St. Philomena and Our Times
By Brian K. Kravec
I have a dear friend and heavenly patroness in St. Philomena. I wear the red and white wrist cord of St. Philomena which symbolizes her virginity and martyrdom. My cord, a gift of love from a fellow devotee, was touched to the first class relics of St. Philomena’s bone and the blood of St. John Vianney, who fostered public devotion to St. Philomena with great enthusiasm.
Though my personal devotion to the Wonder-Worker is quite new, I’ve wasted no time in presenting my petitions to her and she has wasted no time in affirming her patronage. It is widely known that whenever St. Philomena is working on your behalf, she would announce it by knocking three times. I knew nothing of this very special communication until after I was discussing three very distinct knocks that awakened me in the middle of the night just weeks ago. At that time, the world was nearly 40 days into the present Covid-19 pandemic.
It would be reasonable to dismiss the three knocks as a dream or even wishful thinking if I had prior knowledge of this playful saintly custom. The fact that I learned about the three knocks afterward and that they were followed by a very clear dream leading me to a message from St. Philomena for our times is something to be considered.
In a dream following the three knocks, I could vividly see books of varied colors that were numbered. When my eyes opened the following morning, it immediately occurred to me that I had seen The Volumes as published by Direction for Our Times. The Volumes contain private revelation given to the world through Kathryn Ann Clarke, also known as Anne, a lay apostle. Rev. Leo O’Reilly, Bishop of the Diocese of Kilmore, Ireland, has granted Anne’s writings an imprimatur. The Volumes are in my home library and I hadn’t thought about them or read them in more than a decade.
Shortly after the dream, I was discussing the wonders of St. Philomena with the same friend who gifted me with her cord and told me about the three knocks. She shared a video which she credits as her introduction to St. Philomena in which Dr. Mark Miravalle interviews Anne the lay apostle in December, 2008. Again, it was after seeing the video that I shared the details of my recent dream with my dear friend. Only then would I return to Volume 7 (page 11-14) and read St. Philomena’s message to me and the world as given July 8, 2004 which I believe the little saint wishes to be circulated anew:
Dear brothers and sisters, you must be joyful during this time. Whenever you are tempted toward despair, you must think of heaven and how Jesus is making the earth like heaven by allowing this cleansing. Jesus is reclaiming the earth. That is a wonderful thing and will ensure that your children’s children will not have to contend with the darkness of sin that surrounds your children. It would please Jesus if you would be thankful to Him, despite any circumstances.
Followers will face grave and constant attacks for their faith in many areas of the world.
They will persevere and set the most beautiful example for others. This will draw others back to the faith in great numbers, so you see, the enemy’s strategy will backfire. The more God’s enemies persecute His children, the more children will choose God and remain true. It has always been this way, sadly. God’s children should serve Him faithfully in good times also, but many do not.
Many become worldly when the times are easy. Be brave. Your courage will come from heaven and inspire many. We teach you how to prepare and those who take our advice will find that they are calm and able to lead. Heaven will call upon many to lead because during the worst of the troubles, holy souls will be cut off from each other. Leaders will spring up in every area to help holy souls to remain steadfast.
How beautiful are these times when viewed from our perspective. My dear friends, read about our lives. Many saints in heaven faced the greatest of persecutions on earth. We never relied upon ourselves and in that way we became invincible. You will too. The earth will quake during this time and heaven’s responses will be apparent to all, giving the faithful great hope.
The enemy’s actions will be met with heavenly retribution.
This also will convince many that God is preparing to return and will also bring many back to God. So you see, the enemy cannot win and God will turn everything to the good. It is important that you are aware of the coming events so you will be confident and prepared. My friends, your world is asleep at this time and many doubt God’s presence in the world. I would advise you all to remain alert. You will be glad that you did.
St. Philomena, pray for us!