In 1917 in Fatima, Portugal, the Mother of God appeared to three children - Jacinta, Francisco, and Lucia - for six consecutive months from May 13th to October 13th. Mary came to call us to sacrifice, penance, and prayer; and in each of the six apparitions, she asked that we pray the Rosary every day.
Each month the crowds grew, until October 13th when more than 70,000 people witnessed a miracle which she had predicted and which proved that it was truly the Blessed Virgin who was appearing to the children; after a seven-year Canonical investigation, the apparitions were declared worthy of belief by the Catholic Church. Our Lady told the children that Jacinta and Francisco would soon go to Heaven and that Lucia (who is presently 89 years of age and a Carmelite nun in Coimbra, Portugal) would remain on earth for some time because "Jesus wishes to make use of you to have me acknowledged and loved."
In the July 13th apparition, Mary showed the children hell and said: "You saw hell where the souls of poor sinners go. In order to save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If they do what I will tell you, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war (WWI) will end, but if men do not cease offending God, another and more terrible war (WW II) will begin in the reign of Pius XI . . . To prevent this, I will come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of reparation on the first Saturdays."
Mary was true to Her promise and returned on December 10, 1925, when she appeared to Sister Lucia in Pontevedra, Spain, and said: "My daughter, look at my Heart surrounded with the thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You, at least, try to console me, and announce that I promise to assist at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for salvation all those who, on the First Saturdays of five consecutive months, go to Confession, 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."
All the four conditions Our Lady asked for in the Five First Saturdays of Reparation - the Confession, the Holy Communion, the Rosary, and the 15-minute meditation on the 15 Mysteries of the Rosary - are to be done with the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and are to be done for five consecutive months. Our Lady also asked that we say the following prayer at the end of each decade of the Rosary: "Oh My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell; lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy."
Presently, a worldwide effort is being made to respond to the request for the Five First Saturdays of Reparation. Many of the faithful and many of the Churches all across America are participating in the observance of this devotion. Participation can be public or private. When doing First Saturdays publicly, it is helpful to put a monthly announcement in the church bulletin. The Rosary can be recited before or after Saturday morning Mass or Saturday night vigil Mass, and the only intention for this Rosary should be reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The meditation can be done privately.
If a Church does not have a Saturday Mass, permission can be obtained from the Priest to perform this devotion on Sunday. First Saturdays can also be observed as part of a Communion Service in lieu of the Mass.
The Confession may be made on the First Saturday itself, or some days before or after the first Saturday. Sister Lucia presented to Jesus the difficulties some persons had in going to confession on Saturdays, and asked that the confession be valid within 8 days. Jesus answered, "Yes. It can even be within many more days, provided that when they receive Me, they are in the state of grace and have the intention of offering reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Our Lady of Fatima was sent by God to ask us to amend our lives and to give us a plan for the salvation of sinners (a remedy for evil) and the attainment of world peace. This embodies the implementation of God's request for the consecration of Russia and the Five First Saturdays of Reparation. These are the means God has given us for the establishment of devotion in the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which is what God wants.
The consecration of Russia was done in 1984 by Pope John Paul II, together with the bishops, as per Our Lady's request. Since that consecration, we have seen the disintegration of communism in Russia and Easter Europe. And just as the consecration was a remedy for the yoke of atheism in many communist countries, the Five First Saturdays of Reparation is the remedy given by God for the evil burden of sin, which is the greatest obstacle to world peace.
Shortly before going to the hospital, Jacinta said to Lucia, "It won't be long before I go to Heaven . . . tell everybody that God granted us graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary; that we must ask Her for them; that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be honored together with the Immaculate Heart because God has entrusted peace to her."
On October 13, 1917, Our Lady said: "People must amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins. They must not offend Our Lord anymore, for He is already too much offended." She was telling us to stop sinning, change our lives, and do penance. In other words, she was asking for our conversion. But how is this conversion to take place? Can one simply wish for it' God went one step further and told us through Mary how to bring this conversion about - by praying the daily Rosary and practicing the five First Saturdays of Reparation. First Saturdays provide us with the means for obtaining God's grace. Two of the conditions asked for in the First Saturday Devotion are confession and reception of the Holy Eucharist, two of the sacraments instituted by Jesus. In Confession, we examine ourselves, confess our sins, express sorrow for them, firmly resolve to amend our lives, perform the penance the priest gives us and receive forgiveness from God. In Holy communion, we have the privilege of receiving Jesus. Both of these sacraments can be the source of graces we need to amend our lives.
The other two conditions for the First Saturday Devotion are the recitation of the Rosary and a fifteen-minute meditation on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary. The Rosary depicts the joyful, sorrowful, and glorious happenings in the life of Christ. Meditating on these mysteries inspires us to think of the Gospel and practice the virtues it teaches. It doesn't matter that these mysteries happened almost two thousand years ago. The Rosary brings them into the present, reminding us of God's sacrifices and love for us.
At Fatima, Our Lady once again calls for a renewal of fidelity to prayer and presents us with the Rosary which has so often been a means of salvation for the Christian world in times of crisis.
First Saturdays provide us with a remedy for sin and the means of attaining world peace. Before going to the hospital in Lisbon, yen. Jacinta Marto was favored with apparitions of Our Lady. Sister Mary, a Franciscan nun who was the director of the orphanage in which Jacinta was staying, asked her what the Blessed Virgin said about the war (World War I) and why God permitted such a terrible scourge.
Jacinta answered: "Our Blessed Lady said that war is nothing but a punishment from God for the sins of men." Before going to heaven, Jacinta told Lucia to tell everyone that all graces come from Jesus through the Immaculate Heart and that God has placed the peace of the world in the hands of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
"And sin?" asked the sister. "Did Our Lady say anything more about it?' 'Yes, She said that more souls were going to hell because of sins of impurity than any other."' The sister asked, "And do you know what it means to be pure?" And Jacinta answered, "Yes, I do. To be pure in body means to preserve chastity. To be pure in soul means to avoid sin, never to look at things that would be sinful, not to steal, not to lie but to tell the truth even when it is difficult."' Our Lady told us that First Saturdays are a remedy for evil. We must take our Holy Mother at her word and remember that while she so gently and tenderly intercedes for our salvation, she is also "terrible as an army in battle array" against the forces of evil.
First Saturdays provide us with an opportunity for reparation and atonement. Our Lady asked for First Saturdays because Jesus wants us to make reparation to his Holy Mother for the offenses committed against her Immaculate Heart, and because He I' willing to accept this reparation as atonement for our sins.
Fatima doesn't just call us to conversion! It also tells us how we can get closer to Jesus so that conversion can become a reality! If we want to respond to this call, we need to respond to God's request for reparation by praying the Rosary daily and practicing the five First Saturdays of Reparation. And we need to evangelize our families, relatives and friends regarding this devotion. Praying the Rosary publicly in our churches ore First Saturdays is an efficacious means of promoting this devotion and follows Pope John Paul II's lead. He prays the Rosary publicly on First Saturdays, thereby setting an example for all the world to follow.
Notes 1. Rev. William C. Magrath, P.A., Fatima or World Suicide, Scarboro Foreign Mission Society, p. 72. 2. Ibid., p. 86.