The great promise of Jesus
The devotion of the nine first Fridays of the month has its roots in the life of a nun, Margaret Mary Alacoque, who in 1689 received a precious gift from Jesus, a promise:
“I promise you, in the excessive mercy of my heart, that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the first Friday of the month for nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance (that is, eternal salvation). They will not die in my disfavor, nor without receiving the sacraments, and my heart will be their sure refuge in that final hour.”
An absolutely authentic promise
There is no doubt about the authenticity of this promise, to such an extent that Benedict XV, in a very rare occurrence, included it in the canonization bull of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque. Since then, all the popes have recommended it, and Saint John Paul II declared that it “has helped spur generations of Christians to pray more and to participate more frequently in the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist.”
An exaggerated promise?
This promise, better known as the “great promise,” by which Jesus wishes to grant eternal salvation to anyone who (with the proper dispositions) receives Holy Communion on the first Friday of the month for nine consecutive months, may seem exaggerated: “For nine Communions (even if received under certain conditions), such a great grace?”
It is a formidable promise, resembling a sure “policy” on life… eternal life. In any case, there is nothing magical or automatic, nor can there be. We know that every gift from God, every grace, always presupposes a human response. In reality, the great promise does nothing more than reveal the mystery of the heart of a God who is moved and pours out all his love on humanity, but above all it shows that each of us can experience and savor the tenderness of this love.
The “great promise” is for everyone
Jesus, through the great promise, addresses everyone: those who are in sin; those who are “lukewarm” in their love for Christ; those who aspire to Christian perfection; those who are suffering; parents; children; married couples; religious men and women, their communities and their superiors; those who consecrate themselves to his heart; the apostles of his devotion; all those who labor for the salvation of souls; those who are at the point of death; those who honor his image and the places where it is displayed; those who celebrate the feast of the Sacred Heart; those who make the nine First Fridays of the month.
Jesus takes the first step; we must take the second
It is clear that, in the promise made by Jesus, final salvation is the work and exclusive gift of the Father’s great mercy, manifested by the heart of Jesus, who awaits humanity’s free response.
The initiative of his love challenges us. Accepting his gift means fulfilling ourselves. We are called every day, and not just once a month, to cooperate in a journey of conversion. The only way to understand the “great promise” is this: immerse ourselves in the overflowing mercy of the heart of Jesus!
