+Via Rosa - St. Monica Chaplet for Despondent Mothers+

Chaplet of
St. Monica
for
Despondent Mothers

Saint Monica, model of patience, prayer and perseverance,
intercede for us, that we, too, may be awakened to the sacred,
and trust in God's perfect timing.

Chaplet of St. Monica

Litany of the Three Patrons (St. Monica, St. Augustine, Our Lady of Consolation)

Triduum in honor of St. Monica

St. Monica

St. Augustine

Our Lady of Consolation

Chaplet of St. Monica

Composed by M. Kadala and R. Eicher

This chaplet comprises a medal and 32 beads --- one for each year St. Monica wept and prayed for the conversion and salvation of her son, Augustine. There are two beads on the pendant, and six groups of five beads (one large and four small).

Begin on the medal with the prayer of St. Monica:
"O holy Monica, by your burning tears and unceasing prayers, you did save your son from eternal damnation. Obtain for us the grace ever to comprehend what is most conducive to the salvation of our children, so that we may effectively restrain them from the way of sin and lead them by that of virtue and piety to heaven!"

On the first pendant bead, pray Our Father

On the first pendant bead, pray Come, Holy Spirit

On the loop:
For each group of five, on the large bead, pray one of the petitions below, followed by Hail Mary on each of the four small beads:

1) I join my tears to yours --- against the spirit of Despair, toward the spirit of Hope --- Saint Monica, pray for me (us) in the Holy Name of Jesus!
4 Hail Marys...

2) I join my tears to yours --- against the spirit of Anger, toward the spirit of Love --- Saint Monica, pray for me in the Holy Name of Jesus!
4 Hail Marys...

3) I join my tears to yours --- against the spirit of Blame, toward the spirit of Forgiveness --- Saint Monica, pray for me in the Holy Name of Jesus!
4 Hail Marys...

4) I join my tears to yours --- against the spirit of Suspicion, toward the spirit of Trust --- Saint Monica pray for me in the Holy Name of Jesus!
4 Hail Marys...

5) I join my tears to yours --- against the spirit of Doubt, toward the spirit of Faith --- Saint Monica, pray for me in the Holy Name of Jesus!
4 Hail Marys...

6) I join my tears to yours --- against the spirit of Fear, toward the spirit of Peace --- Saint Monica, pray for me in the Holy Name of Jesus!
4 Hail Marys...

Returning to pendant, on the first bead pray:
"Saint Monica, Exemplary mother of the great Augustine, you perserveringly pursued your wayward son not with wild threats but with prayerful cries to heaven. Intercede for all mothers in our day so that they may learn to draw their children to God. Teach them how to remain close to their children, even the prodigal sons and daughters who have sadly gone astray."

On the next pendant bead, pray:
"O great Saint Augustine, take our children under your protection! To our efforts in their behalf, join your intercession for them with God. Exert all your influence and, with the compassion of your loving heart, intercede with the Most Holy Trinity for them. Permit not that our children, sanctified in the waters of baptism, should through mortal sin be banished from the presence of God and suffer eternal punishment."

On the medal:
"Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Eternal Father, have mercy on us and on our children! Lord, graciously hear us! Amen."

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Litany of the Three Patrons

Our Lady of Consolation
St. Augustine (Feastday August 28th)
St. Monica (Feastday August 27th)

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God,
Have mercy on us.

Response: pray for us.

Mary, our Mother and the Mother of Jesus,
Mary, our Mother of Consolation,
Mary, the source of our hope,
Mary, the refuge of sinners,
Mary, the guiding star of our lives,
Mary, source of strength in our weakness,
Mary, source of light in our darkness,
Mary, source of consolation in our sorrows,
Mary, source of victory in our temptations,
Mary, who leads us to Jesus,
Mary, who keeps us with Jesus,
Mary, who redeems us through Jesus,
Mary, Mother of Consolation, our Patroness,

St. Augustine, triumph of divine grace,
St. Augustine, so faithful to grace,
St. Augustine, glowing with pure love of God,
St. Augustine, filled with zeal for God’s glory,
St. Augustine, bright star in the firmament of the Church,
St. Augustine, so great and so humble,
St. Augustine, dauntless defender of the Faith,
St. Augustine, vanquisher of heresy,
St. Augustine, prince of bishops and doctors,
St. Augustine, our father,

St. Monica, devout mother of St. Augustine,
St. Monica, whose prayers won Augustine from sin,
St. Monica, whose prayers gave Augustine to God,
St. Monica, pattern for wives,
St. Monica, model of mothers and mother of saints,
St. Monica, exemplar of widows,
St. Monica, devoted to prayer,
St. Monica, so patient in trials,
St. Monica, so resigned in sorrow,
St. Monica, so happy in death,
St. Monica, devoted child of Mary, Mother of Consolation,

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of Consolation,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

V. Pray for us, O holy father, Saint Augustine,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

V. Pray for us, O holy mother, Saint Monica,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let Us Pray

Lord Jesus Christ, Father of mercies and God of all consolation, grant to Thy servants, that joyfully venerating Thy most pure Mother Mary as Our Lady of Consolation, we may be consoled by her in our sorrows, fortified in our trials through life, and in dying, may merit the ineffable consolations of Heaven for all eternity.
Amen.

