St. Philomena
Virgin, Martyr and Wonder Worker
The very name of Philomena contains the words: filia luminis,
daughter of light. She is the enlightener of a dark and corrupt age confounding
the sneers of materialism. She is the Patroness of the Children of Mary.
Her mission today is to draw us to the Immaculate Heart of Mary through
imitation of her heroic virtues of purity, obedience and humility. Saint
Philomena is an anchor of HOPE in this dark age of despair.
The rude latter days are here. They are clearly and universally
marked by occultism, modernism, materialism, spiritism, despair and a general
falling away from the Faith. Never have the powers of darkness been so
strong, since the beginning of Christianity, as they are today. Saint Philomena
is the New Light of the Church Militant! This title was bestowed
upon her by St Jean Marie Vianney, heroic confessor and patron of all parish
priests.
Little, indeed, is known historically of Saint Philomena.
Her real history commences when her blessed remains were found after having
rested in the obscurity of the Catacombs of St. Priscilla for some seventeen
hundred years. But God is wonderful in His saints, and Saint Philomena
strikingly exemplifies this oft-repeated truth. After allowing her name
and memory to be buried with her earthly remains for centuries, He suddenly
brought the attention of mankind to this little maiden-martyr, and now
works astounding prodigies in her name, as if wishing to show that He wills
in this way to recompense the long time He allowed her to remain in obscurity.
Saint Philomena's relics were unearthed at the beginning
of the 19th century - on May 24, 1802. Cut on the tomb of the saint were
the emblems of a lily and a palm, to indicate her virginity and her martyrdom.
There were also an anchor, a scourge, and three arrows, two pointing in
opposite directions, and one with a curved line upon it, signifying fire,
and intended to symbolize the different torments which the martyr endured
in testimony of her faith in and love of Jesus Christ.
Saint Philomena was formally "raised to the Altar"
by Pope Gregory XVI in an infallible statement made publicly in the name
of Holy Mother the Church for the edification of all the faithful and for
the glory of God in time and eternity. The Pope was himself a witness to
the miraculous cure of Pauline Jaricot, foundress of the Living Rosary,
at Saint Philomena's shrine in Mugnano, Italy
The story of Saint Philomena's life is based on private
revelations made by the saint in 1863 to three different persons, in answer
to the prayers of many of Saint Philomena's clients to let them know who
she was and how she met martyrdom. Those favored persons were a young artist
of good morals and a pious life, a zealous priest, and a devout nun of
Naples, the Ven. Mother Mary Louisa of Jesus. While the Holy See does not
guarantee the authenticity of the purported revelations, the Holy Office
gave its sanction to their dissemination on December 21, 1883.
Our beautiful Saint Philomena went forth from her mother's
arms to die for Christ; the lictors ax cropped the budding lily, and pious
hands gathered it up and laid her in the tomb. This true heroine trampled
all the vanity of the world under her feet and chose to endure multiplied
torments rather than renounce her vow to Our Crucified Saviour. What a
model of constancy and of every virtue! Let the youthful take heart and
go to her when tried. Let us all with unbounded confidence implore her
intercession!
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