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Novena in honor of Saint Philomena V. and M.
composed by Saint John Mary Vianney, Curé of Ars, great devotee and foremost promoter of her cult.
Prayer
(to be recited on each day of the novena)
Glorious Virgin and Martyr, so beloved by God, Saint Philomena, I rejoice with you for the power that God has given you for the glory of His Name, for the edification of His Church, and to honor the merits of your life and your death. I am glad to see you so pure, so generous, so faithful to Jesus Christ and to His Gospel, so magnificently rewarded in Heaven and on earth.
Drawn by your example to the practice of solid virtues, full of hope at the sight of the rewards granted to your merits, I resolve to follow you in fleeing from all evil and in fully carrying out what God commands me. Help me, O great Saint, with your powerful intercession. Obtain for me above all an inviolable purity forever, a strength of spirit always invincible in every kind of assault, a generosity that denies no sacrifice for God, and a love as strong as death for the Faith of Jesus Christ, for the Holy Roman Church, and for the Sovereign Pontiff, common Father of all the faithful, Shepherd of Shepherds and of the flock, Vicar of Jesus Christ throughout the world.
To these graces that I ask of you, O St. Philomena, with all the fervor of my soul, I add other graces, which I equally trust to obtain through your powerful mediation. (Present your requests to the Saint with simplicity, confidence, and humility).
No, that God so good for whom you gave your blood and your life; that God so good who is so generous towards you and, through you, with His gifts and favors; that God so good who has loved me even to dying for me, even to wanting to give Himself to me under the Eucharistic species, no, He will not say no to your prayers, to my vows, to the need that He certainly feels to do us good. I hope so, I put all my trust in Him and in You. Amen.
1. Consider that Saint Philomena was a Virgin... a Virgin in the midst of the world... a Virgin despite persecution... a Virgin until death. What a model! What is the cause of my confusion? What will be the remedy?
2. Humble yourself often for what has made you blush, considering her virginal purity.
3. Attend Holy Mass in her honor, and honor one of her statues or images, if you can easily do so.
First Day
1. Consider that Saint Philomena was and did not cease to be a Virgin... Because she knew how to mortify the corrupt desires of the flesh... to preserve, in the use of the senses, the modesty of Jesus Christ... to keep herself away from a deceitful world and from dangerous occasions. Do you imitate her in all this? What would be the sources of your temptations... your weaknesses... your anxieties... your falls? Try to dry them up.
2. Flee from what has harmed you, practice what you have unfortunately neglected regarding chastity.
3. (Holy Mass, etc., as on the first day).
Second Day
1. Consider that Saint Philomena preserved and increased the love she had for Virginity through prayer, an abundant source of spiritual life... through the Sacraments; by which the soul is washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, and is nourished with his sacred Body, the divine seed of Christian virginity... by remembering that her members were the members of the Body of Jesus Christ and her body was the temple of the Holy Spirit... Do you not have the same means? How do you use them?
2. Double your fervor in all your prayers... Say to yourself from time to time: my members are those of Jesus Christ... the temple of the Holy Spirit.
3. (Holy Mass, etc., as on the first day).
Third Day
1. Consider that Saint Philomena was a Martyr... that she had to suffer... suffer a lot... suffer unto death, and that she showed in these torments an invincible patience... Are suffering and patience inseparably joined in you? You, do you rarely have to suffer... suffer little... never to the point of death. So where does so much weakness come from?... Do you perhaps not want to remedy it?... What means do you choose for this?2. Patiently endure those few pains, difficulties, and sorrows that the Lord will be pleased to send you today.
3. (Holy Mass, etc., as on the first day).
Fourth Day
1. Consider that Saint Philomena suffered Martyrdom for Jesus Christ... They wanted to strip her of her faith... they wanted her to violate the vows of her Baptism... to induce her to follow the examples of idolaters or apostates. And what do the devil, the world, the flesh, and your own heart want from you on so many occasions, if not similar infidelities?... These amount to offending God... Are not those vain fears, which then make you fail in your duties and betray your Faith? O God, what shameful laxity!... Finally, take courage again...
2. Overcome human respect...
Say to yourself from time to time: better to please God than men.
3. (Holy Mass, etc., as on the first day).
Fifth Day
1. Consider that Saint Philomena, dying for Jesus Christ, had to put into practice this maxim of the Savior: “If anyone does not love me more than father and mother... indeed, if he does not love me more than himself, he cannot be my disciple.” She did not hesitate... She sacrificed everything, even though blood and nature raised their voices. In less difficult situations, do we show ourselves worthy of Jesus Christ? If sometimes we have to choose between God and creatures, between grace and nature, to whom do we give preference? Oh! let us no longer in the future degenerate from our dignity as children of God and disciples of Jesus Christ.
2. Let us strive on this day to please only God, or creatures solely for God. Far from us be disordered affections.
3. (Holy Mass, etc., as on the first day).
Sixth Day
1. Consider that Saint Philomena, dying for Jesus Christ, had to endure the mockery, the insults of her persecutors, her executioners, and most of the spectators of her torment... She was no less generous, no less steadfast, no less joyful in the public confession of her Faith... If the world makes you drink from similar cups, will you have enough courage to swallow its mockery, its scorn, its most unjust persecutions... Can someone who is honored by God ever be dishonored? Do not fear... Continue on your path... It leads to the possession of eternal glory.
2. Do not let your heart be troubled if a harsh, coarse, biting, or offensive word is spoken, etc.
3. (Holy Mass, etc., as on the first day).
Seventh Day
1. Consider that Saint Philomena, dying for the love of Jesus Christ to all things of this lowly world, entered into the joy of eternal life. “Yes, I am certain,” she said in her heart, “that the Supreme Judge will give me, in exchange for the fleeting goods that I sacrifice for his love, the crown of justice he has promised me.” She dies... and behold her in the tabernacle of God, with the Saints following the Lamb... Are these the thoughts I try to have when I am faced with some sacrifice? What impression do they make on my soul?... On which side do they tip the scale?... Ah!, the Saints, to have everything, would say: let us lose everything... what shall I say?
2. Let us establish today some voluntary sacrifice... Let us promptly and willingly do those that are attached to our duties, etc.
3. (Holy Mass, etc., as on the first day).
1. Consider that Saint Philomena, after having sacrificed everything in this lowly world for Jesus Christ, received from Him in this world more than a hundredfold of what she had given. How much reputation! How much power! How much glory! How many great ones humbled at her feet. How many crowds of pilgrims at her various Sanctuaries! How many feasts in her honor! What tributes of veneration are rendered to her! What restless zeal to obtain her relics! Thus indeed God fulfilled His promises. Ah! if we kept ours to Him with equal fidelity! ... But by depriving Him of His glory, do we not perhaps deprive ourselves of so many merits and favors both in this world and in the next?...
Take courage then... Be faithful, so that God may be faithful with you.
2. Today perform some work of mercy in honor of the Saint. Prepare yourself with a good confession to worthily receive Our Lord Jesus Christ.
3. (Holy Mass, etc., as on the first day).
Eighth DayNinth Day
O God, who among the other miracles of your power also granted to the weaker sex the victory of martyrdom, graciously grant that we who celebrate the feast of Blessed Philomena, your Virgin and Martyr, may come to You through her example.
Prayer
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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