Precious Blood
FIRST FRIDAY DEVOTION & THE SACRED HEART
9-First Friday Devotion of Reparation to Sacred Heart of Jesus
At the end of the 17th century Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alocoque (1647-1690) and asked her to spread devotion toHis Most Sacred Heart. In a letter written to her Mother Superior in May 1688, St. Margaret Mary set out what is called The Great Promise Our Lord made regarding the Nine First Fridays and what we must do to earn it:
“On Friday during Holy Communion, He said these words to His unworthy slave, if I mistake not: ‘I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that Its all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on nine first Fridays of consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they will not die under My displeasure or without receiving their sacraments, My divine Heart making Itself their assured refuge at the last moment.'”
First Friday Requirements
To meet the requirements for the First Friday Devotion a person must, on each First Friday for nine consecutive months:
1. Attend Holy Mass
2. Receive Communion
3. Go to Confession*
*Some Catholic resources on this devotion say that Confession is not strictly required unless you need the sacrament in order to receive a worthy Communion, in other words, you need to go to Confession so you can be in the state of grace before you can receive Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Other sources say you must go to Confession with in eight days before or after the Friday. Even if you are in the state of grace. If in doubt, consult your spiritual director. The more prevalent view prescribes the latter. The communicant should have the intention, at least implicitly, of making reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for all the sinfulness and ingratitude of men.
12 Promises of the 9 First Friday Devotion
Our Lord made these promises to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque regarding those who practice the Nine FirstFridays and have a deep devotion to His Sacred Heart. The Twelve Promises listed below includes the “Great Promise” (number 12).
1. I will give them all of the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their homes.
3. I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
4. I will be their strength during life and above all during death.
5. I will bestow a large blessing upon all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and the infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall grow fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
9. I will bless every place where a picture of my heart shall be set up and honored.
10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be blotted out.
12. I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful love will grant all to those who communicate on the First Friday in nine consecutive months the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving their sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.
FIRST SATURDAY DEVOTION & OUR LADY OF FATIMA
About Our Lady of Fatima and First Saturdays
FIVE 1st SATURDAYS – IMMACULATE HEART
Why The First Five Saturdays ?
The observance of the first Saturday in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is intended to make reparation to it for the sins of mankind. This devotion was revealed by the Blessed Virgin to three children, Francisco, Jacinta and Lucia to whom she appeared at Fatima, Portugal, in 1917. On June 13, 1917, Our Lady specifically stated in speaking to Lucia: "Jesus wants to make use of you to make me known and loved. He wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. Our Lady repeated this in the July 13th apparition when, after the vision of Hell that was granted to the three children, she said: "You have seen Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace."
What does the First Saturday Devotion consist of?
The First Saturday Devotion consists of performing the following acts on five consecutive first Saturdays of the month:
1. Go to Confession (8 days before or after the First Saturday is still valid). Do a perfect Act of Contrition and receive Spiritual Communion if unable to go to confession.
2. Receive Holy Communion in the state of grace.
3. Say five decades of the Rosary. Meditate for 15 minutes on the mysteries of the Holy Rosary with the goal of keeping her company. This is best done in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.
4. All the conditions above should be fulfilled with the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
What did Our Lady promise to those who perform the First Saturday Devotion faithfully?
Our Lady promised to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all who perform the First Saturday Devotion according to the way it should be done as described above.
The First Five Saturdays – Reparation
Our Lady asks for reparation. "There are so many souls whom the Justice of God condemns for sins committed against me, that I have come to ask reparation;" reparation to this Heart for the sins of mankind, in particular the five kinds of offenses andblasephemies against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, namely:
1. Blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception
2. Blasphemies against her perpetual virginity
3. Blasphemeies against the divine and spiritual maternity of Mary
4. Blasphemies involving the rejection and dishonoring of her images
5. The neglect of implanting in the hearts of children a knowledge and love of this Immaculate Mother
“Look at my Heart, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce me at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least, try to console me and announce that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with all the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, shall: go to confession, receive HolyCommunion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me.”
Words of Our Lady of Fatima
Sacrifice Prayer
"O my Jesus, I offer this for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
First Saturday Prayer to St. Joseph
Father - Protector – Consoler, O St. Joseph, at Fatima, you appeared as head of the Holy Family and with the Child Jesus, blessed the world and all its inhabitants. As the greatest consoler of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we beseech you to assist us in our devotion to your beloved spouse, especially in our First Saturday reparations, which console our heavenly Mother. As the faithful father and protector of Mary and Jesus, we implore your powerful intercession in helping us to restore marriage and family to right order with God. With your spiritual carpenter skills,rebuild our Church and guide those who have strayed, back to our Eucharistic Lord. Assist us in spreading the message of Our Lady of Fatima, and help us to do our part in bringing about the triumph she promised. Amen.
