Have you ever heard of the First Saturdays devotion? You may also have heard it by the name of “Five First Saturdays.” In this blog post, I will explain all the details of this incredible devotion to Our Lady. But first, can we talk about how absolutely amazing Mary is? It was Mary’s “yes” to God that changed the face of the earth. We must have so much love and respect for her. I love having a female figure of who loves God to the depth of her soul. She says “not my will, but yours will be done.” She is the perfect role model to show us how we should live our lives. Mother Mary truly is a gift to us from God. This devotion is perfect for taking our relationship with her to the next level.
The Devotion
The Five First Saturdays devotion originated in 1925 at the third apparition of Fatima. Our Blessed Mother and the Child Jesus appeared to 18-year-old Lucia Dos Santos in Fatima, Portugal. Initially, Mary did not speak, as she was overwhelmed with immense sorrow. In her hand, she held her Immaculate Heart (pierced with thorns) for Lucia to see. The Child Jesus spoke first, and said: “Have compassion on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother, covered with thorns, with which ungrateful men pierce It at every moment, and there is no one to make an act of reparation to remove them.” Our Lady then asked Lucia to do this devotion as reparation to the Immaculate Heart.
The devotion is to be done every first Saturday of the month for 5 consecutive months. The devotion includes:
- Going to Confession
- Receiving the Holy Eucharist
- Praying 5 decades of the Rosary (1 whole Rosary)
- Meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary for 15 minutes
Mary promises that when we complete this devotion, she will be with us at the hour of our deaths. It is said that during the last hour before passing is when Satan tries to convince us that we are not good enough for God. I cannot think of a more comforting idea, can you??
The 5 Offences
Jesus explains to us the 5 different offences to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. These are the things that pain Mary most and hurt her heart.
- Those who do not believe in the Immaculate Conception
- Those who do not believe she was a virgin
- Those against her divine maternity (that she is truly the mother of all mankind)
- Those who indoctrinate into children disrespect and hate towards Mary
- The revilement of of Holy images of Mary- especially pertinent right now- statues are being ruined and defaced.
We do the First Saturdays devotion to ease the pain of these offences to Our Lady. They bring her peace. It’s like giving her a hug or bringing her a bouquet of flowers. We are comforting her and helping remove the immense pain she feels by mankind.
Our Family Tradition
Our family does this devotion every first Saturday! It is a huge family tradition of ours and we absolutely love it. We spend the first half of the day doing the devotion, then we take the kids out and do something fun. We get lunch or donuts and then take the kids on a special trip—park, museum, to the movies. We make it a special family day one Saturday a month! It is so important for us parents to teach our children these powerful devotions. I hope you try it with us!
