Saint Monica in a Landscape, by Alexandre Cabanel, 1845, Oil on canvas © Milwaukee Art Museum
Source: Christian Art
Gospel of 27 August 2025
Matthew 23:27-32
At that time: Jesus said, ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, “If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.” Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.’
Reflection on our painting
Saint Monica, whose feast we celebrate today, is best known as the mother of Saint Augustine, one of the great saints and thinkers of the Church. She was born in North Africa in the 4th century and married a pagan man named Patricius, who could be hot-tempered and was not always faithful. Monica’s deep faith and gentle perseverance gradually influenced her husband, and he was baptised before his death. She was also a devoted mother, though her relationship with her eldest son, Augustine, was marked by years of worry. Augustine was brilliant but restless, and for a long time he lived far from God. Monica never gave up on him, following him across countries and continents, weeping and praying constantly for his conversion.
Her prayers were finally answered in a remarkable way when Augustine was baptised by Saint Ambrose in Milan. Shortly afterwards, Monica told her son that her life’s purpose was fulfilled: she had seen him return to God. She told him that now she felt ready for heaven. She died in the year 387 in the Italian port town of Ostia, while preparing to return home to Africa. Monica is remembered as a model of patience, faith, and persistent prayer, especially for loved ones who seem far from God. I think we all know people that we love but who are far from God. Monica is a wonderful saint to pray to for their conversion. Her story reminds us that no prayer offered in love is ever wasted, and that God’s timing, though sometimes slow in our eyes, is always perfect.
Since my mother’s name is Monique, I want to take a moment to wish her a very happy feast day today.
Our painting is one of a pair of paintings by Alexandre Cabanel depicting Saint Monica and young Saint Augustine. Tomorrow I will feature the pair to this painting, which depicts a mature Saint Augustine in his study. Cabanel painted these paintings when he was only 22 years old! Saint Monica is portrayed standing outdoors, in an Italianate landscape. She wears flowing green silk robe, green being the symbolic colour of renewal and conversion. She wraps little Saint Augustine in this cloak. Augustine’s expression carries a hint of mischief. He is still close to his mother, yet already gazing toward his own path, his eyes looking beyond the canvas toward a horizon of his own choosing. Monica’s face, by contrast, is steady and resolute, her eyes fixed with the determination of a mother who will not give up. In time, her persistence will prevail, and the wayward son will become one of the Church’s most beloved and brilliant theologian-saints.
LINKS
Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today’s Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-23-27-32-2025/