Chaplet of St. Monica for Despondent Mothers
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St. Monica

St. Monica was married by arrangement to a pagan official in North Africa, who was much older than she, and although generous, was also violent tempered. His mother lived with them and was equally difficult, which proved a constant challenge to St. Monica. She had three children: Augustine, Navigius, and Perpetua. Through her patience and prayers, she was able to convert her husband and his mother to the Catholic faith in 370. He died a year later.

Perpetua and Navigius entered the religious Life. St. Augustine was much more difficult, as she had to pray for him for 17 years, begging the prayers of priests who, for a while, tried to avoid her because of her persistence at this seemingly hopeless endeavor. One priest did console her by saying, "it is not possible that the son of so many tears should perish."

This thought, coupled with a vision that she had received, strengthened her. St. Augustine was baptized by St. Ambrose in 387. St. Monica died later that same year, on the way back to Africa from Rome in the Italian town of Ostia.

(From www.catholic.org )

More about St. Monica from:

www.osa-west.org

www.newadvent.org

www.mycatholictradition.com

St. Augustine

St. Augustine of Hippo is the patron of brewers because of his conversion from a former life of loose living, which included parties, entertainment, and worldly ambitions. His complete turnaround and conversion has been an inspiration to many who struggle with a particular vice or habit they long to break.

This famous son of St. Monica was born in Africa and spent many years of his life in wicked living and in false beliefs. Though he was one of the most intelligent men who ever lived and though he had been brought up a Christian, his sins of impurity and his pride darkened his mind so much, that he could not see or understand the Divine Truth anymore.

Through the prayers of his holy mother and the marvelous preaching of St. Ambrose, Augustine finally became convinced that Christianity was the one true religion. Yet he did not become a Christian then, because he thought he could never live a pure life. One day, however, he heard about two men who had suddenly been converted on reading the life of St. Anthony, and he felt terrible ashamed of himself.

"What are we doing?" he cried to his friend Alipius. "Unlearned people are taking Heaven by force, while we, with all our knowledge, are so cowardly that we keep rolling around in the mud of our sins!"

Full of bitter sorrow, Augustine flung himself out into the garden and cried out to God, "How long more, O Lord? Why does not this hour put an end to my sins?" Just then he heard a child singing, "Take up and read!" Thinking that God intended him to hear those words, he picked up the book of the Letters of St. Paul, and read the first passage his gaze fell on. It was just what Augustine needed, for in it, St. Paul says to put away all impurity and to live in imitation of Jesus. That did it! From then on, Augustine began a new life.

He was baptized, became a priest, a bishop, a famous Catholic writer, Founder of religious priests, and one of the greatest saints that ever lived. He became very devout and charitable, too. On the wall of his room he had the following sentence written in large letters:

"Here we do not speak evil of anyone."

St. Augustine overcame strong heresies, practiced great poverty and supported the poor, preached very often and prayed with great fervor right up until his death. "Too late have I loved You!" he once cried to God, but with his holy life he certainly made up for the sins he committed before his conversion. His feast day is August 28th.

TRIDUUM in Honor of Saint Monica

From the Augustinian prayerbook, the Sodality of St. Monica

Feast Day of St. Monica - August 27
Feast Day of St. Augustine - August 28
Feast of Our Lady of Consolation - September 04

FIRST DAY: Prayer for Faith

O glorious St. Monica, transfixed with sorrow when thou sawest thy beloved child Augustine living in the dark and gloomy abyss of error and vice, and straying far from the right path which leads to true felicity in the possession of God and his holy grace, hear our prayer, O afflicted mother. By that cruel sorrow which, with so much patience, thou didst bear; and by those earnest sighs and bitter tears with which thou didst appeal to God to change the heart of thy prodigal son; by thy wondrous confidence in God, which was never shaken, O grant to us, thy children, that we may, like thee, place all our trust in God, and in our trials and troubles be ever resigned to his holy will; whilst we ask thee, O glorious mother St. Monica, to supply for us our special needs, we here earnestly ask thee to pray for the erring children of Jesus, so many Augustines, straying from God and hurrying to ruin. Let that earnest prayer of thine go forth once more for us and for sinners, that we may live in the light of divine grace, and be united again thereafter to bless the bounty of a loving God for eternity. Amen.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .Saint Monica, pray for us.

