First Saturday Devotions
Encyclopedia
The First Saturdays Devotion (or Act of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Blessed Virgin Mary) is a Catholic
practice which, according to the visionaries, has been requested by the Virgin Mary
in several visitations, notably Our Lady of Fátima
and the subsequent Pontevedra apparitions
. This devotion, and the marian apparitions, have been officially embraced by the Roman Catholic Church
.
The devotion fits on the Catholic tradition to venerate the Virgin Mary particularly on Saturdays, which originated in the scriptural account that, as the Mother of Jesus Christ
, her heart was to be pierced with a sword, as prophesied during the presentation of Jesus in the temple; such sword was the bitter sorrow during the Crucifixion of Jesus (which Catholic devotees understand as the union
of the Immaculate Heart
and the Sacred Heart of Jesus -- see Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Apparitions). Such sorrow is particularly bitterly endured on Holy Saturday
after Jesus was placed on the Sepulcher (before the Resurrection on Easter
). Devotees of Fátima believe that the First Saturdays help to console the sorrows of God
, Jesus
, and the Virgin Mary for the sins against Her Immaculate Heart
.
great graces, specially at the hour of death; In particular the salvation
of the soul
, for the believer that for Five Consecutive First Saturdays of Month (5 Saturdays in 5 Months) receives Holy Communion and practices the following exercises as an Act of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Queen of Heaven:
The confession can take place days before or even after the Holy Communion is received, but the Holy Communion shall be received with dignity, in state of Grace
, as Jesus is physically present in the Eucharist (Transubstantiation
). The Intention of making reparation to the immaculate heart of Mary may be only mental and it is not necessary to notify the confessor
priest
.
The Holy Communion has to be received within the 24 hours of the first Saturday of the Month. Attendance to Holy Mass is optional.
The Intention of receiving Holy Communion as an act of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Virgin Mary has to be mentally expressed. To avoid omitting the Intention every Saturday, the General Intention for the devotion of the act of reparation can be Mentally or outspokenly set before starting the First Saturdays (or in between).
If a person has a valid reason not to attend Mass (Masses not available on Saturdays, difficult mobilization, other major event), a priest can be inquired (preferably before) about receiving the Holy Communion other day, if the ordained priest deems the reasons valid the reparation communion is acceptable other day.
The Rosary must also be recited with the intention of making reparation.
A 15 Minute Meditation is made on the Mysteries of the Rosary
This Meditation should also be done in Act of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Rosary Meditations can be done on all 20 of the mysteries or fewer but must last for 15 minutes. This meditation is in addition to the recitation of the Rosary, also required. It can be done alone or in a group and with or without the aid of sacred scripture
.
The activities of the Five First Saturdays devotion are different from the same devotions on other days in that all should be done with the intention in the heart of making reparation to the Blessed Mother for blasphemies against her, her name and her holy initiatives.
Sister Lúcia
, the only Fátima visionary to survive into adulthood reported that the Blessed Mother came to her in her convent at Pontevedra
, Spain
with the following statement:
The First Saturdays devotion had already been an established custom in the Catholic Church. On July 1, 1905, Pope Pius X
approved and granted indulgences for the practice of the First Saturdays of twelve consecutive months in honor of the Immaculate Conception
. This practice greatly resembled the reported request of Mary at the Pontevedra apparitions
.
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
practice which, according to the visionaries, has been requested by the Virgin Mary
Blessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic)
Roman Catholic veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary is based on Holy Scripture: In the fullness of time, God sent his son, born of a virgin. The mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God through Mary thus signifies her honour as Mother of God...
in several visitations, notably Our Lady of Fátima
Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fátima is a famous title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary as she appeared in apparitions reported by three shepherd children at Fátima in Portugal. These occurred on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917, starting on May 13...
and the subsequent Pontevedra apparitions
Pontevedra apparitions
The Pontevedra apparitions are the Marian apparitions that Sister Lúcia, the visionary of Our Lady of Fátima, reported receiving while living in a Dorothean convent in Spain.-First apparition:...
. This devotion, and the marian apparitions, have been officially embraced by the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
.
The devotion fits on the Catholic tradition to venerate the Virgin Mary particularly on Saturdays, which originated in the scriptural account that, as the Mother of Jesus Christ
Theotokos
Theotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God...
, her heart was to be pierced with a sword, as prophesied during the presentation of Jesus in the temple; such sword was the bitter sorrow during the Crucifixion of Jesus (which Catholic devotees understand as the union
Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary
The Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary refers to the historical, theological and spiritual links in Catholic devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary...
of the Immaculate Heart
Immaculate Heart of Mary
The Immaculate Heart of Mary originally The Sacred Heart of Mary is a devotional name used to refer to the interior life of Mary, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love for God, her maternal love for her Son, Jesus, and her compassionate love for...
and the Sacred Heart of Jesus -- see Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Apparitions). Such sorrow is particularly bitterly endured on Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday , sometimes known as Easter Eve or Black Saturday, is the day after Good Friday. It is the day before Easter and the last day of Holy Week in which Christians prepare for Easter...
after Jesus was placed on the Sepulcher (before the Resurrection on Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
). Devotees of Fátima believe that the First Saturdays help to console the sorrows of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, and the Virgin Mary for the sins against Her Immaculate Heart
Immaculate Heart of Mary
The Immaculate Heart of Mary originally The Sacred Heart of Mary is a devotional name used to refer to the interior life of Mary, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love for God, her maternal love for her Son, Jesus, and her compassionate love for...
