"Your Faithful Follower"
What's in the image?
This image represents St. Monica and St. Augustine together after his conversion. Even in this image, however, there are many differences. For instance, Monica is sitting down, relaxed and serene. Augustine is standing beside her, seemingly more unsettled. Monica’s relaxed position may be due to the fact that her search for God was much less difficult than that of her son. Faith came to her effortlessly. On the other hand, Augustine is standing, not resting, which may represent that his journey was much more of a struggle and was the result of a long process. Perhaps, in order to reach the state of happiness that he desperately longed for, Augustine needed to emulate Monica by accepting her simple faith. Also notice the small square just above Monica's head. We talk about this seemingly insignificant detail in the next page of our tour.
What's in Confessions?
Monica’s name only appears once in Confessions, but her impact on Augustine is monumental. As the image in the window suggests, Monica represents the importance of faith in the journey to God. Monica eventually brings faith into Augustine’s life with the help of God. Since his father was a pagan, Monica did her best to have God be the main influence in Augustine’s life—“My mother did all she could to see that you, my God, should be more truly my father” (Confessions 1.11.17). As Augustine understood it, God worked through Monica as the vehicle that would eventually lead Augustine to happiness in salvation—“Whose, then, were the words spoken to me by my mother, your faithful follower? Were they not your words, the song you were constantly singing into my ears?” (2.3.7). Her original efforts to convert Augustine proved to be futile though, for he sought happiness through logic rather than through faith.
With her perpetual faith, Monica achieved happiness in her life. She did her best to share this happiness with her loved ones—“…she made it her business to win him for [God] by preaching [God] to him through her way of life” (9.9.19). Through her faith, Monica carved a path for others to follow. By incorporating faith into his logic-based search for happiness, Augustine was able to settle his restlessness. Eventually, Augustine did find salvation, for he realized, with the influence of his mother, that faith is supreme, but faith can coincide with logic to create a state of true happiness.
What's in it for us?
Many young college students find themselves in the same situation as Augustine—simply going through the motions of life without fully grasping the importance of their actions. For instance, students may attend school because that is what is expected of them. From a religious aspect, many students may even recall their parents insisting that they attend Church, with phrases such as “an hour a week is the least you can do to show that you appreciate what you are given in life.”
Like Augustine, it is often not until later in life that many people come to realize the importance of their actions. Sometimes, this is a result of a significant experience, but often it is the result of the guidance of another person. In Augustine’s situation, Monica was the driving force in his eventual conversion to Catholicism. In addition to parents, other people such as professors, coaches, and friends may help in the journey of discovering what is important in life. Once we mature and come to this significant realization, we then become a guiding influence for others.
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