Why do we have a “Five First Saturdays Devotion”?

Why do we have a “Five First Saturdays Devotion”? What do they do for us?

This First Saturdays Devotion, also known as the “Five First Saturdays” is a special request by Our Lord and Our Lady to make reparation for all the sins against the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Our Lady promised personal salvation if we fulfill the five consecutive First Saturdays. However, we should continue to fulfill them every month to console the Hearts of Jesus and Mary and make reparation for the sins of others.

Why should we reconcile ourselves with Mary? Shouldn’t Jesus be the only one we reconcile with?

On December 10th, 1925, The Child Jesus and Mary came to Sister Lucia. The Child Jesus spoke first saying: “Have compassion on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother covered with the thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to remove them with an act of reparation”.

What does the Child Jesus mean by “compassion”? Compassion is another word for “mercy”. In fact, the practice of mercy begins with having mercy on the Sacred Heart of Jesus who beheld our every act during His Passion and is in need of being consoled too. Compassion is a request from our Lord for both him and our Mother.

Why his Mother?

I think St. Josemaria said it best: “Without ceasing to be a mother, our Lady is able to get each of her children to face his or Her own responsibilities. Mary always does the immense favor of bringing to the cross, of placing face to face the example of the Son of God, to those who come close to her and contemplate her life. It is in this confrontation that Christian life is decided. And here Mary intercedes for us so that our behavior may lead to a reconciliation of the younger brother and sister, you and me, with the firstborn Son of the Father”

Again, on December 10th, 1925, Our Lady 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 say that I promise to assist at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for salvation all those who on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, go to Confession and receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary and keep me company for a quarter of an hour while meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me”. 

Why are there five First Saturdays?  

The message from Our Lady promises personal salvation to those who console her on five consecutive First Saturdays. To obtain her promise of a period of peace and the salvation of many souls, further reparation is needed by the First Saturdays Devotion. However, to obtain the promise of personal salvation, why does Our Lady ask for five consecutive First Saturdays.

On at Fatima on May 29, 1930, Jesus said to Sr. Lucia: “There are 5 ways in which people offend and blaspheme against the Immaculate Heart of Mary: 

1. The blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception.
2. Against her Virginity.
3. Against the Divine Maternity, refusing at the same time to accept her as the Mother of all mankind.
4. Those who publicly seek to instill in the children’s hearts, indifference, contempt, and even hatred against the Immaculate Mother.
5. Those who offend her directly in her Sacred Images.”

With all this in mind, and underlining the fact that the Marian devotion leads to a closer relationship with Our Lord Jesus Christ who is the center and source of all graces, let us then have a respectful and honorable love and affection for Our Lady most especially during the First Saturday of the month.