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100 pages

English

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The early Roman virgin-martyr whose bones were discovered in 1802. She immediately began answering prayers, with so many favors and miracles being granted that she was raised to sainthood by Pope Gregory XVI-becoming the only person recognized by the Church as a saint solely on the basis of her powerful intercession, since nothing is known of her except her name and the evidence of her martyrdom. A great intercessor for all needs! 160 pgs,

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Philosophie et théologie

Christian theology

Catholic Church

Christianity

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Publié par	TAN Books
Date de parution	02 janvier 2007
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781618904874
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0374€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Saint Philomena
Powerful With God
Sister Marie Helen Mohr, S.C.
Nihil Obstat:
John A. Schulien, S.T.D. Censor Librorum Imprimatur: ✤ Moyses E. Kiley
Archiepiscopus Milwauchiensis March 9, 1953
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 H IS E XCELLENCY, THE M OST R EVEREND H UGH L. L AMB First Bishop of Greensburg
Saint Philomena
P OWERFUL WITH G OD
“ 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 Curé 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
S T. P HILOMENA'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 worldwide—with 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, because—as anyone can verify by checking an old missal—a feast of St. Philomena had not been listed in Catholic missals for a number of years—even 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.)
The main shrine of St. Philomena remains the Sanctuary of St. Philomena in Mugnano, Italy, of which Father Giovanni Braschi is the rector. The address is
Santuario Santa Filomena Rettore Sac. Giovanni Braschi 83027 Mugnano del Cardinale (Avellino) Italy Tel. 081/825 7204
The address of the Living Rosary is Dedicated Decades, P.O. Box 1303, Dickinson,TX 77539.
In a recent booklet Father Braschi writes of a conversation between Pope Paul VI and Msgr. M. Fernandes, the Bishop of Mysore, India and head of St. Philomena's Cathedral there. The Bishop had asked the Pontiff what action he was supposed to take as far as the February 14, 1961 Instruction was concerned. His Holiness gave him this counsel: "Continue as before and don't upset the people."
Anyone who looks up St. Philomena in a Catholic reference book may find evidence of controversy and even some disparaging remarks about her. This is not a new development. The early 20th century saw much archaeological discussion and controversy regarding St. Philomena's relics, with two of the main protagonists being Professor Marucchi and Father G. Bonavenia, S.J. Professor Marucchi disputed the authenticity of the relics found in the famous tomb in 1802, arguing (in 1904 and 1906) that the disarrangement of the name tiles on the tomb (cf. pp. 6 and 11-12 of this book) indicated that the tiles and the tomb had been re-used and that the bones which had been found there were not those of Philomena but of some unknown maiden. Father Bonavenia (writing in 1906 and 1907) responded to Professor Marucchi in two essays, concluding that the bones discovered were indeed those of St. Philomena. The Abbé Francis Trochu, famous for his biography of the Curé of Ars (a great devotee of St. Philomena), also published a monograph (La "petite Sainte" du Curé d'Ars , 1924) defending the historicity of the martyr. Much other material was also written on the question as well.
Father Braschi reports that two recent archaeologists have concurred with Father Bonavenia in rejecting Professor Marucchi's thesis; they are Prandi and Mistillo, writing in the book Graffiti de S. Pietro , I, p. 501, dated and signed: "Rome, Nov. 29, 1963." Father Braschi concludes: "Finally, the historian Georg. Markhof, in his report on the book Filomena: The Uncomfortable Miracle (Vienna, 1981), expresses himself against Marucchi as follows: 'I consider the Italian archaeologist Marucchi's view to be superficia