Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00 <inaudible>
Speaker 1 00:05 in late May of 1802 Roman workman were excavating here. The catacombs of Saint Priscilla one end covered a tomb which had been sealed by three tiles. The three tiles had been painted with Christian symbols. There was a lily that's the symbol of virginity and that was a palm front symbol of martyrdoms. They know they'd uncovered the tomb of a Virgin Margaret. Other symbols on the towels indicated the different tortures to which this version martyr had been subjected. Well, she was showing your love for Christ. It was a scourge and anchor two arrows pointing in opposite directions and assemble of an ordeal by flaming arrows, which was a third Arrow with a curve line. And the three tiles were also painted with a somewhat puzzling and scription I want to tell is the first Tufts said Lumina second toasted pacs. Tay said comb fee. After some head scratching, the workman realized that three towels were out of order and we now know the reason for this.
Speaker 1 01:09 As it turns out, because the tiles are different sizes and the opening cards for the tomb was someone that even if they would play, were placement correct order, they would have been a gap. The two would have been sealed, so the biggest tile, which should have been in the last place had we moved over into the front place in order to seal the tomb. At any rate, once the Kyle's are correctly arranged, they read pox, take home Philomena, which means peace be with me. Philomena. These workmen had just uncovered a tomb of Saint Philomena. When they removed to three Kyle's, they're laying inside the tomb where bones and also grow up in clay flask. Why was there a clay flask in a tune where this virgin mark actually, it's very common to find a flask made out of crystal glass or clay and the tumor and Mars because the flask was used to capture their blood and then it was buried along with them.
Speaker 1 02:06 At any rate besides his broken clay flask were actually covered with a layer of dry blood, and of course this bloods, the blood of a virgin martyr is also holy. Well, I can. So the workman took the glass face and very carefully began removing tiny particles of dried blood from the inside of the broken shards of the clay flask and dropped the blood particles into the glass base. And as they did that, the workman and other witnesses there witnessed the first of Saint Philomena is innumerable marvels. They're amazed to see that as these little brownish dried particles of blood fill into the class base, their parents marvelously changed from the dark brown color. Suddenly they appeared to be small rubies or little emerald or diamonds or little pieces of gold or silver. Early 19 hundreds probably Palos Sullivan described this phenomenon quote, this phenomenon continues to the present day.
Speaker 1 03:02 By the way, quote, the blood is not in a liquid state, but quite dry and appearance resembles ashes. It is preserved in a small crystal vase, which allows the visitor to see it. I have the happiness of examining this priceless treasure as many as 30 or 40 times each time without fail. I saw the blood change most marvelously and the transformation was so clear and distinct as not to allow room for the smallest daughter. Misconception, precious stones, rubies and emeralds, pieces of gold and particles of silver appeared mingled with the blood. When I checked the relic query, and again, the precious stones appeared, not always in the same way, it's still clearly and distinctly close quo. Anyway. Her relics were taken to treasury there in Rome and they remained there for a few more years until they were awarded to small town. Your Naples <inaudible> according to its own kill crews.
Speaker 1 03:51 Relics were first taken from Rome to Naples, but the bones were joined together with wire and then wrapped in cloth and then they were placed inside of paper, major paper, Mashiach figure of Saint Philomena, which was then placed inside of class. Try. Now, if you've been to Europe, you see pictures of uh, like for example, even in St Peter's basilica, you have small towns like that. But if you see pictures of shrines typically either under the alter, like where we have the paintings of the last step or or right above the altar, like where the statutes are that put these shrines will be glass side, you'll have a fit, you'll have the figure to saint, the relics will be in a, in a wax. It'll either be wax or paper machine figure. Unless it's an incorrupt. Like when you're looking at Saint Bernadette, that's not a pay from a shoot figure.
