In the face of the problems presented by the contemporary world, we can respond by putting various virtuous actions into practice, but sometimes these are not enough and we feel powerless. We are mistaken if we think that the troubles afflicting humanity can be resolved by human strength alone. At Fatima, Our Lady gave us a powerful remedy against the forces of evil, and we must not consider her message outdated. In fact, it is more relevant today than ever.
The great promise of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
On June 13, 1917, during the second apparition, Our Lady said to Sister Lucia: “Jesus wishes to use you to make me known and loved. He wishes to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world.” Sister Lucia recounts: “In front of Our Lady’s right palm was a heart crowned with thorns that seemed to be embedded in it. We understood that it was the Immaculate Heart of Mary, offended by the sins of humanity.”
The revelations to Sister Lucia were decisive in spreading devotion to the Immaculate Heart and enriched it with its reparative aspect, expressed in the devotion of the first five Saturdays of the month, through which reparation is offered for offenses against the Most Holy Heart of Mary for the benefit of the souls of sinners. Indeed, on July 13, 1917, at Fatima, Our Lady said to the shepherd children: “You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, the Lord wishes to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world. If you do what I tell you, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.”
The first five Saturdays of the month: a great opportunity
Sister Lucia continues to recount: “On December 10, 1925, the Most Holy Virgin appeared to me in my room, and beside her was a Child, as if suspended on a cloud. Our Lady placed her hand on his shoulder and, at the same time, held in her other hand a heart surrounded by thorns. At that moment, the Child said: ‘Have compassion on the heart of your Most Holy Mother, covered with thorns that ungrateful men continually drive into it, while there is no one who performs acts of reparation to remove them.’ Immediately, the Most Holy Virgin added: ‘Look, my daughter, at my heart surrounded by thorns that ungrateful men continually inflict upon it through blasphemies and ingratitude. Console me at least you, and make this known: to all those who for five months, on the first Saturday, go to confession, receive Holy Communion, recite the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the mysteries, with the intention of making reparation to me, I promise to assist them at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for salvation.’”
It is the Lord himself who wishes to illuminate devotion and worship of the Heart of his Mother and of humanity. Indeed, on February 15, 1926, while taking out the garden rubbish, Lucia met a boy who asked her: «Have you spread throughout the world what the heavenly Mother had asked you?». At that moment, he was transformed into a radiant child.
What must one do to observe the first five Saturdays of the month?
- Confession celebrated within the eight days preceding the first Saturday of the month, with the intention of making reparation for the offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which can be expressed to the confessor after confessing one's sins and stating the intention not to commit them again. If this intention is forgotten during Confession, it can be expressed at the next Confession.
2. Receive Communion on the first Saturday of the month, with the intention of making reparation for the offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
3. Pray at least one set of Rosary mysteries: joyful, luminous, sorrowful or glorious, with the same intention as the Confession.
4. Keep the Most Holy Virgin company for a quarter of an hour, meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary.
Why five in particular?
One of Lucia's confessors asked her why the number five. She asked Jesus, who replied: «It is a matter of making reparation for the five offenses directly committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary:
1. Blasphemies against her Immaculate Conception.
2. Blasphemies against her virginity.
3. Blasphemies against her divine motherhood and the refusal to recognize her as the Mother of humanity.
4. The actions of those who publicly instill indifference, contempt and even hatred for this Immaculate Mother in the hearts of little ones.
5. The actions of those who directly offend her in her sacred images».
Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
The first five Saturdays are an excellent preparation for consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Sister Lucia writes: «God wishes to establish devotion to the Immaculate Heart in the world in order to lead people to a full consecration of conversion and self-giving, to intimate esteem, veneration and love. We all know what the mother's heart represents in a family: it is love! All children trust in their mother's heart, and all know that they have a place of intimate predilection in it. The same happens with the Virgin Mary. Mary's heart is therefore, for all her children, the refuge and the way to God».
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