SAINT PHILOMENA – A YOUNG VIRGIN AND MARTYR

It was not before May 25, 1802 where many came to know about St.Philomena. On that day, ancient Catacomb of  St. Priscilla in Rome was excavated and a tomb was found which was very well preserved and sealed with terr-cotta slabs, symbolizing a tomb for great martyr.The tomb had three words inscribed on it,. One word on each tile ::  LUMENA-  PAXTE-  CUMFI . If the first tile was placed last, then it read paxtecum filumena  which means "Peace be with you Philomena".

Image of the ancient Catacomb of St Priscilla, Rome.Inside the Horizontal burial cavity bodies were placed and on the outside it was covered with slabs with inscription on it .The slabs used and the inscriptions spoke a lot about the buried person.

The slab covering the tomb of ST Philomena had four symbols on it ::

Anchor - Symbolizes stability in one's hope.

Lily- Symbolizes a pure virgin.(white lily is often associated with virgin Mary,Mother of God)

Lance and Arrows - Symbolizes that the person was martyred.

Inside the coffin they found the mortal remains of a 14 year old girl ,along with it was a vial with dried blood in it. On August 10,1805 a Neapolitan priest, Don Francesco di Lucia received the Relics of ST Philomena to enshrine in his church at Mugnano, near Naples(Italy). Soon after Miracles started Pouring in.

Miracles of ST Philomena

A Mother of a blind child took some oil from the lamp burning besides the tomb of ST Philomena and rubbed it against the eyes of the child and the child regained his lost vision.

A lady had a cancerous wound on her head.The Doctors decided to operate. On the day before the day of the operation relics of ST Philomena was brought to her and was placed on her head and miraculously the wound was healed. 

A woman from France was healed from a life threatening illness at the shrine of ST Philomena.

Story of ST Philomena

ST Philomena revealed her story to three persons who never knew each other and lived in different parts of the world. Astonishingly all the three had identical revelations.

Philomena's Parents were rulers of a Greek state. They believed in foreign God's and they longed desperately for a child but all was in vain. It was only after their conversion to Christianity they were blessed with a child and they named her Philomena "Daughter of Light".

When She was thirteen years old, her father was threatened by the Emperor of Rome, Diocletian, for an Unjust war. Her father took Philomena also with him to meet the Emperor . When Diocletian saw Philomena he was impressed by her beauty and wanted to marry her.But She rejected him and said that she had vowed  to give herself to the almighty. On being rejected Diocletian started becoming Inhuman towards her . He had her Chained in dungeons and was very badly tortured. Seeing her badly wounded Diocletian again offered to marry her and said that he would make her the princess,hoping that she would have changed her mind. But she again rejected.

Diocletian ordered his soldiers to throw her into a river with an anchor tied on her neck. But to everybody's surprise she survived. She was again thrown into the river but she again survived. Then Diocletian tried to kill her with arrows but again failed. Seeing all this miracles people started believing in Jesus and accepted Christianity. Seeing this the Emperor became furious and had her beheaded.

The statue of Saint Philomena in the Ars Shrine, France

ST Philomena is Nicknamed as "The Wonder worker" because of all the glorious miracles in her name.

Gurucharanam - Fr. Bobby Jose Capuchin

Fr. Bobby Jose Capuchin's Spiritual talks are very Insightful and its evident through his speeches that he is a person with Great Wisdom,knowledge and sound judgement .

Many are Christians because they are born Christians. How many of us have learned about many religions and finally accepted Christianity as "The Religion" and Jesus Christ as "The one and the only Lord". What makes Fr. Bobby Jose Capuchin's speeches more amazing is that he is a learner of many religions. Not many can interpret Bible in the way that he does. Listen to this awesome preacher in Shalom TV every Sunday at 9:30 pm.

To Contact Fr. Bobby Jose Capuchin :

To meet Fr. Bobby Jose in person, the easiest way is to go and attend the retreat which is conducted every month by him at  San Pio Retreat center, Kollam.

Usually there are two retreats every month. One is directed by Fr. Bobby and the other one is conducted by a team under the directorship of Fr. Dany. Retreats are conducted in the second and last weeks of every month. Relaxation and rest is the motto of the retreat. There are many who urge to come again and again. The centre is situated at a place called Kovilthottam in between Karunagappally and Kollam. The center is just 800 meters away from the junction. The retreat is with a minimum fee.

If you wish to join for the retreat please contact:

Fr. Ebin Pappachan- 9846420969
San Pio- 0476 2684847
sanpioretreatcentre@yahoo.com
San Pio Retreat House
Kovilthottam, Kollam,
Kerala.

Tel: 0476 2088475

Here are some great words of wisdom from Fr. Bobby Jose Capucchin.

A Great Message for the Youth 

This Video is a must watch for the youth . He speaks about the importance of accepting Jesus Christ early in our life and encourages the Energetic youth to start working for Christ . He urges us to think about our future (our old age) and warns us that during those times we shouldn't regret for our past doings.