Speaker 1 04:34 That's Saint Bernadette laying there, you know, she's an incorrupt. But typically they'll take the bones, wrap them in precious cloth and put them in a figure and then clothed that if it's a priest, they'll put them in the vestments and what have you. In Germany, I at some of the places where we went to in Munich when I was just over there praying, they have another way. You see this in case they two where they'll take the rugs, the skeleton to be there. But then they wrapped it in real precious, like, like a golden lace. So you can actually see the bones, but it's the skeleton all laying there. So sometimes they'll put them in a figure that looks like the same. Sometimes they'll wrap them like that, but it's very typical. And they put the relics in a shrine either above the altar to the saint or right under the altar itself.
Speaker 1 05:13 So you can look through and see. And that's, those are the relics of the same. Anyway, uh, in Naples, they fixed up saint Philomena and glass shrine, but the artists made a catastrophe out of the whole thing. First off, the paper machine, a figure was really ugly quote. It was far from being a work of art, the face with a morbid white color. The lips were thick and as a cremation, noticeable about the mouth close quote. So the figure itself is ugly, but that's not all they class at it. Shrine wasn't big enough here. They have this five foot pay from a Schiff papery shaped figure, but they made too small the insurance. So she's kind of sitting up in the thing. On his couch and then they had to actually bend her knees to fit it in there and listen to pay from Shay figures.
Speaker 1 05:56 They get really awkwardly. She'd reclining on his couch and we had to end up her knees and then they squish her into the shrine. So it was Kinda cheesy the way that they put it together, but there was, and they breed begin a journey from Naples to McDonnell. There's a whole series of marvelous events on the, on the way we don't have time for that. Today. After the shrine arrived at the church and I placed above the altar quote, the right arm was elevated and stretched out holding arrows, which we're now heading towards the feet and instead of the heart where they formally pointed, says, pay for my Shay figures. Techy position the mouth now smiling slightly open it to reveal the teeth and the color and the shape of the face changed into one of the PV beauty close quote. And the bishops seals that been broken when they seal them in into one of these shrines, there's a series of ribbons that go around and with a big wax seal, the key was left in Naples.
Speaker 1 06:47 He couldn't unlock it, the seals or on the whole thing. The workman comes. They got everybody under oath. We haven't done anything to this. I didn't paint her like that and so forth. They had nothing to do with it. There's other things that happened with the statue in 1841 for example, there were a group of pilgrims praying there before the shining saint Philomena and the paper machine. She turns to the group of pilgrims and smiles and then turns back and then under the anyway, a skeptical Italian women had heard of miraculous opening of this paper. Shay fingers, eyes and so forth. Quote. Brazenly approached the sign one day sarcastically. She has to sink how she could open her eyes when there were none. Beneath the closed eyelids, the statute of the state opens its eyes and look contemptuously and severely at the woman and then sweetly closed its eyes leaving the woman confused.
Speaker 1 07:33 He could try it. Close quote, Father O'Sullivan quote. During my own stay and looking on him, I saw the statue changing color very frequently passing from Pale to light blush and again the darker red blips where sometimes compressed and sometimes open close quo. There's a lot of other was associated with her statue of time. Doesn't permit us to get into him here. What about her miracles? The week after Saint Philomena as well like survived Mangano, they had a som mascot thanksgiving at the very moment of the elevation there was a great miracle. There was a 10 year old girl who had been carried an ass mother. She was carried because she'd burst. She'd been so severely crippled that she could either stand or walk and then suddenly in the midst of mass this little girl stands up and walks over to the shrine to thank Saint Philomena for carrying her.
Speaker 1 08:22 Now this is a town where pretty much everybody knew each other, so you can imagine the excitement and if you've ever seen a crowd of folks from southern Italy, we're talking excitement. That's not an insult. They're just excitable. I love it. Over there, but they, they're there. They're odd blooded. Anyway. It only increased that night at best per se. Everybody's all worked up and they come to vespers. They crowds is by this kind of churches. So pack the crotch spilled out on the street, you can't hardly move. And the priest is up there preaching sermon and a woman brings her two year old daughter who's been blinded by the smallpox and she pushes and, and forces your way all the way through the crowd, all the way up to the front. She gets right up to the shrine there and there's a votive lamp burning there.
