by Barb Ernster –

Much attention was given the March 25th consecration of Russia/Ukraine by Pope Francis, with a multitude of bishops, priests and laypeople worldwide joining in. It spurred great attention to the other message of Our Lady – the request for the First Saturday Communions of Reparation.
The Catholic media, in particular, took interest in this forgotten part, and we have been bombarded with requests for more information on the First Saturday devotion.
Many of our members and devotees of Our Lady of Fatima have been practicing the First Saturdays monthly, or as often as they can. Once you do the five consecutive First Saturdays, something stirs the heart to keep going, and that’s exactly what Our Lady wants from us – hearts stirred to draw closer to her Mother’s Heart.
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary runs deep. The treasure that is in her Heart is priceless and she wants us to discover it. That is why she asked for the Rosary every day, so that we will begin to meditate daily on the mysteries of the life of Jesus and Mary. Any spiritual director who is familiar with the Carmelite way will ask you to begin with a 15-minute meditation daily. Our Lady knows this can be difficult, so she gave us the Rosary to give us something to focus on.
First Saturdays are a special day for Our Lady
St. Louis de Montfort, who wrote so eloquently about Mary in the late 17th century, defined this devotion to her Heart and Mary confirmed it at Fatima.
In his book The Secret of Mary, he writes what perfect devotion to Mary consists of:
- “The first consists in fulfilling the duties of our Christian state, avoiding all mortal sin, performing our actions for God, praying to Our Lady and honoring her as the Mother of God.”
Sister Lucia said the essential message of Our Lady of Fatima is to offer up our daily duty according to our state in life. It is our “yes” to God, accepting all that He wills to send us, our trials and sufferings.
2. “The second consists in entertaining for Our Lady deeper feelings of esteem and love, of confidence and veneration. This devotion inspires us to join the confraternities of the Holy Rosary and the Scapular, to say the five or fifteen decades of the Rosary or to venerate Our Lady’s images and make her known to others.”
At Fatima, Our Lady asked us to say the Rosary every day and to console her Immaculate Heart that is pierced with thorns from all those who blaspheme her. These blasphemies were further explained by our Lord to Sister Lucia in the request for the First Saturdays devotion. Lucia asked Him, why five, and he explained the five blasphemies that gravely offend Him.
3. “The third is the wearing of a small, blessed chain around the neck to remind us of what it signifies.”
Mary appeared during the miracle of the sun on Oct. 13, 1917, as Our Lady of Mount Carmel and holding out a Brown Scapular. Sister Lucia said the Brown Scapular is part of the message of Fatima. Wearing it signifies our consecration and entrustment to her Immaculate Heart.
Finally, St. Louis promoted choosing a special day to consecrate yourself through Mary to Jesus. “This is an occasion for receiving Holy Communion and spending the day in prayer. At least once a year on the same day, we should renew the act of consecration.”
Our Lady asks us to make the First Saturdays a special day set aside for devotion to her Immaculate Heart. Once you have completed five consecutive First Saturdays, let the monthly First Saturdays after that be your special day to honor her and renew your consecration and commitment. Great favors are obtained for you because of this, just as great favors are obtained by setting aside the First Fridays in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Furthermore, your Holy Communion, confession, Rosary and meditation make reparation for the sins of people who may otherwise be lost. It allows the rivers of grace to flow through her Immaculate Heart out into the world and capture the lost souls in its currents, where they can be directed to the fountain of mercy that is the Heart of Jesus on the Cross.
You will have already obtained Mary’s great promise that she will be with you at the time of your death with all the graces necessary for your salvation. Now, do this for others.
Getting started with First Saturdays
For those of you who are just getting started and are not sure what to do, the World Apostolate of Fatima USA invites you to participate in the Great Promise PassportTM, a creative new way to fulfill Our Lady’s request for the First Saturday Devotion. Following the ancient tradition of the Camino de Compostela, the Great Promise PassportTM allows you to mark and track your progress. The initiative runs from May – October. We invite you to begin this Saturday, May 7, and complete five First Saturdays. If you miss May, you can start in June and still finish by October. Those who complete the “passport” and collect all five stamps will be included in a drawing on October 13 at the Blue Army Shrine, which includes a pilgrimage to Fatima with our organization.
More information can be found at Great Promise Passport.
At this critical time in history, we must do our part to fulfill Our Lady’s request. We strongly encourage you to invite friends, family, parishes and schools to join us in this devotion.

Barb Ernster is the Communications Manager and Editor of Soul Magazine for the World Apostolate of Fatima, USA.
9 Responses
Well written Barb.
Thank you Greg. Miss your submissions. Hope you are well.
It is true that after you complete the Five First Saturdays, you will want to continue doing it. While consoling Our Lord and Our Lady, you are also gaining for yourself eternal rewards and peace for the world. The ultimate effect of this devotion is a more intimate relationship with Jesus and Mary. Praise and thanks to God for this devotion.
Hi Barb, you wrote another great article. Thank you. As for me, the First Saturday devotions have and continue to draw me closer to Jesus through Mary. It is simple, if the Mother of God asks us to do something, we need to listen, do and share. I will participate with the Great Promise Passport and I will share your article with others. To Jesus through Mary.
Thank you Donna.
First Saturdays;
I initially looked forward for Mary’s promise. I mechanically did the 5 first Saturdays, then read Fr. Gruner’s of ‘How To’, then did them again, never quite satisfied that I had completed the Five First Saturdays very well. I started my first 5 Saturdays on Feb, 5th, 2017. Today, 5-7-22, I completed the the 3rd Saturday of my 13th 5 First Saturdays. I used the Booklet, ‘Pray The Rosary’, now maybe my meditation will be what Mary wants. This booklet is from The Fatima Center, BT064. This is very good.
For our reading audience, we also produce Treasures of First Saturday by Fr. Andrew Apostoli, CFR. It includes instructions and meditations on each of the 20 mysteries of the Rosary, prayers and explanations of the 5 blasphemies against the Immaculate Heart that Jesus identified to Sister Lucia. Only $5.
https://giftshop.wafusa.org/product/treasures-of-first-saturday/
Thanks Barb for your article. It is most needed. I’m also glad to inform you that The Five First Saturdays’ devotion has been approved by the Rector of San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio, Texas ( the oldest Cathedral in the US mainland). Our starting date will be Saturday, June 4, 2022. The Parish Council and parishioners are very excited about this devotion. Like Jesus, we all love His and Our Holy Mother Virgin Mary. I’ll bring your starting kit to the Parish Council meeting tomorrow May 13, after Mass when we will commemorate Our Virgin of Fatima Day! I pray that this wonderful devotion continue to grow in US and in the World, in Jesus name I pray.
That is wonderful news Tommy! So glad we could help out on this. Thank you for helping to spread the message of Fatima. The graces from this devotion will be abundant.
Barb