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Saint Monica’S Model Of Catholic Excellence In Augustine’S Confessions, Caelan Mckamey

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

This paper discusses Saint Augustine’s presentation of his mother, Monica, as a model Catholic throughout his Confessions. Saint Augustine utilized individuals he encountered throughout his life as models of perfect Catholicism in an effort to provide resources for his medieval contemporaries to draw from throughout their own faith journeys. As a convert himself, Augustine drew holy inspiration from his mother, Saint Monica, as he searched for life’s purpose and God’s grace. He presents his mother throughout the first nine books of the Confessions as a human woman – trapped in a loveless marriage, filled with anxiety and fear, yet …