My name is Fr. Jay Buhman. I have been a priest of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, since 2004. The Saint Monica Project is something that was generated over time. It really began about five years ago when I was an associate priest. At the time I had a middle-of-the-night holy hour to support our parish’s perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. In the middle of the night the doors of the church were always locked and there was a bell to ring when the next person arrived. Each week I would answer the doorbell to let in an elderly gentleman who had been making a middle-of-the-night holy hour for about fifty years. We would make a little small talk as we walked slowly to the front of the small chapel where the adoration pew was located, then I would wish him a good night and I would exit the chapel and return to the rectory. One particular morning, this gentleman began to tell me about his daughter who was an adult but who had left the Catholic Church. She had written a scathing entry on her blog about how the Catholic Church wouldn’t welcome her to receive Holy Communion. As this elderly man began to tell me about this he broke down and began to weep. This wasn’t just a cry. It came from deep down in his heart. I remember I was moved almost to tears myself as I put my arm around his shoulders and he began to shake as his sobs left him. His love for Jesus and the Church was unmistakable. It seemed obvious to me that he wanted to express this love for Jesus and the Church to his daughter but just didn’t have the ability to answer her misgivings about the Church. This last incident seemed to be the breaking point for this man who just couldn’t understand why his daughter didn’t see the Eucharist and the Church as he did. I remember him, in the midst of sobs, asking me, “What can I do? What should I do?” Most vividly I remember having very little to say except, “Keep praying for her…” I remember how weak that seemed. For a man so moved, I felt there should be something more. The following week, he brought a copy of the blog his daughter wrote and he gave it to me so I could read it. Again, he simply began to speak about her and the sobbing returned. My heart went out to him. Since those two weeks my conscience has been bothered. Upon reflection, it seemed that throughout my priesthood, many people had come up to me and asked me what they could do for their children and loved ones who had left the faith. Some were worried about the eternal salvation of their children. Some thought it all might be their fault. Some had tried so hard to encourage a return to the Faith and were at a loss as to what more could be done. Through it all I kept answering them in the same way – be a good example of the Faith to your children and continue to pray for them. Now those words to me seemed to be very little help. They were vague and general. I began to think about what that really meant and I began to think about Saint Monica. About two years ago I finally decided to find an artist who might be interested in a project like this. I only knew of one artist in my area and so I emailed her. Sondra Jonson and I worked for a long time to get the image from my mind to the paper. The more I thought and prayed about the image and the devotion the more it was shaped and guided and the more it came into focus – hopefully through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It was Sondra who first mentioned the aspect of offering Masses for loved ones who are away from the Faith. After many revisions and trials the image and the devotion were born. I hope and pray the image and the devotion can give some direction and focus to prayer offered for loved ones. The Masses offered can help to give our prayer purpose and the tears with the image can help to direct our own relationship with Christ. Saint Augustine’s conversion was by the grace of God. But the process of Saint Monica becoming a saint before his eyes had to be a big part of what brought him that grace or enabled him to receive that grace. In the same way, our lives lived with joy and with great faith will surely be an influence on our loved ones who have left the practice of the Catholic Faith. I hope this image and this devotion can encourage people in their prayer for fallen-away Catholics and in their own love for Jesus Christ and God our Father.