Dear Friends, First Friday and First Saturday is upcoming. Most of us have heard of the wonderful 12 promises of the Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary, and the Promise of Final Perseverance and the Last Sacraments to all who, after Confession and a good preparation, go to Holy Mass and receive Holy Communion on the 9 First Fridays; as well as the wonderful 5 First Saturdays Devotion Our Lady of Fatima gave to Saintly Sr. Lucia and St. Jacinta and St. Francisco, with the promise of granting us all necessary graces in the very hour of death, if we keep Her company by 15 minute meditation, separately praying at least 5 decades of the Rosary, and going to Holy Mass and receiving Holy Communion in reparation. Another less known request is where Our Lord and Our Lady gave 33 promises, where we must intend to "to console My Heart and, at the same time, the Immaculate Heart of My Mother." "To make a good Novena, follow these suggestions: Prepare yourself with true repentance, if possible go to Confession. Receive Holy Communion on both days (First Friday and First Saturday)" I've found this Novena to seemingly be incredibly powerful when you make it - because we Honor the Immaculate Heart next to the Sacred Heart just like Jesus asked us at Fatima! And said will be done in future after Russia is consecrated to the Sacred Heart through the Immaculate Heart - and would like to ask: has anyone done it and experienced greater love for Jesus and Mary while doing so? Please share. Thank you. Two sites that contain this devotion and the promises: http://lapieta.tripod.com/dnov_ena.html 1. All that they demand through the Heart of My Mother, provided that their requests are compatible with the Will of the Father, I will grant them during the Novena. 2. They will experience in every circumstance the extraordinary assistance of My Mother as well as her blessings. 3. Peace, Harmony and love will reign in their souls and the souls of the members of their families. 4. I will protect their families from scandals, disappointments, injustice. 5. Married couples will remain together, and if one of the spouses left the home, he or she will come back. 6. The members of their families will understand each other and persevere in the faith. 7. Expectant mothers will experience the special protection of My Mother and receive what they demand for themselves and their children. 8. The Poor will receive shelter and food. 9. I will lead them to love prayer and suffering. They will learn to love God and their neighbors. 10. The sinners will be converted without difficulty, even though somebody else makes the Novena for them. 11. The sinners will not fall back into their previous state. They will not only receive forgiveness for their sins, but also a perfect contrition and, through love, they will recover the innocence of their Baptism. 12. Those who make this Novena in the innocence of their Baptism (particularly the the children) will not offend My Heart by a grave fault until the time of their death. 13. The sinners who sincerely repent will not only escape hell but also purgatory. 14. The lukewarm will become fervent believers; they will perservere and reach perfection and saintliness in no time. 15. If parents or other members of a family make this Novena, no member of that family will be condemned to hell. 16. Many young will be called to religious life, including the priesthood. 17. Unbelievers will become believers, and those who wander without direction (Catholics who broke away) will return to the church. 18. Priests and religious will remain faithful to their vocation. The infidel will receive the grace of a sincere contrition and the possibility of returning to one's vocation. 19. Parents and leaders will receive assistance for their spiritual and material needs. 20. The body will be freed from the temptations of the world and from sin. 21. The proud and the arrogant will become humble, the temperate will be burning with love. 22. Fervent souls will experience the sweetness of prayer and sacrifice; they will never be tormented by anxiety or doubt. 23. The dying will depart this world without agony and without the attacks of satan. 24. The dying will experience an immense desire for eternal life. So they will surrender to My Will and depart this life in the arms of My Mother. 25. They will experience the extraordinary protection of My Mother on the day of the Last Judgment. 26. They will receive the grace of sharing and relieving My suffering and that of My Mother. 27. Those who endeavor to be perfect will obtain, as a privilege, the main virtues of My Mother: humility, love and purity. 28. They will be accompanied by peace and certain inner and external joy during all their lives, whether they are sick or healthy. 29. The priests will receive the grace of living in the presence of My Mother without effort. 30. Those who progress with Me in unity will receive the grace of experiencing this unity. They will know what it means; it does not mean that they will live longer, but that I will live within them. That is to say, I will love with their hearts. I will pray with their souls. I will speak with their tongues. I will serve with all their beings. They will experience that which is good, beautiful, holy, humble, simple, obedient, precious and admirable within them; it is Me. Me, the Almighty, the Infinite, the only Lord, the only Love. 31. The souls of those who make this Novena will be radiant as the white lilies all around the Heart of My Mother in eternity. 32. I, the Divine Lamb of God, united with My Father and the Holy Spirit, will always rejoice at seeing these souls who, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, will obtain the glory of eternity. 33. The souls of the priests will always progress in the Faith and virtue. Our Lord said on this: "As the Father entrusted all things to Me, so I give My victorious power over the world and sin to the Immaculate Heart of My Mother. Through My daughter (Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque), I gave the world great promises, but because of My infinite Goodness, now, I give much more. If people wish to gain the benefits of My promises, they must love and venerate the Immaculate Heart of My Mother. The greatest sign of this veneration will be to receive Holy Communion on Nine Consecutive First Saturdays, and in the same way, on Nine Consecutive First Fridays, after a preparation and a true repentance. Their intentions must be to console My Heart and, at the same time, the Immaculate Heart of My Mother." And Our Lady made a Great Promise: ""The gates of Hell will be closed on the First Saturdays of each month. Nobody will go to Hell on those days. However, the gates of Purgatory will be open. So, many souls will be able to reach Heaven. It is the result of the merciful Love of My Son - it is the reward of these souls who venerate My Immaculate Heart." And https://sites.google.com/site/doublegreatnovena/the-33-promises Although that sounds so amazing! And almost too good to be true, the site also has this in the relevant page, " Imprimatur from the local Bishop in Hungary Source: Little Souls Sisters (Order of Little Souls of the Merciful Heart of Jesus) Note: You can buy "The Double Great Novena" booklet at any St. Pauls Store in the Philippines. https://sites.google.com/site/doublegreatnovena/the-great-promise-of-mary Thoughts? More info from anyone, please? Thanks.
