Introduction
Lucia was the oldest of the Fatima 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 this time the following occurred :
- 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
The 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 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 done with 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 if 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: “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.”
Papal Consecrations:
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
Roma 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 intentions. The most known victims souls of
Fatima are Blessed Alejandrina de Costa and Aminda de Jesus.
