St. Monica endured a difficult life but she devoted herself to a life of prayer and virtuous living. She persevered, overcame her difficulties and first won over her husband and mother-in-law, and then all of her three children. All her tears finally bore fruit when Augustine was converted to the faith.

How many would shed tears and spend much time in prayer for the conversion of a loved one? Surely, there are countless stories like St. Monica. These testimonies impel us to persevere in faith like her. Would you endure? Anyone would easily give up when the loads of effort made bear no fruit. We cannot allow ourselves to be deceived by instant results. Jesus’ teaching to clean the inside and outside of the cups and dishes point to the fact that visible words and deeds are to be coherent at all times.

We have to remember that God’s time is not our time. Perseverance in prayer and the granting of our intercession for someone is not like a KPI. We cannot measure the success of prayer according to the effort that we put in. St. Monica’s enduring example shows us that, no matter how long it takes, we should not think God would give up on someone. We take consolation in St Peter’s words, “But do not ignore this one fact, beloved: with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.” (2 Pt 3:8)