I love this devotion. I used to leave copies of this in the church vestibule or narthex of our parish or any parish I visited, after asking for permission, of course. This is a great Lenten devotion. Thanks for posting!
Thank you, Lynnfiat, and Djmoforegon. That's wonderful. This devotion is a great means for us all to grow in Grace and union with the holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary. It's also nothing short of amazing that the Blessed Mother promised She would prevent souls from going to hell on First Saturday! Hopefully, on First Friday also! Of course, it's ultimately up to God. But what He shows us by His Promises is that, if we pray and sacrifice much, He is ready to give unthinkable graces to the world. Gentle Reminder: Today is First Friday, and if we begin now, in this month of April dedicated to the Holy Spirit, we can finish by December, month of the Immaculate Conception, and also of the Divine Infancy: " The month of April (Overview - Calendar) is dedicated to the Holy Spirit. To believe in the Holy Spirit is to profess that the Holy Spirit is one of the persons of the Holy Trinity, consubstantial with the Father and the Son: "with the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified." (Catechism of the Catholic Church)The Holy Spirit is the Person of Love in the life of God. He is also like a breath, an aspiration of infinite Love, from which we draw the breath of life." Please see: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/overviews/months/04_1.cfm Those who make this Novena, the Lord Promises, will receive the Grace never to commit mortal sin again. If there were no other reason, all of us should strive to make it for that grace alone. The Lord also promises that if we have fallen, we can still be restored to Baptismal Innocence. If we make it sincerely even for our family members, they too will be converted from any sin they may be living in, and will then be saved. Promises 10-15 show us we can avoid Purgatory, reach perfection and saintliness, and help save all our family through this means. "10. The sinners will be converted without difficulty, even though somebody else makes the Novena for them. 11. The sinners will not fall back into their previous state. They will not only receive forgiveness for their sins, but also a perfect contrition and, through love, they will recover the innocence of their Baptism. 12. Those who make this Novena in the innocence of their Baptism (particularly the the children) will not offend My Heart by a grave fault until the time of their death. 13. The sinners who sincerely repent will not only escape hell but also purgatory. 14. The lukewarm will become fervent believers; they will perservere and reach perfection and saintliness in no time. 15. If parents or other members of a family make this Novena, no member of that family will be condemned to hell." Even if we did the 9 First Fridays, the 5 First Saturdays and the 9 First Fridays and 9 First Saturdays together completely separately, we could finish in 23 months. In other words, in a little less than two years. And then we can begin again! Alternately, we could just keep every Friday and Saturday, with the Rosary meditation!