SECOND DAY: Prayer for Hope

O glorious mother, St. Monica, who, despite the many means thou employed to accomplish the conversion of thy son Augustine seemed fruitless, though for a long time God himself appeared deaf to thy earnest prayer and unmoved by thy ever-flowing tears, didst never lose confidence in obtaining the long-sought grace for Augustine. Thou didst lovingly and tenderly admonish thy erring son; thou didst watch over him ever with all a mother's love, and fearless of danger and heedless of fatigue, follow him from place to place in his weary and wayward wanderings; in a word, all that t mother's tender love could suggest, all that a mother's anxious solicitude could inspire, all that a wondrous prudence and true wisdom could dictate, thou, O great St. Monica, cheerfully didst to effect the return to God of thy firstborn and darling child. By all these generous efforts, so happily crowned in the end, hear, O mother, the petitions we make thee. Pray for us, too, and pray especially for those who are unmindful of and ungrateful to God. To thee, O dearest mother, we are especially dedicated; look upon us, then, as thy children, and win for us the grace we need. Regard mercifully the most destitute amongst us, that sin being diminished, the number of the faithful may increase, and greater glory may be given to Him who is the best of friends, the truest of benefactors, our first beginning and last end, the source of all our hope, our Savior, our God. Amen

Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .Saint Monica, pray for us.

THIRD DAY: Prayer for Charity

O glorious mother St. Monica, who can conceive the consolation that abounded in thy heart, so long the home of brooding sorrow, when thou sawst thy child Augustine rising in the light of grace and giving himself generously to God; when thou foldedst thy converted son in thy arms, and tears of very joy streamed forth to tell the glowing jubilee of thy heart. Oh, how in that moment God in his mercy recompensed thy years of sorrow and anxiety, thy long and weary days of racking suspense. It was impossible that a child of tears like thine should perish; and when thy son Augustine heart the call of God, he obeyed it, and his life and his deeds flung a lustre all their own on thee, St. Monica. O fortunate mother, twice mother of thy child, deign to listen to our prayers and present our petitions to God; look lovingly, and with all a mother's interest on us assembled here, under thy protection, to honor thee. We love thee; let us become, as St. Augustine of old, the objects of thy maternal love. Pray that we, too, like St. Augustine, may have strength to cling to God, and triumph over sin and temptation. By thy prayers break the fetters of sin that hold in cruel bondage the souls of thy sinful children in this world. O mother, pray that the miracle of grace in the heart of Augustine may again and again be repeated in these day of universal sin, and that the erring children of Jesus may be let back to the fold; that, united here on earth, we may securely go through the dangers of life and be united with thee, our mother, in heaven for ever. Amen

Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .Saint Monica, pray for us.

LET US PRAY. O God, look graciously down upon your children who sigh in this valley of tears. Hopefully we pray for our daily bread, for the forgiveness of our sins, for the never-failing help of your grace, and for the faithful fulfillment of your promises: to find life everlasting and a happy abode with you in heaven, through the merits of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Redeemer.

May God, through the merits and intercession of Saint Monica, increase our faith, strengthen our hope, and enkindle the fire of charity in our hearts. Amen

You are encouraged to recite this prayer daily and pray for the intentions of all those who are also reciting this prayer:

Eternal and merciful Father, I give You thanks for the gift of Your Divine Son Who suffered, died and rose for all mankind. I thank You also for my Catholic Faith and ask Your help that I may grow in fidelity by prayer, by works of charity and penance, by reflection on Your Word, and by regular participation in the Sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist.

You gave Saint Monica a spirit of selfless love manifested in her constant prayer for the conversion of her son Augustine. Inspired by boundless confidence in Your power to move hearts, and by the success of her prayer. I ask the grace to imitate her constancy in my prayer for [name(s)] who no longer share(s) in the intimate life of Your Catholic family. Grant through my prayer and witness that (he/she/they) maybe open to the promptings of Your Holy Spirit, to return to loving union with Your Church. Grant also that my prayer be ever hopeful and that I may never judge another, for You alone can read hearts. I ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Our Lady of Consolation
In Augustinian tradition the particular devotion to Mary under the title of Mother of Consolation appears to have sprung from two different sources. both originating from a mother's distress over a son in danger. The earliest story has been treasured by the Order of Saint Augustine.
	It tells of Saint Monica in the fourth century, distraught with grief and anxiety for her wayward son, Augustine, confiding her distress to the Mother of God, who appeared to her dressed in mouning clothes but wearing a shining cincture. As a pledge of her support and compassion, Our Lady removed the cincture and, giving it to Monica, directed her to wear it and to encourage others to do the same. Monica gave it to her son, who in turn gave it to his community, and so the Augustinian devotion to the wearing of a cincture as a token of fidelity to our Mother of Consolation came into being.
In the sixteenth century the flourishing devotion gave rise to the Confraternity of the Cincture and to the popular picture of Mary with the Child Jesus, who holds the end of the cincture in his right hand.
The tradition of praying to the Mother of God for the gift of consolation dates back to the early centuries, an expression of the Church's belief that the cloud of witnesses, the elect in glory, never cease to pray for the Church on earth. The first written evidence of prayer to the Mother of God, theotokos, is written in Greek on a scrap of Egyptian papyrus dating from between 300-540. And she is invoked as the compassionate one: Beneath the shelter of your tender compassion we fly for refuge, Mother of God. Do not overlook our supplications in adversity but deliver us out of danger. This prayer, perhaps written by a believer in danger of death because of allegiance to Christ, makes clear a vivid faith in Mary's consoling role. It has been hallowed by centuries of use, private and liturgical, in both the Eastern and Western Churches.

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