Our Lady of Fatima Promises all the Graces Necessary for Heaven
if a Catholic Finishes the Five First Saturdays Devotion
“Whether the world has war or peace depends on the practice of this devotion, along with the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This is why I desire its propagation so ardently, especially because this is also the will of our dear Mother in Heaven.” -Sr. Lucy (March 19, 1939)
During her July apparition at Fatima, Our Lady said to Lucia, “I shall come to ask… that on the First Saturday of every month, Communions of reparation be made in atonement for the sins of the world.” Although she made no further mention of this devotion at Fatima, on December 10, 1925, our Blessed Mother again appeared to Lucia at Pentevedra, Spain, where the seer had been sent to the Dorothean Sisters to learn to read and write. It was there Our Lady completed her request for the Five First Saturdays and gave her great promise.
Appearing with the Queen of Heaven in that apparition was the Infant Jesus, Who said to Lucia: “Have pity on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother. It is covered with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to remove them with an act of reparation.”
Our Lady then spoke: “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 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 fifteen mysteries of the Rosary.”
The elements of this devotion, therefore, consist in the following four points, all of which must be offered in reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. One should make this intention before carrying out Our Lady’s requests. A renewal of the actual intention at the time is best; however, if such an intention is made now, it will fulfill the requirements if, for instance, the actual intention is forgotten at the time of confession.
- Confession: This confession can be made before the First Saturday or afterward, provided that Holy Communion be received in the state of grace. In 1926, Christ in a vision explained to Lucia that this confession could be made a week before or even more, and that it should be offered in reparation.
- Holy Communion: Before receiving Holy Communion, it is likewise necessary to offer it in reparation to Our Lady. Our Lord told Lucia in 1930, “This Communion will be accepted on the following Sunday for just reasons, if my priests allow it so.” So if work or school, sickness, or another just reason prevents the Communion on a First Saturday, with this permission it may be received the following Sunday. If Communion is transferred, any or all of the other acts of the devotion may also be performed on Sunday if the person so desires.
- Rosary: The Rosary is a vocal prayer said while meditating upon the mysteries of Our Lord’s life and Passion and Our Lady’s life. To comply with the request of our Blessed Mother, it must be offered in reparation and said properly while meditating.
- 15-minute meditation: Also offered in reparation, the meditation may embrace one or more mysteries; it may include all, taken together or separately. This meditation should be the richest of any meditation, because Our Lady promised to be present when she said “…those who keep me company….”
To those who faithfully follow Our Lady’s requests for the Five First Saturdays, she has made a wonderful promise which she, as Mediatrix of All Graces, will certainly fulfill: “I promise to assist at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation.” This means that our Blessed Mother will be present at the hour of death with the actual grace of final perseverance, (which after the gift/grace of Faith), is the most important grace.
After completing the Five First Saturdays, one may continue the devotion simply to console the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady. A tender love of our Blessed Mother will lead one to do all he can to make reparation for the sins which pierce her Immaculate Heart. Let us remember, too, that although Our Lady made this promise to those who would observe five such First Saturdays in succession, in her July apparition she asked simply that Communions of reparation be made on every First Saturday to atone for the sins of the world.
Why Five Saturdays ?
It is sometimes asked why Our Lady asked for Communions of reparation on five first Saturdays, instead of some other number. Our Blessed Lord answered that question when He appeared to Sr. Lucia May 29, 1930. He explained that it was because of five kinds of offenses and blasphemies against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, namely: blasphemies against her Immaculate Conception, against her perpetual virginity, against the divine and spiritual maternity of Mary, blasphemies involving the rejection and dishonoring of her images, and the neglect of implanting in the hearts of children a knowledge and love of this Immaculate Mother.
| ARE YOU FULFILLING THE REQUESTS OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA? |
1. CONSECRATION
Do you always wear her BROWN SCAPULAR? And does your life of striving for holiness through prayer, penance, and renouncement of the spirit of the world bear testimony to the sincerity of your personal consecration?
2. SACRIFICE
Do you extend your MORNING OFFERING throughout your daily duties, offering them all in a spirit of reparation? Do you consistently deny yourself, that you may faithfully live the Christian Gospel — in modest dress, becoming speech, avoiding all occasions of sin?
3. PRAYER
Do you say at least FIVE DECADES of her Rosary every day, and the full FIFTEEN decades as often as you possibly can? Do you visit Our Divine Lord in the Blessed Sacrament frequently? Do you ever miss an opportunity to attend Mass and receive Him in Holy Communion?
4. REPARATION
Have you made an effort to make the FIVE FIRST SATURDAYS? Does the great need for reparation lead you, like little Jacinta, to seek for ways “to remove the thorns from the bleeding and Sorrowful Heart of our Immaculate Mother?
Act of Reparation for the First Saturdays of the Month
O Most Holy Virgin, and Our Mother, we listen with grief to the complaints of your Immaculate Heart surrounded with the thorns placed therein at every moment by the blasphemies and ingratitude of ungrateful humanity. We are moved by the ardent desire of loving you as Our Mother and of promising a true devotion to Your Immaculate Heart.
We therefore kneel before You to manifest the sorrow we feel for the grievances that people cause You, and to atone by our prayers and sacrifices for the offenses with which they return your love. Obtain for them and for us the pardon of so many sins. Hasten the conversion of sinners that they may love Jesus Christ and cease to offend the Lord, already so much offended. Turn you eyes of mercy toward us, that we may love God with all our heart on earth and enjoy Him forever in Heaven. Amen
FIRST SATURDAY CONSECRATION
Virgin Mary, most powerful Mother of Mercy, Queen of Heaven and earth, in accordance with thy wish made known at Fatima, I consecrate myself today to thy Immaculate Heart. To thee I entrust all that I have, all that I am. Reign over me, dearest Mother, that I may be thine in prosperity, in adversity, in joy and in sorrow, in health and in sickness, in life and in death.
Most compassionate Heart of Mary, Queen of Virgins, watch over my mind and heart and preserve me from the deluge of impurity which thou hast lamented so sorrowfully at Fatima. I want to be pure like thee. I want to atone for the many crimes committed against Jesus and thee. I want to call down upon this country and the whole world the peace of God in justice and charity.
Mindful of this consecration, I now promise to strive to imitate thee by the practice of the Christian virtues without regard for human respect.
I resolve to receive Holy Communion on the first Saturday of every month when possible, and to offer daily five decades of the Rosary, with all my sacrifices in the spirit of penance and reparation.
Amen.
FOR FIRST SATURDAY:
A Prayer:
O holy Mother of God, I am filled with confusion in appearing before one so humble and so holy as thou art, whereas I am nothing but pride and vanity. O thou blessed among women!
I adore with thee the ineffable mystery of the incarnation of thy Son, and I beg of thee to obtain for me a lively sense of my obligation to imitate the humility which He teaches me, both in it, and in the other circumstances of His life and death.
O Mary, through the unfathomable mercies of thy Immaculate Heart pray to God for me, and pray without ceasing, as thou seest me surrounded with innumerable enemies.
May I, through thy intercession, profit by the excess of thy Son’s love may I praise and serve Him on earth, and forever be associated with thee in loving and enjoying Him in Heaven.
Amen.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
