O Glorious Virgin and Martyr, beloved of God, St Philomena! I rejoice with thee in the power which God gave thee for the glory of His Name, for the edification of His Church, and to reward the merits of thy life and death. I rejoice to see thee so great, so pure, so generous, so faithful to Jesus Christ and to His Gospel, and so splendidly rewarded in Heaven and on Earth. Attracted by thy example to the practice of solid virtue, full of hope at the sight of the recompense granted to thee in avoiding all evil and in fully obeying what God commands. Help me, O great Saint, by thy powerful intercession. Obtain for me particularly, a purity inviolable for ever, a strength of soul always invincible in every kind of assault, a generosity which denies no sacrifice to God and a love as strong as death for the Faith of Jesus Christ, for the Holy Roman Church and for Our Holy Father, the Father of all the Faithful, the Shepherd of shepherds and of their flocks, the Vicar of Jesus Christ over all the world.
With all the fervour of my soul, I implore these graces from thee, and in addition, I ask these other benefits from thee, with equal confidence in obtaining them through thy powerful intercession. (Here tell the Saint what you need, with simplicity, confidence and humility.)
Surely that God so good for Whom thou didst give thy blood and thy life, that God so good Who is so generous to thee and through thee through thy mediation, so generous with gifts and favours to us, that God so good Who has loved me even unto dying for me, even unto giving me Himself under the Eucharistic appearances, surely He will never be deaf to thy prayers, nor to my appeals, unless it be that He Himself is in some different way seeking to do me good. Full of confidence, I place all my trust in Him and in thee. Amen
Third Day
1. Consider that St Philomena preserved and increased the love which she had for chastity by means of prayer, which is the abundant source of spiritual life….by means of the Sacraments wherein the soul is washed by the Blood of Jesus Christ, and is nourished with His Sacred Body, divine germ of Christian chastity….by remembering that her members were the members of the Body of Jesus Christ, and that her body was the temple of the Holy Ghost……Is it not true that you have these same means at your disposal? What use do you make of them?
2. Redouble the fervour of all your prayers……Say to yourself from time to time: My members are those of Jesus Christ…..the temple of the Holy Ghost.
3. Assist at Holy Mass in her honour and visit one of her statues or pictures if you can do so conveniently.
O God, who in Thy great might didst raise up martyrs even from among the weaker sex, grant we beseech Thee that we who celebrate the feast of Thy blessed Virgin and Martyr, Philomena, may be led by her example and brought by her to Thee. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest, one God, in perfect Trinity, for ever and ever. Amen
Prayer for Lapsed Catholics
Let us pray.
Amen.
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary
That there may be fulfilled the prayer of thy Divine Son: “That all may be one.”
Prayer to St. Peter
O glorious St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles and firm foundation of the Church, obtain for us all a lively faith, which we may openly and fearlessly profess in its fullness and purity, even, if need be, to the shedding of our blood. Obtain for us also, a true love of our Holy Mother the Church, and keep us ever zealous in the fulfillment of our religious duties. We pray to thee today to intercede for those who have wandered from the Church which Christ established for their salvation. Through thine intercession, may they receive from God the grace to return speedily to their Father’s house, so that on earth they may enjoy peace and tranquility, and one day attain everlasting happiness in heaven. Amen.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
O Lord Jesus Christ, most gracious Saviour of the world, we humbly beg of Thee by Thy most Sacred Heart, that all the sheep now wandering astray may be converted unto Thee, the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls. Who livest and reignest from this time forth for evermore. Amen.