Speaker 1 09:02 Now ours are made out of wax, but over there they have with their olive oil. So there's this oil lamp burning there and she, she, uh, take some of that oil and anoints your daughter's eyes. But sermon's going on. Well, the minutes, you know, it's your daughter's eyes, she can see. And so everybody starts shouting and carrying on until the priest can't hear himself think. Nobody knows. You know, it's just turns into a total uproar until finally a crease gets their child, his arms. And Sean's of crowd. There's two major miracles just in the first day that they're having a som thanksgiving that she'd come there. So we're talking a, people are excited. It's, it's really, and this is the wasting, Philomena is later on there's a wealthy lawyer laying dying in town there and he's dying. He's, he's lost his mind right then and there he isn't.
Speaker 1 09:45 So his wife asked St show me to grant, their husband would be able to receive the sacraments before he died. And she made a vow in her husband's name that is saint film. And He came through and made sure her husband got the last rights before he died, that they would erect a marble altar in a shrine, you know, instead of like a widow alter here, you know, that's a lot of money. Anyway, so at the instinct she made the dog, he recovered the use of his senses, so they get a priest, give them the last rights. As soon as he finishes confession, just like that, he's completely healed. So they followed through on their file. We've got to keep our <inaudible>. They hire a well known and highly skilled craftsman from Naples. He's famous for building beautiful altars to build this marble altar while he's installing the altar.
Speaker 1 10:30 He's using a chisel to fit it into place, but it crack comes open on a, on an altar. C built a metal brace to support this lab. But the cracker grew and grew to like come newly fingered with and it got ran all almost the whole length of the altar right down the middle of alternative. Great big wide crack. See fills a crack the cement. But as the cement hardens, it changes color and that makes the crack even more noticeable and worse yet the surface isn't smooth. Well, you know, as a priest, you don't want to be setting your own. A child has the precious blood on an alter with a big, you know, while we write in the middle of it, you can tip over there, the precious. But so anyway, there's a whole bunch of people present while he's working on it instead of these poor crafts.
Speaker 1 11:15 And realize not only is the Altarum, that's his whole reputation, really his livelihood's at stake. So he kneels down cause Saint Philomena is right there and ask for assistance and when he stands up, the altar solid, the darkens netline it's there, but it's no longer smet as part of the marble. And it looks just like a, a piece of dark marble vein running right to this altar. This Miraca salts are still visible. There's a plaque there with a witness, testimonies and whatnot. We could go on for hours with the miracles. The time doesn't permit that. What about her life? What we know about St Phil, I mean his life was to action or field by herself in 18 three to three different people. A good priest, a pious artist of known good morals and a non, so they're each in different parts of Italy. Each one of them was completely unknown to the other and each one of the stories is in complete agreement.
Speaker 1 12:07 Although st call, he never feels far more details to the nun. And he can read that story to get a lot more than what I'm going to tell you right here. And December of 1833, the Holly office gave permission to print these stories. Okay. So in short, saint Philomena martyred during the persecution of Diocletian. Now he, this is the ampere known for how they put together the sinks of Ash. In fact, as you know, he sent his son to death twice because the first time didn't work. He also clicked as his own wife, Saint Serena and his own daughter. Why? Because they become a catholic. And this was a very efficient emperor, you know, because Austin's the Middle Eagle, you know, you're outta here. So he, he martyred his own wife and daughter. Anyway, Diocletian, uh, wanted then to take sneak Philomena as his wife, but she refused his hand because she'd made a file perpetual for Jandy, for the love of our Lord.