Predict the future
You didn’t come this far to stop
How to Observe First Fridays and First Saturdays
https://www.simplycatholic.com/how-to-observe-first-fridays-and-first-saturdays/
In the thirteenth century, a devotion to Jesus and Mary began under the titles of the “Sacred Heart of Jesus” and the “Immaculate Heart of Mary.” The heart is the source and center of life, and life flows out to the faithful from the hearts of Jesus and Mary. St. Bonaventure focused in particular on the wound to the heart that Jesus received from the spear of the Roman centurion. From that wound, blood and water flowed — a sign that Jesus gave everything for us (see Jn 19:34). Devotion to the heart of Mary draws from the Gospel of Luke (2:35), in which Simeon tells Mary,“ A sword will pierce through your own soul.” Simeon prophesied that Mary would share in the sufferings of her Son and Redeemer, Jesus.
In the seventeenth century, St. John Eudes promoted these devotions. He also developed Mass texts and daily readings focused on the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Admirable Heart of Mary. He proposed that both be made into feasts in the Church’s liturgical calendar.
As the devotion to the Sacred Heart spread, a cloistered nun, Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque, received a series of visions. Christ himself directed St. Margaret Mary to foster devotion to His Sacred Heart. One of these devotions was to make the first Friday of each month a special day of observance. Specifically, the devotion involved receiving Holy Communion on nine consecutive first Fridays with the intention of making reparation to “the Heart that has loved men so and is loved so little in return.” Jesus told St. Margaret Mary of His great love for souls and His desire to shower His mercy on those who were devoted to Him. He revealed several promises for those who lovingly practiced the First Friday devotion. Among the promises were: final perseverance in the Catholic faith, reception of the sacraments before death, and death in the state of grace, as well as the consolation of Christ’s love at the time of death.
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary developed alongside devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The heart of Mary mirrors the heart of Jesus both in great love and in sharing His suffering. This devotion increased after the appearances of the Blessed Mother to three children of Fátima, Portugal, early in the twentieth century.The Blessed Mother told the eldest of the children that she would “assist at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for the salvation of their souls” all who, for five months, on the first Saturday of each month:
confess their sins,
receive Holy Communion,
recite the Rosary,
and keep Mary company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary,
all offered in a spirit of reparation.
Of course, all of this assumes the context of a prayerful life and the struggle for holiness. It would be blasphemy to approach the hearts of Jesus and Mary in supplication while fully intending to continue a life of sin.
Our Hearts
We want to mirror the heart and mind of God. We want to see people, the world, and every situation with God’s eyes. We want to love as He loves. We want a heart like His. If we have such a heart, we will begin to love as God loves; yet we will also begin to know how much God is offended by the sins of the world. Then, with such love joined to such a horror of sin, we will want to make reparation for our sins and the sins of others.This is the way that Jesus and Mary loved: by offering their lives to atone for the failings of others.
As we meditate on the hearts of Jesus and Mary, we see the great love they have, even for sinners, and we see how God continues to reach out in love and forgiveness. But we also see how poorly people respond to this loving invitation to life and relationship with God. Some go so far as to actively reject God. We begin to obtain a glimpse of the injustice of habitual sin, which rejects God and abuses His mercy.
The suffering and rejection of the cross continues, but the mercy and grace of God continue to flow to men and women in our time.
Jesus and Mary, make our hearts like yours!
PRAYERS
To Be United with the Heart of Jesus
O Heart all lovable and all loving of my Savior, be the Heart of my heart, the soul of my soul, the spirit of my spirit, the life of my life and the sole principle of all my thoughts, words, and actions, of all the faculties of my soul, and of all my senses, both interior and exterior. Amen.
— St. John Eudes
A Prayer of Adoration
From the depth of my nothingness, I prostrate myself before You, O Most Sacred, Divine, and Adorable Heart of Jesus, to pay to You all the homage of love, praise, and adoration in my power. Amen.
— St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
Collect for the Feast of the Sacred Heart
Clothe us, Lord God, with the virtues of the Heart of your Son and set us aflame with his love,
that, conformed to his image, we may merit a share in eternal redemption. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
To the Immaculate Heart of Mary
O Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, and Queen of the World, rule over us, together with the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, Our King. Save us from the spreading flood of modern paganism; kindle in our hearts and homes the love of purity, the practice of a virtuous life, an ardent zeal for souls, and a desire to pray the Rosary more faithfully.
