OUR LADY'S PROMISE TO THOSE WHO OBSERVE THE FIRST FIVE SATURDAY DEVOTION

On Friday, July 13, 1917, Our Lady in her apparition at Fatima said to Lucia, “I shall come to ask... that on the First Saturday of every month, Communion of reparation be made in atonement for the sins of the world.” Although she made no further mention of this devotion at Fatima.

Then on Thursday, December 10, 1925, our Blessed Mother again appeared to Lucia at Pontevedra, 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 and Earth 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 with thorns, with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment by their blasphemy 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 of the following four points, --- Confession, Holy Communion, Holy Rosary, and fifteen minute meditation --- 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 to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

HOLY COMMUNION: Before receiving Holy Communion, it is likewise necessary to offer it in reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. 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 First Five 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 Lady will be present at the hour of death with the super grace of final perseverance, which is the most important gift/grace after the grace of Faith.