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
Second Day
1. Consider that St Philomena was and did not cease to be a
virgin.... Because she knew how to control the corrupt desires of
the flesh.... How to preserve, in the use of her senses, the
modesty of Jesus Christ, holding aloof from a deceitful world and
from dangerous occasions. Do you imitate her in all that? What are
the sources of your weaknesses....of your anxieties...of your
falls? Try to eliminate these sources.
2. Fly from everything that has injured you. Practice what
you have had the misfortune to neglect with regard to
purity.
3. As on the first day.
Let
us pray.
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.
O Almighty Father, who desirest not the death
of the sinner, but rather that he be converted and live, pour out
upon us Thy mercy and hear the prayers of Thy servants. Soften the
hearts of Thy children who have strayed from the true paths, which
Thou didst establish for their salvation. They are now forgetful of
their duties as Catholics, and pursue only the transitory pleasures
of the world. Grant that they may speedily return to the practice
of every Christian virtue, so that their lives may shine with the
integrity of faith, the fervour of piety and the ardour of charity.
Restore all of them to Thy sacraments and to the life of Thy grace,
through the merits of the Most Precious Blood of Thy Son, our
Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary
O Mother of Jesus Christ and our Mother, we
pray thee to obtain for us the grace of serving God faithfully in
this world that we may have the happiness of loving Him eternally
in heaven. Hear the prayers that we address to thee, O Mother.
Defend us against the enemies of our salvation, and against our own
infirmities. Obtain for us pardon for our sins and perseverance in
the determination never to fall away again. We implore thee to take
under thy protection those who have abandoned the practice of their
Catholic duties. May they be converted again and become faithful
servants of thy Son. O Mother of Mercy, be for us all "the cause of
our joy" and show unto us Jesus Christ, thy Son, as thy gift to us
both for time and for eternity. Amen.
Our Lady of the Atonement, intercede for
us.
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 it's 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.
O ye holy Apostles Peter and Paul, pray for
us.
That we may be worthy of the promises of
Christ.
Let us Pray.
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.
St Philomena, pray for us.
