First Saturdays
A Devotion of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
What Is the First Saturdays Devotion?
The First Saturdays devotion is a Catholic practice of honoring the Immaculate Heart of Mary through prayer, penance, and reparation.
This devotion is closely connected with the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, where Mary called the faithful to conversion, prayer, and reparation for sins committed against her Immaculate Heart.
The Immaculate Heart of Mary
The Immaculate Heart symbolizes Mary’s perfect love for God, her purity, obedience, compassion, and complete union with the mission of her Son, Jesus Christ.
Catholics honor her Heart not as an end in itself, but because it always leads souls closer to Christ.
The Five First Saturdays
The devotion consists of observing five consecutive First Saturdays in a spirit of reparation.
The traditional practices include:
- Receiving the Sacrament of Confession.
- Receiving Holy Communion.
- Praying five decades of the Rosary.
- Meditating for fifteen minutes on the mysteries of the Rosary.
- Offering these acts in reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Why Reparation?
Reparation is an act of love offered to God in response to sin, indifference, blasphemy, and rejection of His grace.
Through First Saturdays, Catholics unite themselves to Mary’s loving concern for souls and participate in her mission of leading people to Christ.
Living the Devotion Today
The First Saturdays devotion encourages frequent reception of the Sacraments, devotion to the Rosary, meditation on the mysteries of salvation, and deeper trust in God’s mercy.
It is a practical way to grow in holiness through the guidance and intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
A Prayer to the Immaculate Heart
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, obtain for us the grace to love Jesus more perfectly, to avoid sin, and to follow God’s will faithfully.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.