Happy Friday, friends! 🎉

Today the Church celebrates one of the most hope-filled stories in her history — and it started with a mother's tears. Yesterday was the feast of St. Monica, and today is the feast of her son, St. Augustine, whose conversion after years of his mother's prayer became one of the great turning points in Christian history.

If you're praying for someone right now — a spouse, a child, a friend who's wandered — and it feels like nothing is changing, Monica's story is for you this week. Her prayers took nearly two decades to be answered. She never saw it happen quickly. She just kept praying.

"Our hearts are restless until they rest in you." - St. Augustine

Friday, August 28 — Memorial of St. Augustine of Hippo (preceded by the Memorial of St. Monica, August 27)

Augustine grew up in a Christian home, but as a young man he wandered far from the faith, chasing things that didn't satisfy him. His mother, Monica, never stopped praying for him — for years and years — even when it seemed hopeless. Eventually, through the influence of a wise bishop named St. Ambrose, Augustine's heart changed completely. He was baptized, became a priest and then a bishop, and is now remembered as one of the greatest teachers in the whole history of the Church.

What to tell a preschooler: "A little boy named Augustine grew up and made some choices that took him far away from God. But his mommy, Monica, prayed for him every single day for a very long time — and God heard her! Augustine came back to God and became one of the Church's wisest teachers."

Virtue to Notice: Perseverance

Monica prayed for nearly twenty years before seeing her prayers answered. This week, notice perseverance in small, unglamorous moments: praying for the same person night after night, or a child trying something hard again after it didn't work the first time. Perseverance rarely looks dramatic — it looks like showing up again tomorrow.

Simple faith practice for preschoolers: Start a family prayer jar.

Write the names of people your family is praying for on small slips of paper (a spouse, a friend, a family member who's away from the Church, or anyone on your heart) and place them in a jar. Each night this week, pull one out and pray for that person together — even just a simple line:

"God, like St. Monica, help us keep praying for the people we love, and trust your timing."

Still settling into your homeschool or faith formation rhythm for the year? Little Lessons Catholic Preschool Curriculum brings a saint, a virtue, and a simple practice — just like this week's issue — into every week of the year, fully open-and-go.