Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Mass in the Morning
“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
SATURDAY, June 4th Jn 21: 20-25 Entrance Antiphon: “The disciples devoted themselves with one accord to prayer with the women, and Mary the Mother of Jesus, and his brethren, alleluia. ”
This being the First Saturday of the Month, it is good to review the practice of the First Saturday Devotion, the many graces that flow from it, then resolve to live it fully!
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. 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—it can be anything, but take 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 to us 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!
