Answering Our Lady’s Call
Five First Saturdays at St. Mary’s Church, Pine Bluff, WI
This year we are observing the 100th anniversaries of the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima, Portugal, from May to October 1917.
Central to the messages given by the Blessed Virgin Mary during those apparitions, and then for years afterward to one of the “seers” at Fatima, Lucia, was the urgent need of the faithful to do penance and make reparation for sins committed by humanity against Mary’s Immaculate Heart.
The Mother of God said that if her requests were heeded, many disasters could be avoided.
She also made the promise of divine assistance at the time of death to all the faithful who would make the Five First Saturday Devotion, which Pope St. Pius X had approved in 1904.
To respond in a special way to Our Lady’s request and promise, at St. Mary’s in Pine Bluff there will be for five months – from June to October – an explicit and convenient opportunity to help people fulfill the Five First Saturday Devotion specifically requested by the Mother of God.
The conditions for the First Saturday Devotion are:
1) Confession of sins before or within 8 days of receiving Holy Communion,
2) Holy Communion within 24 hours of the First Saturday of the month with the conscious intention of making reparation for sins which offend Mary’s Immaculate Heart,
3) recitation of a chaplet (5 decades) of the Holy Rosary with the intention of making reparation for sins,
4) 15 minutes of meditation on one, some, or all of the Mysteries of the Rosary with the intention of making reparation for sins.
Schedule:
3 June – Vigil of Pentecost
1 July – Feast of the Most Precious Blood
5 August – Feast of the Dedication of St. Mary Major
2 Sept – Votive Mass of Immaculate Heart
7 October – Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary
Each Saturday from June to October:
7:30 – Confessions before Mass
8:00 – Mass (Extraordinary Form)
Following Mass:
15 Minute Reflection on Mysteries of the Rosary
Recitation of the Rosary
Confessions
Printed material about the Devotion and a special “checklist” card will be available.
Rosaries will also be available for use.
The Five First Saturday Devotion can be undertaken alone or with a group. The conditions for the Devotion are not difficult. Nevertheless, the initiative at St. Mary’s is intended to make the undertaking as convenient and explicit as possible – during this 100th anniversary year – for the sake of gaining many graces and answering the unambiguous call for reparation for sins from the Mother of God herself.
Don’t forget that the Holy Father has extended the possibility of a plenary indulgence on the 13tg of each month from last month through October in honor of the centenary. You can look up the conditions if not already aware. (Pope Francis, I think, could be called “the pope of indulgences” on account of his generosity in granting them. It’s also fun to point that out to annoy liberals who choose to hijack the Holy Father’s reputation for their own, illegitimate agendas). Few things are as allergy-inducing to heterodoxy in Catholicism as indulgences…
[We haven’t “forgotten” that. However, this post is about something else. That said, people should strive to obtain the indulgences. It isn’t that hard.]
I always make an attempt at this but end up slacking by month 2 or 3. Sounds like a good time to try again!
“15 minutes of meditation on one, some, or all of the Mysteries of the Rosary with the intention of making reparation for sins.”
I usually extend this to 20 minutes of meditation on the 20 Mysteries of the Rosary, utilizing the meditations of Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer. It usually goes over 20 minutes!
Thank you, Fr. Z. My use of “forget” was directed not towards you [I assume you were using the royal We, there ;-) ] but to the general readership as a rhetorical device to inform the unaware whilst avoiding “know-it-all”-ing the already informed. Since I am, like you, an indulgences maven, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to spread the word! If you’ll *indulge* me once more (cringe – I know) many are not aware there’s a plenary for assisting at any first holy communion, so since ’tis the season for those, perhaps I can get that out there.
Just finished my fifth consecutive Saturday this morning.
Started the First Friday devotion to the Sacred Heart yesterday.
Slowly but surely, I’ll get his down.
“Holy Communion within 24 hours of First Saturday …” Does this mean one can receive Holy Communion on the following Sunday?