By Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News

“Pursue the Power of Persistent Prayer with St. Monica” was the title of an evening of reflection, discussion and prayer held Aug. 27 at Saint Anne Parish in Saskatoon, organized by Arise Catholic Movement of Saskatoon.

MC Anne-Marie Hughes described the origins of the evening in the realization that many Catholics live with the sorrow and loss of “loved ones who have fallen away, walked away, or run away from the Church.”

Hughes and fellow committee members Shannon Granger, Vanessa Nyssen, Donna Dupuis, Brenda Tryhuba, and Shelley Timmons decided that the Memorial of St. Monica was a most appropriate day to gather for “fellowship and prayer and to hold each other in hope.”

Featuring refreshments and dessert, the evening opened with a presentation about the life of St. Monica (332-387) by Fr. Greg Roth, the newly-appointed pastor of Saint Anne and Saints-Martyrs-Canadiens parishes in Saskatoon. “She’s a great saint and someone we can learn to love in our own lives,” he said.

Citing the famous autobiographical work by her son — The Confessions of St. Augustine — Roth described St. Monica’s faithfulness and trust in prayer, as she spent years praying for the conversion of her husband and her wayward son. Her husband converted on his deathbed, and her son returned to the Catholic Church and was eventually ordained a priest and made a bishop. St. Augustine of Hippo became one of the Church’s greatest theologians, and is also a saint of the Church, whose feast day is celebrated on Aug. 28, the day after his mother’s feast day.

The evening continued with small group discussion at the tables. There was also a panel discussion centred around the personal and heart-felt testimony of father and daughter Roland LaFleche and Vanessa Benesh about children leaving and then returning to the faith.

The gathering heard how parents second-guess themselves when children abandon their Catholic faith and often wonder what more they could have done, or how to address the situation now. As a pastor, Roth said he often counsels those who are struggling, observing that part of being a parent is letting go of adult children, and recognizing that they are adults who make their own decisions. That does not mean giving up or forgetting about them, he said, but taking St. Monica as an example of someone who continued to hope and pray.

Faithful and persistent prayer is a lifeline to cling to, other speakers noted. LaFleche quoted his wife’s constant assurance and challenge to wait for God to act in the lives of those who have left the faith: “Do you trust in the Lord or not?”

The evening ended with Eucharistic Adoration.

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Kiply Lukan Yaworski is the communications coordinator for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon: rcdos.ca