First Saturday Devotion

The Legion of Mary invites the faithful to participate in a First Saturday Devotion. On First Saturdays, arrive in the church by 7:10am for the Meditation, followed by the Rosary at 7:30am, and Mass at 8:00am.

The First Saturday Devotion, a Catholic practice requested by the Virgin Mary during her apparitions at Fatima, Portugal, in 1917, and later specified in Pontevedra, Spain, in 1925.
The devotion centers on making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the sins committed against it by humanity.

The Requirements of the First Saturday Devotion (to be performed on the first Saturday of five consecutive months):

1. Confession: Making a good confession within eight days before or after the First Saturday.
2. Holy Communion: Receiving Holy Communion on the First Saturday.
3. Recitation of the Rosary: Praying at least five decades of the Rosary.
4. Fifteen-Minute Meditation: Keeping Mary company for fifteen minutes while meditating on one or more of the mysteries of the Rosary. This meditation should be done with the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Purpose of the First Saturday Devotion:

• To make reparation: To console the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the blasphemies and ingratitude of those who offend her and her Divine Son. These offenses include denying her Immaculate Conception and Perpetual Virginity, rejecting her as the Mother of God and all mankind, instilling indifference or hatred towards her in children, and directly insulting her sacred images.
• To obtain graces: Our Lady promised to assist at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation all those who faithfully perform the Five First Saturdays with the intention of making reparation.
• Personal sanctification: Engaging in the devotion, including the meditation, encourages prayerfulness, reflection on the life of Christ through the Rosary mysteries, and a deeper love for the Blessed Mother and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
• Peace in the world and salvation of souls: According to the message of Fatima, fulfilling Our Lady's requests, including the First Saturday Devotion, is crucial for achieving peace in the world and the salvation of many souls.

History of the First Saturday Devotion:

• While the practice of honoring the Blessed Mother on Saturdays has ancient roots in the Church, the specific devotion of the First Saturdays with the focus on reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was:
• Prefigured by earlier practices: In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, various initiatives promoted Marian devotion and acts of reparation on Saturdays.
• Requested at Fatima: In the July 13, 1917 apparition, Our Lady mentioned the need for Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays."
• Detailed in Pontevedra (1925): Our Lady appeared to Sister Lucia, one of the Fatima visionaries, and explicitly requested the four elements of the First Saturday Devotion, emphasizing the intention of making reparation to her Immaculate Heart.
• Clarified further: Jesus himself, in a later apparition to Sister Lucia, explained that there were five specific types of offenses against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which is why the devotion consists of five consecutive First Saturdays.

The First Saturday Meditation is therefore a time set aside on the first Saturday of five consecutive months to prayerfully reflect on the Mysteries of the Rosary, keeping the Blessed Virgin Mary company and offering this meditation as an act of love and reparation for the offenses against her Immaculate Heart.