A Word from Bob: You’re reading Part 3 of a four-part blog mini-series on The Forgotten Church Mothers. When we ponder early church history, our minds naturally focus on the Church Fathers. Sadly, we normally fail even to consider the Church Mothers. In our modern Western Evangelical world, where the worth and role of women is often debated—and demeaned—it is helpful to learn from church history. These posts are taken from my book, Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith. You can read Part 1 here: Mothers of the Church Fathers. You can read Part 2 here: Lamenting Loss, Gripping Grace.
Monica: Mingling Spiritual Friendship & Spiritual Direction
The name of Monica (331-387), mother of Augustine, is perhaps the best known of the Church Mothers. What we know about Monica we learn almost entirely from her son’s autobiography Confessions. Ranft cogently notes:
“Because we are fortunate enough to have Confessions, we can easily identify the most influential person in his spiritual life. Monica, his mother, stands out above all others as the spiritual guide and anchor, indeed, as the determinative relationship in his life.”[i]
Monica was born in North Africa near Carthage in what is now
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