We live in turbulent times in which faith seems to have been diluted and offenses against Our Lady are spreading at great speed. Our Mother's Immaculate Heart is covered with thorns, pierced by the ingratitude and blasphemies of men. How can we not grieve when we see Our Mother offended in this way? Is it not proper for good children to repair her pain?
Origin of the devotion of the first Saturday of the month
It was precisely Our Lady who, through the Message of Fatima, announced that she would come to ask for the Communion of Reparation on the first Saturday of the month, since Saturday was the day on which the Blessed Virgin had traditionally been honored for centuries. It was not until December 10, 1925, that this announcement was fulfilled, taking place in the monastery of Santa Dorotea, in Tuy (Pontevedra), where Sister Lucia, who together with her cousins Francisco and Jacinta, had had the joy of witnessing the Marian visions in Fatima, was staying. It was thus that the Blessed Virgin asked her to institute the devotion of the five First Saturdays of the month as a way of making reparation for the offenses against her Immaculate Heart.
What does this devotion consist of?
In response to Our Lady's request, her faithful devotees can console her by fulfilling the following requirements during the first five consecutive Saturdays of the month:
Confession.
Attending Holy Mass, receiving Holy Communion with the intention of making reparation for offenses against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Recitation of the Holy Rosary.
Meditate on at least one of the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary for fifteen minutes.
Why five Saturdays?
This is due to the five types of blasphemies with which Our Lady is offended, and which she herself revealed to Sister Lucia:
Blasphemies against her Immaculate Heart.
Blasphemies against her virginity.
Blasphemies against Her as Mother of God and Mother of all humanity.
Blasphemies of those who publicly instill in children indifference, contempt and even hatred for the Blessed Virgin.
Blasphemies of those who outrage her sacred images.
Promises linked to this devotion
Our Lady not only expressed the requirements of this devotion but also made a significant promise:
"Look, my daughter, at my Heart, encircled with thorns that ungrateful men continually nail to me with blasphemies and ingratitude. You, at least, try to console Me and say that all those who, for five months, on the first Saturday of the month, go to confession, receive Holy Communion, recite the Rosary and keep Me company for fifteen minutes, meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, in order to make amends to Me, I promise to assist them at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for the salvation of souls".
To all those who practice this devotion with faith, Our Lady promises special graces at the moment of their death, assuring the salvation of their souls. What a wonderful gift the Mother of God gives us!
The Heralds of the Gospel invite you to participate in this devotion every first Saturday of the month, at 11:30 a.m., at the Real Colegiata de San Isidro, located at 37 Toledo St. in Madrid. In addition to fulfilling all the requirements demanded by Our Lady, those who accompany us will be able to offer Our Lady their filial affection in the kissing ceremony that takes place at the end of the ceremony. Accompanying Our Lady as faithful and devoted children, we will bring consolation to her afflicted heart, and she, as the loving mother that she is, offers us her incalculable help in the form of a most precious gift. The Mother of God desires nothing more than to lead us to Her Divine Son, therefore, let us be faithful and obedient to Her request, and console Her aggrieved Heart.