“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
SATURDAY, SEPT. 4th Lk. 6: 1-5 First Saturday Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary – the Purpose and the Promises.
Today we present the First Saturday Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the purpose of encouraging the faithful to begin the practice or to continue it with greater love and fervor so as to console the Hearts of Jesus and Mary!
We will present requests by Our Lady and by Jesus to Lucia de los Santos, cousin of St. Francisco and St. Jacinta Marto. Then we will delve into and meditate upon the specific practices and graces of the First Saturday Devotion to Our Lady.
Part 1: Devotion requested by Our Lady and by Jesus to Lucia de Los Santos.
Part 2: OUR LADY OF FATIMA: FIRST SATURDAY DEVOTION by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV
PART 1:
1) DECEMBER 10, 1925. Our Lady of Fatima appeared to Lucia de los Santos, now a postulant in a convent in Tui, Spain.
Our Lady requested the institution of the Devotion of the Five First Saturdays in reparation to her Immaculate Heart.
“See, my daughter, my Heart encircled by thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. Do you, at least, strive to console me. Tell them that I promise to assist at the hour of death with the graces necessary for their salvation, all those who, in order to make reparation to me, on the First Saturday of five successive months, go to Confession, receive Holy Communion, say five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for a quarter of an hour, meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary.
2) MAY 29, 1930. The purpose of the Devotion is explained to Lucia by Jesus Himself!
“Daughter, the motive is simple: There are five kinds of offenses and blasphemies spoken against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
First: Blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception.
Second: Blasphemies against her Virginity.
Third: Blasphemies against the Divine Maternity, refusing, at the same time, to receive her as the Mother of mankind.
Fourth: Those who seek publicly to implant, in the hearts of children, indifference, disrespect, and even hate for this Immaculate Mother.
Fifth: Those who revile her directly in her sacred images.
Here, dear daughter, is the motive that led the Immaculate Heart of Mary to petition Me to ask for this small act of reparation. And, out of regard for her, to move My mercy to pardon those souls who have had the misfortune to offend her. As for you, seek endlessly, with your prayers and sacrifices, to move Me to mercy in regard to these poor souls.”
PART 2:
OUR LADY OF FATIMA: FIRST SATURDAY DEVOTION by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV
Traditionally Saturday has been a day devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. However, the first Saturday of the month has a very special place and prominence in the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
THE FIVE (CONSECUTIVE) FIRST SATURDAYS OF THE MONTH. Our Lady of Fatima exhorts us to live out the practice of the Five (Consecutive) First Saturdays of the Month Devotion. If done according to her wish, she promises a most extraordinary grace.
WHAT IS THAT EXTRAORDINARY GRACE? Saint Alphonsus Maria Liguori stated that the grace of all graces is the grace of final perseverance in the grace of God. In simple terms, this means the eternal salvation of your immortal soul. The primary purpose of our existence is the salvation of our soul, to make it safely to heaven. Our Lady has a most ardent desire to help all of us to make it safely home to heaven. However, we must heed with humility, obedience, and faithfulness her simple requests.
WHAT ARE THE REQUESTS AND REQUIREMENTS THAT OUR LADY OF FATIMA ASKS OF US? They are four simple requests, related principally to two basic topics or themes: our Sacramental life, and a life of meditation and prayer. Let us explain now clearly these requirements and then let us try to really live out the Five (Consecutive) First Saturdays of the Month Devotion starting as soon as possible!
