Heart of Mary - Our Lady of Fatima

Sr. Maria Lucia of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart Visionary of Fatima, 1907-1925 ©Recompiled by SCTJM
"Jesus wants to use you to let others know and love me. He wants to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world."

Lucia was the oldest of the visionaries.  She entered religious life with the St. Dorothy Sisters in Pontevedra and later entered the Carmelites in Coimbra, Portugal until her death on February 13th,  2005.

During her religious life she receives apparitions of the in which the Blessed Virgin reveals to her :
the petition of Our Lady of the Five First Saturdays of Reparation
the vision of the Trinity with the petition of the consecration of Russia

Five First Saturdays in Reparation

History

Saturdays are traditionally dedicated to Our Lady. Since the beginning of Christianity, the Church has considered Saturdays to be dedicated to intensifying our devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our mother.  Many people consecrated the first Saturday of the month to Mary for this intention and in reparation for the blasphemies and sacrileges against her from sinners and false teachings.

Pope Saint Pio X, on July 12th, 1905, promulgated a decree praising this practice, and moreover, he granted indulgences for it.  This same year, in the month of November, the Holy Father again blessed and granted indulgences to the sons and daughters of the Heart of Mary and the Confraternity of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who traditionally had dedicated each first Saturday to repairing the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

The Blessed Virgin requests the Five First Saturdays of Reparation. The Blessed Virgin said: "To prevent the war, I will come to ask for the consecration to Russia to my Immaculate Heart and communion in reparation on the first Saturdays of the month." Our Lady promised Lucia on July 13th, 1917 that a future manifestation would occur in relation to the practice of the first five Saturdays of the month. This was fulfilled on December 10th, 1925.

Lucia was a postulant in the Convent of St. Dorothy in Pontevedra, Spain when she had the apparition of our Blessed Mother. She was standing over a cloud of light with the Child Jesus at her side.  The Blessed Virgin put one hand on Lucia's shoulder, while her other hand sustained her Immaculate Heart that was surrounded with thorns. The Child Jesus said: "Have compassion on the Heart of your Blessed Mother. It is surrounded with thorns that ungrateful men pierce each moment, and there is no one that is willing to offer an act of reparation to take the thorns away."

Our Lady immediately said to Lucia: "Look, my daughter. My Heart is surrounded with thorns that ungrateful men pierce unceasingly with their blasphemies and ingratitude. You, at least, try to console me and announce that for all those, who for five consecutive first Saturdays, confess, receive Holy Communion, pray the Holy Rosary and accompany me for15 minutes by meditating the mysteries of the Holy Rosary with the intention to do  reparation, I promise to assist them at the hour of death with the graces needed for salvation."

The Elements of the First Saturday Devotion

1- Confession:  Essential for the journey of repentance and conversion.
2- Eucharist: The first fruit of this devotion is the worship of the Holy Eucharist in three ways: sacrifice, communion, and adoration.
3-Holy Rosary prayer with two aspects: prayer, meditation. Five mysteries are to be prayed.
4- The promise of salvation   

Meditation of the Holy Rosary:
The vocal prayer of the Rosary has always been fundamentally based on the  interior act of meditation on the mysteries of the life, sufferings, and glory of our Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The prayer that our Lady requested us to pray after each mystery is : "Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell.  Lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy." In this prayer, we are praying for the conversion and eternal salvation of the souls of sinners. These sinners may be very obstinate in their sins, refusing to repent. Some are unknowingly in mortal sin and are at the precipice of death. Finally, there are those who because of circumstances of location or education, are far from the possibility of finding a priest and receiving the sacraments, even in their last moments.  The graces and merits from the reparation and prayers of Christians who are united in meditation with the Heart of Mary, Mother and refuge of sinners, are especially for these poor souls "most in need of God's mercy."

Promise of Salvation:
To those who practice this devotion of the First Five Saturdays of the Month, Our Lady promised: "I promise to assist them at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation." She does not promise eternal salvation, but the graces necessary for salvation. There are many testimonies from souls particularly devoted to the Heart of Mary who receive knowledge  from heaven about the proximity of their hour of death.  It is not necessarily an announcement of death, but a new awareness and need to receive the sacraments with more dignity, a purer intention in all their actions, and an intensification of charity and dedication to their apostolate.   The Heart of Mary perfects the souls of her children until they reach their decisive encounter with their Divine Savior. 

Spirit of Reparation

All the acts of devotion offered should be donewith the intention of repairing the offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Those that offend Mary commit a double offense because they offend her and  her Divine Son. As a result, their salvation is in danger.

This reparation emphasizes our personal responsibility towards sinners who do not pray and do not do reparation for their sins.  This devotion represents a social responsibility and reminds us that in order to reach God, we should love our neighbor and try to save their souls.  Also, it teaches us an excellent way of doing this - by repairing the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Some worry about forgetting to offer the intention of reparation on one of the First Saturdays of the month. This can be avoided by making the resolution to offer the reparation at the beginning of the first First Saturday.

"My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love you. And I ask forgiveness for those who do not believe, do not adore, and do not love you."(the angel to the shepherd children at Fatima)

Why the Five Saturdays ?

During her prayer time, our Lord revealed to Lucia the reason for the Five Saturdays of Reparation:
"My daughter, the reason is simple; it concerns the 5 forms of offenses and blasphemies against the Immaculate Heart of Mary":

1-Against her Immaculate Conception.
2- Against her virginity
3- Against her Divine Maternity, refusing at the same time to receive Mary as Mother of all humanity.
4- Against those that publicly instill and induce indifference, hate and scorn  towards our Immaculate Mother in the hearts of children.
5- Against those that insult or directly offend her sacred images.