.
The Act of Reparation
It has been promised, by the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Pontevedra apparitionsPontevedra apparitions
The Pontevedra apparitions are the Marian apparitions that Sister Lúcia, the visionary of Our Lady of Fátima, reported receiving while living in a Dorothean convent in Spain.-First apparition:...
great graces, specially at the hour of death; In particular the salvation
Salvation
Within religion salvation is the phenomenon of being saved from the undesirable condition of bondage or suffering experienced by the psyche or soul that has arisen as a result of unskillful or immoral actions generically referred to as sins. Salvation may also be called "deliverance" or...
of the soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
, for the believer that for Five Consecutive First Saturdays of Month (5 Saturdays in 5 Months) receives Holy Communion and practices the following exercises as an Act of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Queen of Heaven:
- Sacramental confession
The confession can take place days before or even after the Holy Communion is received, but the Holy Communion shall be received with dignity, in state of Grace
Grace (Christianity)
In Christian theology, grace is God’s gift of God’s self to humankind. It is understood by Christians to be a spontaneous gift from God to man - "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved" - that takes the form of divine favour, love and clemency. It is an attribute of God that is most...
, as Jesus is physically present in the Eucharist (Transubstantiation
Transubstantiation
In Roman Catholic theology, transubstantiation means the change, in the Eucharist, of the substance of wheat bread and grape wine into the substance of the Body and Blood, respectively, of Jesus, while all that is accessible to the senses remains as before.The Eastern Orthodox...
). The Intention of making reparation to the immaculate heart of Mary may be only mental and it is not necessary to notify the confessor
Confessor
-Confessor of the Faith:Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith, but not to the point of death. The term is still used in this way in the East. In Latin Christianity it has come to signify any saint, as well as those who have been declared...
priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
.
- To receive Holy Communion
The Holy Communion has to be received within the 24 hours of the first Saturday of the Month. Attendance to Holy Mass is optional.
The Intention of receiving Holy Communion as an act of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Virgin Mary has to be mentally expressed. To avoid omitting the Intention every Saturday, the General Intention for the devotion of the act of reparation can be Mentally or outspokenly set before starting the First Saturdays (or in between).
If a person has a valid reason not to attend Mass (Masses not available on Saturdays, difficult mobilization, other major event), a priest can be inquired (preferably before) about receiving the Holy Communion other day, if the ordained priest deems the reasons valid the reparation communion is acceptable other day.
- A 5 Decades RosaryRosaryThe rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
is recited
The Rosary must also be recited with the intention of making reparation.
A 15 Minute Meditation is made on the Mysteries of the Rosary
This Meditation should also be done in Act of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Rosary Meditations can be done on all 20 of the mysteries or fewer but must last for 15 minutes. This meditation is in addition to the recitation of the Rosary, also required. It can be done alone or in a group and with or without the aid of sacred scripture
Christian biblical canons
A Christian biblical canon is the set of books that a Christian denomination regards as divinely inspired and thus constituting the Christian Bible...
.
The activities of the Five First Saturdays devotion are different from the same devotions on other days in that all should be done with the intention in the heart of making reparation to the Blessed Mother for blasphemies against her, her name and her holy initiatives.
Sister Lúcia
Lúcia Santos
Lúcia de Jesus dos Santos – Sister Mary Lucy of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart, better known as Sister Lúcia of Fátima – was a Roman Catholic Discalced Carmelite nun from Portugal...
, the only Fátima visionary to survive into adulthood reported that the Blessed Mother came to her in her convent at Pontevedra
Pontevedra
Pontevedra is a city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the comarca and province of Pontevedra, in Galicia . It is also the capital of its own municipality which is, in fact, often considered as an extension of the actual city...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
with the following statement:
- Look, my daughter, at my Heart encircled by these thorns with which men pierce it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You, at least, strive to console me, and so I announce: I promise to assist at the hour of death with the grace necessary for salvation all those who, with the intention of making reparation to me, will, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, go to confession, receive Holy Communion, say five decades of the beads, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary.
The First Saturdays devotion had already been an established custom in the Catholic Church. On July 1, 1905, Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X
Pope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...
approved and granted indulgences for the practice of the First Saturdays of twelve consecutive months in honor of the Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
. This practice greatly resembled the reported request of Mary at the Pontevedra apparitions
Pontevedra apparitions
The Pontevedra apparitions are the Marian apparitions that Sister Lúcia, the visionary of Our Lady of Fátima, reported receiving while living in a Dorothean convent in Spain.-First apparition:...
.
Sources
- EWTN http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/bios2000.htm
- Notre Dame University http://www.nd.edu/~mary/classic/firstsat.html
- Catholic News AgencyCatholic News AgencyThe Catholic News Agency is a provider of news related to Catholicism to an English speaking audience worldwide. It is headquartered in Denver, Colorado....
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=8654