First Friday & First Saturday 

DEVOTIONS

The nine consecutive Fridays in reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alocoque (1647-1690), a French nun in the Visitation Order, and gave her the special task to spread devotion to His Most Sacred Heart at a time when religion was growing cold in the hearts of mankind.

For those who did this faithfully, he made what St. Margaret Mary referred to as the “Great Promise”.

“I promise you in the unfathomable mercy of my heart that my omnipotent love will procure the grace of final penitence for all those who receive communion on nine successive first Fridays of the month; they will not die in my disfavor [the grace of final repentance], or without having received the sacraments, since my divine heart will be their sure refuge in the last moments of their life.”

The Church invites the faithful to enter more deeply into the mystery of God's love through the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

On First Friday, we honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus by participating in Holy Mass, receiving Holy Communion worthily, spending time in Eucharistic Adoration, and offering acts of reparation for sins committed against His loving Heart.

On First Saturday, we respond to the Blessed Virgin Mary's request at Fatima by making reparation to her Immaculate Heart through Confession.  Holy Communion, praying five decades of the Rosary, and meditating for fifteen minutes on its mysteries. May these beautiful devotions renew our faith, deepen our love for Christ and His Blessed Mother, and inspire us to live lives of holiness, prayer, and charity. As we entrust ourselves, our families, our nation, and the whole world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, may we receive God's abundant mercy, lasting peace, and countless graces.

💖Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

💙Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us. 

NINE FIRST FRIDAYS

DEVOTION

When Our Lord appeared to Saint Margaret Mary in 1673, He promised to grant the following favors to all those who practiced devotion to His Sacred Heart:

12 Promises of the Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary:

1)  I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.

2)  I will give peace in their families.

3)  I will console them in all their troubles.

4)  I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.

5)  I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.

6)  Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.

7)  Tepid souls shall become fervent.

8)  Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.

9)  I will bless those places wherein the image of my Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.

10) I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.

11) Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my Heart.

12) In the excess of the mercy of my heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the First Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my Heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour.

A veritable treasure chest of spiritual gems! And what does He ask of us in return?

How to complete the Nine First Fridays Devotion:

On the first Friday of nine consecutive months:

1. Receive Holy Communion on each of the First Fridays; Note:  If you have knowledge that you are not in a state of Sanctifying Grace (that is, you are knowledgeable of mortal sin(s) on your soul, and thus unable to receive Holy Communion) you will also need to go to Confession prior to receiving your Holy Communion on the First Friday.

2. The nine first Fridays must be consecutive;

3. They must be made in honor of and in reparation to His Sacred Heart for all the blasphemies, outrages, sacrileges, and indifferences committed against it. 

FIVE FIRST SATURDAY DEVOTION

The five consecutive Saturdays in reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

The practice of the First Saturday devotion was requested by Our Lady of Fatima, who appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal, multiple times starting in 1917.

She said to Lucia, the oldest of the three children:

“I shall come to ask . . . that on the First Saturday of every month, Communions of reparation be made in atonement for the sins of the world.”

Years later she repeated her request to Sr. Lucia, the only one still living of the three young Fatima seers, while she was a postulant sister living in a convent in Spain:

“Look, my daughter, at my Heart, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce me at very moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console me, and say that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the rosary, and keep me company for 15 minutes while meditating on the 15 mysteries of the rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me.”

► In December of 1925, Our Lady appeared to Sister Lucia, giving her the following guaranty of salvation for those who complete the First Five Saturdays Devotion: “I promise to assist them at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for the salvation of their souls."

Why Five Saturdays?

The five first Saturdays correspond to the five kinds of offenses and blasphemies committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

1) Blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception.

2) Blasphemies against her virginity.

3) Blasphemies against her divine maternity, at the same time the refusal to accept her as the Mother of all men.

4) Instilling indifference, scorn and even hatred towards this Immaculate Mother in the hearts of children.

5) Direct insults against Her sacred images.

How to complete the Five First Saturdays Devotion:

On the first Saturday of five consecutive months:

1. Go to confession;

2. Receive Holy Communion;

3. Say five decades of the Rosary;

4. Keep Our Lady company for 15 minutes, meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary;

5. Have the intention of making reparation to Our Lady for the offenses listed above

► On February 1926, the Child Jesus appeared to Lucia asking her if she promoted the devotion to our Blessed Mother. Lucia talked about the difficulties she encountered in order to fulfill this mission. Jesus responded that His grace is sufficient…Our Lord Himself says: "Have compassion for your Mother's Heart. It is surrounded with thorns that ungrateful men pierce at each moment, and there is no one who does acts of reparation to remove them."

GREATER DIFFICULTY, GREATER REWARD

While keeping up with these devotions over five or nine consecutive months is not easy, the reward for making the effort is eternal. Look again at those promises from Jesus and Mary.