Sr. Marie Helene Mohr - St. Philomena: Powerful With God

Saint Philomena

Powerful With God

Sister Marie Helen Mohr, S.C.

Copyright 1953 by The Bruce Publishing Company, Milwaukee.

Copyright 1988 by TAN Books (new material).

Typography is the property of TAN Books, and may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without written permission from the Publisher.

Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 88-50160

TAN Books
Charlotte, North Carolina
www.TANBooks.com
2010

Dedicated
to
HIS EXCELLENCY, THE MOST REVEREND HUGH L. LAMB
First Bishop of Greensburg

Saint Philomena

POWERFUL WITH GOD

The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure was taken for misery; and their going away from us for utter destruction: but they are in peace. And though in the sight of men they suffered torments, their hope is full of immortality. Afflicted in few things, in many they shall be well rewarded: because God hath tried them, and found them worthy of Himself. As gold in the furnace He hath proved them, and as a victim of a holocaust He hath received them, and in time there shall be respect had to them. The just shall shine, and shall run to and fro like sparks among the reeds. They shall judge nations and rule over people, and their Lord shall reign for ever.

Wisdom 3:1-8

Saint Philomena. An artist's conception of the now famous virgin martyr of the Roman era whose tomb was discovered on May 25, 1802 in the Catacomb of St. Priscilla in Rome but about whom there is no historical record.

A statue of St. John Vianney, the Cur of Ars (1786-1859), kneeling before a statue of St. Philomena to whom he was especially devoted and to whom he ascribed all the miracles worked at Ars. St. John Vianney was one of the principal original promoters of devotion to St. Philomena.

PUBLISHER'S PREFACE

St. Philomena Today

ST. PHILOMENA'S STORY is unique in the annals of the saints. For here is the story of a virgin and martyr of the Roman era who had remained for centuries unknown to history. Only upon the disinterment of her bones in 1802 did the Catholic world start to learn about her. Then, with the transfer of her relics to a shrine at Mugnano, Italy (near Naples), graces, favors and miracles through her intercession began to abound. Thus did the popularity of this "unknown saint" begin to spread worldwidewith such incredible rapidity and success that in 35 years the Pope (Gregory XVI) named her the "Wonderworker of the 19th Century," officially approved her cultus and raised her to the altar. Thereafter St. Philomena's popularity increased and spread worldwide; to all she became known as "Philomena, Powerful with God."

During the 20th century, St. Philomena's cultus continued to be established everywhere, and national shrines in her honor were erected in Paris, France; in Pinner, England; at Seton Hill in Greensburg, Pennsylvania; and in Briggsville, Wisconsin, to mention the more famous ones.

Devotion to St. Philomena was widespread at the first publishing of this present book in 1952, which was written to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the discovery of her relics. But then on February 14, 1961, just prior to Vatican Council II, St. Philomena's feast was dropped from Church calendars, along with the feasts of a number of other saints and famous events in the lives of Jesus and Mary and the history of the Church. Ever since that time a certain amount of confusion has surrounded devotion to St. Philomena. This action by Rome gave many Catholics the impression that St. Philomena was no longer a saint or that the Church was trying to discourage devotion to her. Neither supposition, however, is correct.

The Instruction of the Sacred Congregation of Rites regarding St. Philomena's feast was a liturgical directive, not a denial of sainthood nor a directive regarding private devotion. The Instruction stated: Festum autem S. Philumenae V. et M. (11 augusti) e quolibet calendario expungatur"But the Feast of St. Philomena, Virgin and Martyr (August 11), should be removed from every calendar whatsoever." (Acts of the Apostolic See, March 29, 1961, no. 33).

This Instruction would seem to have had little or no effect in the United States, however, becauseas anyone can verify by checking an old missala feast of St. Philomena had not been listed in Catholic missals for a number of yearseven before the Instruction. There is none listed, for example, in the 1952 missal; a 1937 missal does show a feast of St. Philomena, but it is listed in a special supplement of feasts for the United States, some perhaps to be observed only in certain dioceses. (The Mass to be said was the Common of a Virgin Martyr.) Thus, in the United States the Feast of St. Philomena had apparently ceased being observed years ago (perhaps through the calendar reform of 1913), although probably continuing to be observed in other parts of the world.

Private devotion to St. Philomena, however, had been widespread in this country prior to the Instruction, and it is a great loss that in recent years, due to a misunderstanding of the meaning of the Instruction from Rome, devotion to St. Philomena has fallen into neglect, thus depriving innumerable souls of the graces and favors that this saint obtains for her supplicants. Queries to the Sacred Congregation of Rites back in 1961 would perhaps have saved several shrines from falling into neglect or even from being dismantled.

For even now it seems that in certain places Mass can still be celebrated in honor of St. Philomena. As explained by Father Giovanni Braschi, the present director of St. Philomena's shrine in Mugnano, Italy and a fervent devotee of the Saint, "She [St. Philomena] can be venerated by means of the external feast and the Mass from the Common of Martyrs, not only in Mugnano, Italy but also in those places where for local reasons devotion to the Saint exists."

On January 12, 1987, the day on which St. Philomena's oil is annually blessed, Bishop Costanzo of Nola, Italy, the diocese in which Mugnano is located, offered Mass at the Shrine of St. Philomena. This was a double feast: the Feast of the Patronage of St. Philomena and the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. In his sermon the Bishop referred to St. Philomena's intercession for us from Heaven, and he explained that, like all the saints, St. Philomena was holy because she listened to Jesus, because she was a docile and attentive disciple of Jesus Christ, the Source of all holiness. He said that the way we truly honor St. Philomena is by following in the path of her holiness (to martyrdom, if need be): the path of obedience to the Father, of love of neighbor, of Gospel perfection, of listening to the Word of God. (A videotape of this Mass and sermon is owned by The Living Rosary in Dickinson, Texas.) Thus, the Shrine of St. Philomena in Mugnano, Italy is active today, carrying on devotion to this beloved saint.

Unfortunately, this is not true of several of the other formerly active national shrines. The famous shrine of St. Philomena at St. Gervais in Paris is no longer in operation, nor are those in Pinner, England, or Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania, or Briggsville, Wisconsin. (The Briggsville shrine is still in existence, complete with a beautiful statue of the Saint, even though devotions to her are no longer conducted there.)