Because so many people have taken advantage of this devotion, I have decided to make it a permanent part of our schedule each first Saturday. I invite the parishioners/friends of SRW & SJC to continue the Marian Consecration to the peace in our country, in our families and in our lives…When the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children at Fatima, she asked that certain devotions be followed in order to bring peace to the world. The most well-known of her requests is for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. But there is another request Our Lady made: For people worldwide to dedicate the first Saturday of the month, for five consecutive months, to prayer, confession, and attending Mass. These days of prayer are commonly known as the Five First Saturdays devotion. The Five First Saturdays devotion was first revealed to the children at Fatima, Portugal, during an apparition on July 13, 1917. On that day, the Blessed Virgin Mary showed the three children a vision of hell and asked them to offer up their lives in reparation for sin. In her 1941 memoir written for the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima, one of the visionaries, Sister Lucia, wrote that the Blessed Virgin Mary said to the children: “You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.” Mary returned to Sister Lucia on Dec. 10, 1925 and specifically requested this devotion, according to a document Sister Lucia wrote, as recorded in the book “Fatima in Lucia’s Own Words.” According to the document, the Blessed Virgin Mary asked that on the first Saturday of any five consecutive months, Catholics go to Confession, receive Holy Communion, say five decades of the Rosary, and keep her company while meditating on those mysteries of the Rosary for 15 minutes. I will lead the parish in fulfilling Mary’s wish for us here at SRW & SJC at Ss. Robert & William. I will hear confessions from 7:30 am – 8:15 am on the First Saturday of each month, which is this coming Saturday, April 1. Mass will be 8:30 am and then I will lead the Rosary after Mass with a 15 devotional prayer time. We will end the prayer time by praying the consecration prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Please make a commitment to join us. In this time of so much evil and confusion in our world, it is a good time to join together in this beautiful prayer time with our Blessed Mother to her son, Jesus.
Sent by Fr John Betters on Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 2:00PM