1. SACRAMENTAL CONFESSION OF REPARATION. Mary, Queen of Mercy, wants all of us to have recourse to the Sacrament of the Merciful Heart of Jesus and that is Confession. Therefore, try to examine your conscience thoroughly, and if necessary have a guide booklet. Beg for the grace of sincere, total, and heartfelt sorrow for your sins. Also, have a firm purpose of amendment, in which you try to avoid all occasions of sin, that is to say, persons, places, things, or circumstances that might lead you into sin. Confess your sins to the priest who represents Christ. You are obliged to confess the number and kind of mortal sins. Then do not forget to carry out the penance that the priest imposes on you! This Confession can be made a week before the First Saturday, or a week after. Finally, one very important specification: the Confession must be a CONFESSION OF REPARATION, that is, a Confession made with the intention of reparation for all sins, your sins as well as all the sins that have pierced the Immaculate Heart of Mary. By saying NO to sin, we actually say YES to the love of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
2. HOLY COMMUNION OF REPARATION. Our Lady desires ardently that we attend Mass, but she also desires most especially that we receive Holy Communion —the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus her Son. However, there is another specification and it is this, it must be a COMMUNION OF REPARATION. The word reparation refers implicitly to damage done, but this is moral damage and we call this Sin. As soon as we beg God’s mercy and forgiveness for our sins, in a mere heartbeat God forgives. As the Psalmist reminds us: “God is slow to anger and rich in mercy.” (Ps. 103:8) However, this must be said, God’s forgiveness also demands some form of reparation for the sins committed. A simple example! If you break something that does not belong to you—as an example a beautiful statue—then you should apologize to the owner of the statue. But that is not enough! You should be ready and willing to pay for or replace the broken statue. That is what we call Reparation in theological terms. Another example taken from the reception of the Sacraments would be the worthy reception of the Sacrament of Confession. The very last step of making a good confession is that of carrying out the penance that was imposed on you by the Confessor. This penance carried out fully and willingly is a sign of repentance, but also a concrete sign of one’s desire to strive to repair for the damage done by the sins committed. Likewise, the Communion received on five consecutive First Saturdays of the month should be received with the desire to offer reparation for all the sins against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
3. THE RECITATION OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY. Another condition required to attain the enormous blessings of the Promise associated with the Five (Consecutive) First Saturdays of the Month Devotion is the recitation of the most Holy Rosary. An interesting note on the Holy Rosary! In Fatima, 1917, Our Lady appeared to three children—Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta—six times, from May 13th through October 13th. In every one of the six apparitions, Our Lady insisted on the praying of the most Holy Rosary. Saint Pope John Paul II in his beautiful document on the Rosary reiterated the desire of Our Lady that the world pray the Rosary, especially in the context of the family. The great Pontiff begged the world to pray the Holy Rosary for two specific intentions: 1) World Peace; 2) Salvation of the Family, quoting Father Patrick Peyton: “The family that prays together, stays together.” Returning to Our Lady of Fatima and the Five (Consecutive) First Saturdays Devotion, Mary also desires that this Rosary be offered in reparation for sins against her Immaculate Heart. When we say pray the Rosary, we mean pray five decades on five Mysteries from a total of twenty Mysteries of the Rosary. Our Lady wants us to go deeper and deeper in our union with her Immaculate Heart and the Heart of Jesus. This is done through prayer!
4. MEDITATION ON THE MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY. The final requirement for the Five (Consecutive) First Saturdays Devotion is that of spending at least fifteen minutes meditating upon the mysteries, or at least one of the mysteries, of the most Holy Rosary. Even though not expressed explicitly, one of the primary reasons for this quiet meditation of at least 15 minutes is for us to go deeper in the profound meaning of these mysteries. Saint Pope John XXIII said that the Rosary is a summary of the Gospel itself! Indeed, if we truly want to know Jesus and Mary, love them, be willing to imitate and follow them, it is necessary to spend time thinking about their lives and actions. This is done most efficaciously by meditating on the Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary.
In conclusion, if we carry out this practice, the extraordinary graces that Our Lady of Fatima promises to you and to me are the following, and these are her exact words: “I promise to assist at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation.” In concrete, this means that at the most important moment of our earthly existence, which is the very moment that we die and pass from this life to the next to be judged by Jesus, who will come to judge the living and the dead, Our Lady will be present and she will attain for us the grace of all graces, the grace of FINAL PERSEVERANCE!!! This means that she will attain for our hearts sincere sorrow for our sins, true repentance, and great love of God. Thereby we will attain the purpose of our life—the eternal salvation of our immortal soul!!!
For this reason, we invite all to undertake the wonderful practice of the Five (Consecutive) First Saturdays Devotion of Our Lady of Fatima. If done, we will be united with her in heaven for all eternity to praise the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!
Copyright 2020 Oblates of the Virgin Mary
St. Peter Chanel Church, Hawaiian Gardens, CA