"This is why, my daughter, that before the offended and insulted Immaculate Heart, my mercy was moved to request this small reparation in recognition to Her, in order to grant forgiveness to souls who go through this disgrace of offending My Mother.  But you, at least, try unceasingly, with your prayers and sacrifices, to move  my mercy for these souls." It is important to establish a fixed time for this devotion; in this case, it is the First Saturdays of the month. This will help us establish a habit, just as the Church leads our spiritual lives through liturgical cycles: lent, advent, etc . . .

The Importance of this Devotion 

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.

In Fatima, the Blessed Mother's desire was to recommend this devotion, specifically "Five First Consecutive Saturdays," promising salvation to those who practice it. It is God who is offended by each sin. For this reason, it is also God the ultimate object of each act of reparation from Christians.  We would not  comprehend the celestial message given at Fatima in this essential element of reparation unless it is directed to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  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."

The predestination of Mary in her Divine Maternity, her active collaboration in all the work of redemption, her mission to be the spiritual mother of all the Church and of each person redeemed by the precious Blood of Christ constitute the basic laws of divine providence for the effective application of redemption in each soul. Therefore, devotion to her Immaculate Heart should be intensified and promoted. As a result, whoever offends our Mother, either by blasphemies, by rejecting the greatness in her mission of co-redemption, or by trying to demote the devotion of Our Lady in the Church or in souls, offends God and His providence at the same time. 

A Christian who understands how vile this type of offenses are tries to do reparation by intensifying his personal devotion and efforts so the Reign of the Heart of Mary may be established.  This is how love responds. Both aspects of Christian reparation, first directed to God and subordinated to the Heart of Mary, are complementary manifestations of one same reality and one same Spirit.

Fruits of this Devotion

In all true devotion to Our Lady (devotion to her Immaculate Heart is a perfect expression of true devotion) there always exists an effective  invitation to return our hearts to Christ Our Savior.

When it is about those who have lost grace, it is a call to conversion, to the life of grace and eternal salvation.
When it is about the souls that live in God's grace, the true devotion to Mary gives them a strong push to advance towards holiness creating in them an apostolic Christian spirit.

This is a constant law in the Church's vitality.  Whether it is from Marian Institutions, Marian Shrines, movements or Marian Pilgrimages, there  has always been an irresistible call from Mary's Maternal Heart to return these souls to Christ.

The practice of the First Saturdays of reparation corresponds to this new chapter of sanctification and the eternal salvation of the redeemed.

Vision of the Trinity and the petition for the consecration of Russia

In June 1929, Lucia, already a religious of St. Dorothy, describes the following apparition:

" . . . . suddenly the entire convent Chapel was illuminated in a supernatural light, and a Cross of light appeared over the altar and reached the ceiling.  On the superior part the face of man was seen and his body down to the waist. A dove of light  was over his chest and nailed to the Cross was another man. Suspended in air over his waist I was able to see a chalice with a large Host. Drops of Blood from the face of Jesus Crucified and His pierced  side fell into the the chalice, dripping from the Host. Beneath the right arm on the Cross was Our Lady.  It was Our Lady of Fatima,  with her Immaculate Heart in her left hand, without thorns or roses, but with a crown of thorns and flames. Underneath the left arm on the Cross, big letters, similar to crystal water came down to the altar forming these words: Grace and Mercy.' 

Lucia said : "I understood it was the mystery of the Blessed Trinity that was revealed to me, and I perceived inner light about this mystery which I'm unable to reveal. The Blessed Virgin told me: The time has come in which God asks the Holy Father that in union with all the bishops of the world the consecration of Russia to my Heart be made, I promise salvation through this means.' Preventing diffusion of error and advance its conversion."

Consecration of Russia by the Holy Fathers

Dec. 1940-------Lucia receives permission to write the Holy Father Pio XII, asking for this consecration.
Oct. 1942------Pope Pío XII consecrates the world mentioning specially Russia.
July  1952------Special Consecration only of Russia.
1965------------Pope Paul VI also consecrates Russia.
1984------------Pope John Paul II consecrates the world to the Immaculate Heart.
2000------------Pope John Paul II consecrates the  III Millennium to the Immaculate Heart.

Many times these consecrations were considered to be incomplete because they were not done in union with the bishops of the world. The consecration that John Paul II, did of the world in 1984, in Rome before the image of Our Lady of Fatima was according to Lucia, in conformity with Mary's desires.  All the bishops of the world were formally invited by the Holy Father John Paul II to unite to him in this consecration.

Victims souls of the Fatima message : The victims souls embraces with heroic love grate sacrifices in favor of Mary's intention.  The most known victims souls of Fatima are Blessed Alejandrina de Costa and Aminda de Jesus. She lived 50 years in total paralysis, praying from her bed in a small room in Fatima so that the message of Our Lady might be received, especially by the youth. We had the great gift of knowing her personally, and the one she considered "my little friend". Arminda, after great sufferings and being detached from her greatest desire to die in Fatima, left for the House of the Father in January 2001. 

"'The victory, if it comes, will come through Mary.' As I became more involved in the problems of the universal Church, I came to have a similar conviction: On this universal level, if victory comes it will be brought by Mary. Christ will conquer through her, because He wants the Church's victories now and in the future to be linked to her."
(Bl. John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, p. 114)