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And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? For there is nothing hid, which shall be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
- Mark 4:21-23
On May 24th, 1802, work was in progress in the most ancient of all catacombs in Rome, that of St. Priscialla, which dates almost from apostolic time. An ancient sand pit was being cleared of loose sand. The fossors as they are called (men officially chosen and trained for this work in holy underground cemeteries) were digging in a remote tunnel. One of them heared his pick ring against a cement surface. He found, by the merest accident, a shelf tomb in the wall which had never been opened. It was clearly the tomb of a martyr.
When the relics of this 13 year old virgin martyr were discovered in the Roman Catacombs, she became almost overnight one of the most popular saints in the Church, earning the nickname "The Wonder Worker" because of the countless remarkable favors that she sent those who prayed to her. For a century and a half there was a worldwide Catholic devotion to St. Pilomena, approved by many Popes. Yet, since the 1960s she has almost been forgotten.
One night, Mother Luisa had a vision in which he saw Our Lady and Philomena. "Stand firm under the protection of Mary" said St. Philomena, and placed her under the mantle of Our Lady. In another vision, she saw Our Lady clothed with the sun. Philomena laid down her own crown before the Immaculate's thrown and said, "Lady of Heaven, I have come to ask you grace." She asked more than thirty graces for different people. Our Lady replied "To Philomena nothing is refused. We concede to her all these graces"
There are many stories of the works of St. Philomena. Here is one of them. A poor widow besought the Saint during mass to cure her crippled boy who was unable to stand. At the elevation of the Sacred Host, the boy jumped up from where he was and ran to the urn of the Saint's relics to thank her for the cure. At the conclusion of the Holy Sacrifice, the child walked about the town, to the delight of the admiring throngs, who ran bells and beat drums and finally, seizing the boy, bore him in the procession through the street.
O faithful virgin and glorious martyr, St. Philomena, who works so many miracles on behalf of the poor and sorrowing, have pity on me. Thou knowest the multitude and diversity of my needs. Behold me at thy feet, full of misery but full of hope. I entreat thy charity, O great Saint! Grasiously hear me and obtain from God a favorable answer to the request that I now humbly lay before thee...(Here specify your petition.) I am firmly convinced that through thy merits, through the scorn, the suffereings and the death thou didst endure, united in the merits of the Passion and death of Jesus, thy Spouse, I shall now obtain what I ask of thee, and in the joy of my heart I will bless God, who is most admirable in His Saints. Amen
