Are you sick of turning on the news and seeing nothing but violence and mayhem? Well, there\u2019s something we can do to bring about peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018War is your fault\u2019<\/strong> The priest was surprised and asked what the ambassador meant. The ambassador said, \u201cYou Catholics, all of you \u2014 we do not have peace in the world. It is your fault.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The priest said, \u201cAmbassador, why do you blame us?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ambassador said, \u201cI\u2019ve read about this. The Lady came to you at Fatima, right? That\u2019s what you believe? She told you what to do to secure peace in the world. Well, there\u2019s no peace in the world, so obviously you Catholics haven\u2019t done it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The priest had to acknowledge that the ambassador was correct, but still tried to protest, saying, \u201cIsn\u2019t peace everyone\u2019s responsibility?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ambassador was vehement. \u201cNo, she came to you Catholics. Not to Buddhists. Not to Hindus. She came to you, and it is your responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That ambassador had more faith than a lot of Catholics! But he\u2019s right – Our Lady came and asked for specific things at Fatima. If we listened to her and did what she asked, there would be peace in the world. Among her requests:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022pray the Rosary<\/a> every day for peace in the world;<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022the consecration of Russia and each of us individually<\/a> to Mary\u2019s Immaculate Heart;<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022do our daily duties out of love, dedicating everything to God; and<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022make reparation for sins against the Immaculate Heart of Mary by observing the \u201cFive First Saturdays of Reparation<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What are the Five First Saturdays?<\/strong> “See, my daughter, my Heart encircled by thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. Do you, at least, strive to console me. Tell them that I promise to assist at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation all those who, in order to make reparation to me, on the First Saturday of five successive months, go to Confession, receive Holy Communion, say five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for a quarter of an hour, meditating on the \u2026 mysteries of the Rosary.<\/em>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus explained this to Sr. Lucia on May 29-30, 1930, saying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Daughter, the motive is simple: There are five kinds of offenses and blasphemies spoken against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First<\/strong>: blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second<\/strong>: against her Virginity<\/p>\n\n\n\n Third<\/strong>: against the Divine Maternity, refusing, at the same time, to receive her as the Mother of mankind<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fourth<\/strong>: those who seek publicly to implant, in the hearts of children, indifference, disrespect, and even hate for this Immaculate Mother<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fifth<\/strong>: those who revile her directly in her sacred images<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here, dear daughter, is the motive that led the Immaculate Heart of Mary to petition Me to ask for this small act of reparation. And, out of regard for her, to move My mercy to pardon those souls who have had the misfortune to offend her. As for you, seek endlessly, with your prayers and sacrifices, to move Me to mercy in regard to these poor souls.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Do they still matter?<\/strong> So I call on everyone who loves Mary to start making the Five First Saturdays a regular part of their prayer life. For anyone who visits the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy<\/a> in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, on the First Saturday of each month, it\u2019s easy! Pilgrims can go to Confession, pray the Rosary for Life, and attend Mass with the intention of making reparation to Our Lady – as she requested. To fulfill the requirement to meditate for 15 minutes on the Mysteries of the Rosary, you can prayerfully walk the Stations of the Cross<\/a> on Eden Hill for at least 15 minutes, remaining aware of keeping Our Lady company in spirit throughout her Son\u2019s Passion and Death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One and done?<\/strong> Let\u2019s make reparation together to the Immaculate Heart by being faithful to the Five First Saturdays, and help Our Lady spread grace, peace, and healing throughout all the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Father Donald Calloway, MIC, is the spiritual director of the Marian Fathers\u2019 Thirteenth of the Month Club, a group of Marian Helpers committed to answering the call of Our Lady of Fatima. For membership information on the Thirteenth of the Month Club, email thirteenth@marian.org<\/a>, visit the club webpage<\/a>; or call 1-800-462-7426.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n For more about Our Lady\u2019\u2019s apparitions at Fatima, Fr. Donald recommends Fatima for Today (Product Code: FATIM2) by Fr. Andrew Apostoli, CFR, as well as Fr. Donald\u2019s books Champions of the Rosary: The History and Heroes of a Spiritual Weapon<\/a> and Under the Mantle: Marian Thoughts from a 21st Century Priest<\/a>, all available through ShopMercy.org<\/a> or by calling 1-800-462-7426.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First Saturdays<\/strong> \u2022Confession (shortly before or after the First Saturday \u2014 so long as the person receives Holy Communion in a state of grace);<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022Holy Communion received on the First Saturday of each month;<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022the Holy Rosary, five decades recited sometime during the day; and<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022meditating for 15 minutes on the Mysteries of the Rosary (one or more).<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Ecclesiastical Approval By Fr. Donald Calloway, MICSpiritual Director of the Thirteenth of the Month Club Are you sick of turning on the news and seeing nothing but violence and mayhem? Well, there\u2019s something we can do to bring about peace. \u2018War is your fault\u2019My fellow Marian Fr. Seraphim Michalenko sometimes tells a story that a priest ministering in Japan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":1965,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[103,13],"tags":[36,35,34,32,30,31],"class_list":["post-1502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parish-news-events","category-blog","tag-devotion","tag-first-saturday","tag-immaculate-heart","tag-mary","tag-prayer","tag-rosary"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/assumptionbvm.com\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/assumptionbvm.com\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/assumptionbvm.com\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assumptionbvm.com\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assumptionbvm.com\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1502"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/assumptionbvm.com\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2298,"href":"https:\/\/assumptionbvm.com\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1502\/revisions\/2298"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assumptionbvm.com\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/assumptionbvm.com\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assumptionbvm.com\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assumptionbvm.com\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
My fellow Marian Fr. Seraphim Michalenko sometimes tells a story that a priest ministering in Japan shared with him in Rome. This priest was at an international gathering of Christians from across the world, attended by foreign dignitaries. The ambassador from Japan approached the priest, verified that the priest served in Japan and was a Catholic priest, and then said, \u201cWar is your fault.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our Lady explained those Five First Saturdays to Sr. Lucia dos Santos, one of the Fatima visionaries, on Dec. 10, 1925, in the following way:<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhy five<\/em> First Saturdays in particular?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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Now, a lot of people have forgotten about the Five First Saturdays devotion, but it\u2019s still relevant today – wars are still going on! We still haven\u2019t seen the fulfillment of Our Lady\u2019s promise that \u201cIn the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.\u201d According to Sr. Lucia, St. John Paul II consecrated Russia to Mary\u2019s Immaculate Heart on March 25, 1984. The USSR fell shortly afterwards. And yet there\u2019s still not peace in the world. Why? Ask yourself: Have most of us been faithful to her requests, especially the First Saturdays of Reparation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If we\u2019ve made the Five First Saturdays once, are we done for life? No! You can<\/em> and should<\/em> make the Five First Saturdays more than once. In fact, I highly recommend it as a great spiritual practice! Get a monthly tune-up with Confession, Mass, Communion, and immersing yourself in the Mysteries of the Rosary, all offered in reparation for the many serious offenses committed against Our Lady. Make the First Saturdays throughout your life for love of Our Lady and reap huge spiritual rewards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
in reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary include the following elements, performed with the intention of reparation for blasphemies against the Immaculate Heart, for at least five consecutive months:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00a9 2016 Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"