Another First Friday and First Saturday coming up, and this time, in the wonderful Mary Crowning Month of May. Dedicating the month to Our Lady is indulgenced. This ""is the "month which the piety of the faithful has especially dedicated to Our Blessed Lady," and it is the occasion for a "moving tribute of faith and love which Catholics in every part of the world [pay] to the Queen of Heaven. During this month Christians, both in church and in the privacy of the home, offer up to Mary from their hearts an especially fervent and loving homage of prayer and veneration. In this month, too, the benefits of God's mercy come down to us from her throne in greater abundance" (Paul VI: Encyclical on the Month of May, no. 1) ... The practice [of specially consecrating the Month of May to devotion toward the Mother of God] was granted a partial indulgence by Pius VII in 1815 and a plenary indulgence by Pius IX in 1859." Excerpted from Enchiridion of Indulgences. Prayer of the Month: An Act of Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary Holy Mary, Mother of God and Virgin, I choose Thee this [month] as my Queen, Patron, and Advocate, and firmly resolve and purpose never to abandon Thee, never to say or do anything against Thee, nor to permit that aught be done by others to dishonor Thee. Receive me, then, I conjure thee, as Thy perpetual servant; assist me in all my actions, and do not abandon me at the hour of my death. Amen. — https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/overviews/months/05_1.cfm We can recite for ourself and make our own the Act of Consecration of the world that Pope John Paul II made to the Immaculate Heart. Consecrate all to Mary! "1. "We have recourse to your protection, holy Mother of God". O mother of individuals and peoples, you who "know all their sufferings and their hopes", you who have a mother’s awareness of all the struggles between good and evil, between light and darkness, which afflicts the modern world, accept the cry which we, as though moved by the Holy Spirit, address directly to your Heart. Embrace, with the love of the Mother and Handmaid, this human world of ours, which we entrust and consecrate to you, for we are full of disquiet for the earthly and eternal destiny of individuals and peoples. In a special way we entrust and consecrate to you those individuals and nations which particularly need to be entrusted and consecrated. "We have recourse to your protection, holy Mother of God: reject not the prayers we send up to you in our necessities". Reject them not! Accept our humble trust—and our act of entrusting! 2. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (Jn 3:16). It was precisely by reason of this love that the Son of God consecrated himself for all mankind: "And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth" (Jn 17:19). By reason of that consecration the disciples of all ages are called to spend themselves for the salvation of the world, and to supplement Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is the Church (cf. 2 Cor 12:15; Col 1:24). Before you, Mother of Christ, before your Immaculate Heart, I today, together with the whole Church, unite myself with our Redeemer in this his consecration for the world and for people which only in his divine Heart has the power to obtain pardon and to secure reparation. The power of this consecration lasts for all time and embraces all individuals, peoples and nations. It overcomes every evil that the spirit of darkness is able to awaken, and has in fact awakened in our times, in the heart of man and in his history. The Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, unites herself, through the service of Peter’s successor, to this consecration by our Redeemer. Oh, how deeply we feel the need for consecration on the part of humanity and of the world—our modern world—in union with Christ himself! The redeeming work of Christ, in fact, must be shared in by the world by means of the Church. Oh, how pained we are by all the things in the Church and in each one of us that are opposed to holiness and consecration! How pained we are that the invitation to repentance, to conversion, to prayer, has not met with the acceptance that it should have received! How pained we are that many share so coldly in Christ’s work of Redemption! That "what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions" is so insufficiently completed in our flesh. And so, blessed be all those souls that obey the call of eternal Love! Blessed be all those who, day after day, with undiminished generosity accept your invitation, O Mother, to do what your Jesus tells them and give the Church and the world a serene testimony of lives inspired by the Gospel. Above all, blessed be you, the Handmaid of the Lord, who in the fullest way obey the divine call! Hail to you, who are "wholly united" to the redeeming consecration of your Son! Mother of the Church! Enlighten the People of God along the paths of faith, of hope and love! Help us to live with the whole truth of the consecration of Christ for the entire human family of the modern world ... " https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=630
First day of June - month dedicated to Sacred Heart- is on a Saturday this year- day dedicated to the Immaculate Heart! Wonderful confluence of the Twin Hearts. Great time to renew our devotion to Them! Promise of Unionwith Christ:"30. Those who progress with Me in unity will receive the grace of experiencing this unity. They will know what it means; it does not mean that they will live longer, but that I will live within them. That is to say, I will love with their hearts. I will pray with their souls. I will speak with their tongues. I will serve with all their beings. They will experience that which is good, beautiful, holy, humble, simple, obedient, precious and admirable within them; it is Me. Me, the Almighty, the Infinite, the only Lord, the only Love. 31. The souls of those who make this Novena will be radiant as the white lilies all around the Heart of My Mother in eternity. 32. I, the Divine Lamb of God, united with My Father and the Holy Spirit, will always rejoice at seeing these souls who, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, will obtain the glory of eternity. 33. The souls of the priests will always progress in the Faith and virtue. Our Lord: "As the Father entrusted all things to Me, so I give My victorious power over the world and sin to the Immaculate Heart of My Mother. Through My daughter (Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque), I gave the world great promises, but because of My infinite Goodness, now, I give much more. If people wish to gain the benefits of My promises, they must love and venerate the Immaculate Heart of My Mother. The greatest sign of this veneration will be to receive Holy Communion on Nine Consecutive First Saturdays, and in the same way, on Nine Consecutive First Fridays, after a preparation and a true repentance. Their intentions must be to console My Heart and, at the same time, the Immaculate Heart of My Mother." And Our Lady'sGreat Promise: "The gates of Hell will be closed on the First Saturdays of each month. Nobody will go to Hell on those days. However, the gates of Purgatory will be open. So, many souls will be able to reach Heaven. It is the result of the merciful Love of My Son - it is the reward of these souls who venerate My Immaculate Heart."
And Our Lady'sGreat Promise: "The gates of Hell will be closed on the First Saturdays of each month. Nobody will go to Hell on those days. However, the gates of Purgatory will be open. So, many souls will be able to reach Heaven. It is the result of the merciful Love of My Son - it is the reward of these souls who venerate My Immaculate Heart." What a wonderful promise
