Welcome to the traditional Catholic Daily Devotional for Sunday, May 4th, 2025.

It's the second Sunday after Easter, second class with the color of white.

In this episode, The Meditation, the Good Shepherd.

Today's news from the church, Germany promoting the blessing of irregular couples,

a preview of the documentary, a legacy of tradition, 50 years of St. Thomas Aquinas

seminary, and today's thought from Archbishop Marcel Afev. But first the call act of today's Mass.

O God, who by the humility of thy son didst lift up a fallen world, grant unending happiness to

thy faithful, that those whom thou

hast snatched from the perils of endless death, thou mayest cause to rejoice in everlasting days.

If there's a patron saint, for persistent prayer and patient parenting, it's got to be St. Monica.

Born in 332, Monica lived a life of faith

from the start. But her life wasn't easy. She was married off to Patricius, a pagan with a temper.

Still, Monica didn't fight fire with fire. She prayed, constantly, quietly, lovingly.

And in time, her faith bore fruit. Patricius was baptized just a year before his

death. But if you know Monica, it's likely because of her son, Augustine. Brilliant, charming,

and completely off the rails. He got swept up in flashy philosophies and even flashier lifestyles.

Monica, though heartbroken, never gave up.

She prayed with tears, with fasting, and with a stubborn hope that God would not let her son be

lost. At one point, she begged the bishop to go talk some sense into him. The bishop refused.

Augustine was just too clever and too stubborn, he said.

But then, seeing Monica's tears, he offered the one line that became her legacy.

The child of those tears shall not perish.

...