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First Saturday Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary:
01 June 2019
The First Saturday devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a tradition that has been followed by Catholics world over since the early 1900s. The First Five Saturday devotion has its origin in the request made by Our Lady of Fatima to one of the visionaries Lucia Santos long after the Fatima apparitions. Our Lady appeared again to Lucia Santos in December 1925 and requested that a devotion of the first five Saturdays be observed in reparation to her Immaculate Heart
Our Lady said "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.
This apparition of Our Lady to Sister Lucia came to be known as the Pontevedra apparition. At the time the first Saturday devotion was already a practice in the Catholic Church. On July 1, 1905, Pope Pius X approved and granted indulgence for the practice of the First Saturdays of twelve consecutive months in honor of the Immaculate Conception. After the apparition at Pontevedra, devout Catholics began observing the Five First Saturday devotion too. As requested by Our Lady, the faithful observe this devotion with the specific intention of making reparation to the Blessed Mother for blasphemies against her, her name and her holy initiatives. The devotion is observed by:
Going to Confession:
The confession can take place within eight days before or even after the Holy Communion is received, but the Holy Communion shall be received in a state of Grace
Receive Holy Communion:
The Holy Communion has to be received within the 24 hours of the first Saturday of the Month. Receiving Holy Communion as part of this devotion must be consciously intended as an Act of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart. If a person has a valid reason not to attend Mass or if Masses are not available on Saturdays, the devotee may consult a priest about receiving Communion privately or on another day with the intention of making this Communion as part of the devotion.
Reciting the Rosary:
The Rosary must also be recited with the intention of making reparation.
Meditating on the Mysteries of the Rosary:
This Meditation should also be done in an Act of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Rosary Meditations can be recited on all 15 of the mysteries or fewer but must last for 15 minutes. This meditation is in addition (i.e. separated) to the recitation of the Rosary. It can be prayed alone or in a group and with or without the aid of sacred scripture.