his death bed and her son returned to the faith at the age of 33. St. Monica is a model of persistence in prayer. Her love moved her to storm heaven for both her husband and her son, and she would not give up until the prayer was answered. There is no problem that cannot be conquered by prayer, and no difficulty that cannot be overcome by insistent prayer. St Monica died less than a year after her son's conversion 387 AD. Her feast day is August 27th.

Questions:

1) Do I remain faithful to informed, intercessory prayer when my life situations are difficult?

2) What helps me trust even when prayers are seemingly not answered?