The Month of August is devoted to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart

[Stone]

Taken from this Our Lady of Fatima chapel email:

"Jesus wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. To whoever embraces this devotion I promise salvation . . ."

The month of August has the honor of being consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This year, the feast day of the Immaculate Heart is Sunday, August 22nd. The Church chose this date because it is also the Octave day of our Blessed Lady's Assumption. It is very significant that this feast was established only in relatively recent times (1944). For Almighty God has especially reserved this powerful devotion for our present day Crisis of Faith. Our Lady tells us that her Immaculate Heart is Heaven's special gift - a sure refuge to protect and guide Catholics through the diabolical confusion afflicting both the Church and the world.

Devotion to the Heart of Mary not only parallels devotion to the Heart of Jesus, it augments it. For devotion to her Heart prepares and leads souls to a more intimate union with the Divine Heart of her Son. In fact, St. Margaret Mary, the recipient of the Sacred Heart's revelations, often taught her novices:

"The most efficacious way to obtain devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is through the Immaculate Heart of Mary."

At Paris in 1839, Our Lady approved this teaching when specifically instructing St. Catherine Laboure on the specific designs for the Miraculous Medal.

Along with the image of Our Lady of Grace on the front, the back depicts the Sacred Heart of Jesus & the Immaculate Heart of Mary - together.

No words were written on this side of the medal. The two Hearts spoke volumes and told the whole story.

Then, at the dawn of the Twentieth Century, the Immaculate Heart's greatest manifestation in history took place at Fátima.

The Blessed Virgin held in her right hand a Heart encircled by thorns, which pierced it from all sides. The young children seers understood that it was the Immaculate Heart of Mary, afflicted by all the sins of the world, which demanded reparation.

Our Lady explained to the children:

“Jesus wishes to use you to make me known and loved. He wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. To whoever embraces this devotion I promise salvation; these souls shall be dear to God, as flowers placed by me to adorn His throne.”

A month later, the same children were shown a vivid vision of condemned souls; after which Our Lady said to them:

“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... I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If what I ask is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.”

Peace! Not the false peace of the world - but the true peace of God. A peace that reigns in our hearts - in our homes - and in the Church. This is Heaven's great promise in exchange for our devotion to the Immaculate Heart. God wishes to grant us certain special graces so vital, so necessary to strengthen, sustain and preserve our holy Catholic Faith - whole and entire.

This is why He wants our love and devotion to the Heart of His Mother. This is why He established the First Saturdays Communion of Reparation. Because it is through reparation to the Immaculate Heart - a devotion especially reserved and prescribed for these apostate times, that many souls will be saved.

If only Catholics would practice this simple devotion - as Our Lord lovingly wills for them, then just as the Fatima children, they too would find that sure refuge and the way that leads them to God. Indeed, it was in 1925 that Heaven crystallized this devotion and sealed it with a magnificent promise from the Mother of God: "To whoever embraces this devotion, I promise salvation.”

✠ ✠ ✠

The Five First Saturdays

On December 10th 1925, the Most Holy Virgin appeared to Sister Lucia. By Our Lady’s side, elevated on a luminous cloud, was the Child Jesus. The Most Holy Virgin rested her hand on Sister Lucia's shoulder and as she did so, she showed her Heart encircled by thorns, which she was holding in her other hand. At the same time, the Holy Child 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 none to make an act of reparation to remove them."

Then, the Most Holy Virgin said:

"Look, my daughter, at my Heart, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce me at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console me and announce in my name that I promise to assist, at the moment of death, with all the graces necessary for salvation, all those who:


(1) On the First Saturday of five consecutive months,
(2) Shall confess,
(3) Receive Holy Communion,
(4) Recite five decades of the Rosary and
(5) Keep me company for 15 minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary,
(6) With the intention of making reparation to me"

 

- Conditions of the Promise -

Why Five First Saturdays? Our Lord Himself gave the answer to Sister Lucia:

"My daughter, the reason is simple. There are five types of offenses and blasphemies committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

1 - Blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception;

2 - Blasphemies against her virginity;

3 - Blasphemies against her Divine Maternity, in refusing at the same time to recognize her as the Mother of men;

4 - The blasphemies of those who publicly seek to sow in the hearts of children, indifference or scorn or even hatred of this Immaculate Mother;

5 - The offense of those who outrage her directly in her holy images.

Here, My daughter is the reason why the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspired Me to ask for this little act of reparation..."

+ THE CONFESSION +

Sister Lucia asked Our Blessed Lord:

My Jesus!  Many souls find it difficult to confess on Saturday. Will Thou allow a confession within eight days to be valid? 

He replied: "Yes. It can even be made later on, provided that the souls are in the state of grace when they receive Me on the First Saturday and that they had the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary."

Sister Lucia replied: "My Jesus! And those who forget to form this intention?"

"They can form it at the next confession, taking advantage of their first opportunity to go to confession."

In brief, therefore:

(a) The confession should be made as close as possible to the First Saturday;

(b)  We must be sorry for our sins, not only because we have offended God but also with the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

+ THE HOLY COMMUNION +

If one cannot fulfill all the conditions on a Saturday, can it be done on Sunday? Our Lord gave the answer to Sister Lucia:

"The practice of this devotion will be equally acceptable on the Sunday following the First Saturday when My priests - for a just cause, allow it to souls."


Important: It is to His priests - not to the individual conscience that Our Lord gives the responsibility of granting this additional concession.

+ THE ROSARY +

Since it is a question of repairing for offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, what other prayer could be more pleasing to Our Lady than that which she requested the people to recite every day?

+ THE 15 MINUTE MEDITATION +

This is in addition to the recitation of the Rosary.

It requires, in Sister Lucia’s words:

"...to keep Our Lady company for 15 minutes while meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary."

Note: It is not required to meditate on all fifteen mysteries. Meditation on one or two is sufficient.

+ THE INTENTION OF MAKING REPARATION +

"You, at least, try to console me."

Without this general intention - without this will of love which desires to make reparation and consolation to Our Lady - all these external practices are worth nothing for the Promise.


" ...I promise salvation"

"To all those who, on the First Saturday of five consecutive months, fulfill all the conditions requested, I promise to assist them at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for the salvation of their soul."

This little devotion practiced with a good heart, is enough to procure - ex opere operato, so to speak; as with the sacraments - the grace of final perseverance and eternal salvation!

Heaven for eternity for five Holy Communions!