A Protestant Honors a Catholic Mother
Chuck Colson Lauds St. Monica

In the latest edition of his on-line column, Charles Colson, the born-again Christian who has devoted himself to prison ministry, pens a nice article about two Catholic saints. Of course, it has the usual Protestant slant, so I have provided an abbreviated version below – with appropriate Catholic Caveman commentary.

"In honor of Mother's Day, I'd like to tell you a story about one mother whose devotion shaped not only her son's life but countless others, as well.

"Her name was Monica. A Christian [Catholic], she was married to a prominent man who wasn't a believer [aka, a pagan]. He was unfaithful and even beat her at times. Monica's response was to go to church [Mass] every day and [receive Holy Communion and] pray for his conversion. And that's exactly what happened.

"The suffering and anguish caused by her husband paled before what Monica's oldest son put her through. He lived a dissolute life, devoted to pleasure. He left one mistress and took up with another. His only son was born out-of-wedlock.

"Still, Monica never gave up. The greatest preacher of the time, Bishop [bishop? bishop of what? oh yeah, the CATHOLIC Church!] Ambrose of Milan, was right. At the age of 35, Monica's son, [later bishop and Saint] Augustine, became a [Catholic] Christian and was baptized. This devotion to the spiritual welfare of her son is why [Saint] Monica is regarded as the model for all Christian mothers. "

By the way, Chuck, Saint Monica's boy is also the one who said: “For my part, I should not believe the gospel except moved by the authority of the Catholic Church.” No offense, but you might want to remind the 66-book Protestants about that, too .