Speaker 1 12:55 All right. And his rage. Then Kristen has her scourged and then she miraculously recovered from that overnight. Then he orders that she has an anchor tied around her neck and she be thrown into the Tiber river there in Rome. And so she was, but as she's going into club river angels, the people, the people will watch this going on. She goes on and an anchor court breaks as she's hitting the water and something which are the angels that she saw lifts you up and sets her on the bank. Uh, so he has a tied up in the shop full of error arrows and just like sneak to bash and she recovered from that cod flaming arrows, you know, maybe flaming arrows. So we'll get through whatever this magic that's going on flaming or be shot at her. And this one, they all started going in different directions and a number of them came find back and killed.
Speaker 1 13:35 Some of the archers will still, the other archers got religion right. Then they got the gift to the faith as well as did a number of the people that were watching, you know, so there's all of a sudden becoming all kinds of conversions out of it. So finally he has her head chopped off. Many sayings, have a great devotion to Saint Philomena federal. Pauline Jericho Blesson Bucko long ago, Saint John New England Aryn corrupted Philly, busted Peter Julian Emar, St Peter Chanel, St Anthony, Mary Clara Saint Francis Xavier could really bless Stan retail EEG, the mother superior, and a personal friend of Saintville Payne, Duchene St Malen Sophie Barrage. And of course the holy carry of ours, St John Ravine, the venerable Pauline Jericho, who herself had been racks the cure to the deadly illness by Saint Philomena. It was like it was, it was a, um, a miracle. The Gregory to 16th. It totally astonished the pulp over over the America. He, she had been cured of his godly illness by Saint Philomena and she's the one that told the curee all about Saint Philomena.
Speaker 1 14:38 And then she gave him a relic. And this was a match made in heaven. I mean, the Curay fell absolutely in love with Saint Philomena. He had an a altar built her in his church. He dedicated himself by vow to Saint Philomena. She appeared calm. She spoke with him, she granted everything and asked her his prayers. He had continued encouraged devotion, St Philomena and whenever a miracle would occur in ours, the curator would say it's Saint Philomena. I wished she would work her miracles away from here besides the saints whole host of popes that had a great devotion to her lead on the 12th Gregory the 16th he gave her the title, the wonder worker of the 19th Century, Leo the 13th and Saint Pos Attempt blessing prize tonight had an especially strong devotion to Saint Philomena. He was as a child, he had epilepsy, but his mother's prayers to Saint Philomena resulted in a miraculous cure from epilepsy.
Speaker 1 15:33 Later on, he's an archbishop and he's dying of a deadly illness. When St Phil Nia came through and cured him or actually that, so when he became pope, he made a personal pilgrimage as the pope to shine it moving out no and offered NASA or altar incinerated or relics. After his death, he is Petro Cross now. That's the cross, the crucifix that the Pope or the cross, the pope wears around his neck that opened the cross. The bus pass nine tor was sent to the nano to be hung around the neck of the relics of Saint Philomena. Since paper machine statute of Saint Philomena is wearing a petro class of blessing pies tonight. Saint Philomena is the same for the same. She didn't saying for the Poles, most of all she just saying cause simple people. All the rest of us. She's a Patriot as if youth, especially babies and children, she consoler of afflicted mothers who in Volcker for material or spiritual aid for their children she's assaulted, said those who afflicted, suffering, sick or imprisoned.
Speaker 1 16:39 She's the protectress of young married couples. She's invoked for the conversion of sinners and for the return of people to the sacraments. She assists priests and that work. Nothing is too large or too small. For Saint Philomena, put her immature statue on your family altar. Build a shrine to her, turned to her and all your needs. Nothing is too large or too small for Saint Philomena. Let's close today with a quote from the holy carry of ours. Quote, Saint Philomena has great power with God and she has more over a kind heart. Let us pray to her with confidence. Her virginity and generosity, embracing her role like martyrdom have rendered her so agreeable to God that he will never refuse her anything that she asks for a close quote. Saint Philomena has great power with God. He will never refuse her anything that she asked for us.
