- It is a very powerful way to make reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
- It is an approved and effective way to obtain Our Lady’s promise of world peace and the salvation of souls.
Before we continue the answer to the question, let us discuss the following:
What do we mean by peace?
What do we mean by peace? Does it mean that the Ukraine war stops? Does it mean that the conflict in the Middle East stops? No, this is not the definition of true peace.
True peace is the Gospel Peace. It flows from love of God and neighbor. It’s when people in the world are truly loving God and neighbor. It is the love among all people and all nations. This true peace penetrates everything. True peace will reflect the state of the world. This is what true peace will look like:
- The culture of Life
- The End of abortion
- The End of attacks on the family & the Church
- The end of war
- The end of hunger
- The end of human trafficking
- The end of many more problems in the world
- The Transformation of society
- Salvation of many souls
The period of peace will be the time when the greatest amount of souls will be saved.
Also, while we try to get to peace, souls will be saved.
The only way to bring peace to the world is to bring people to the state of sanctifying grace.
How can we do this? Our Lady at Fatima gave us the key: reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the First Saturdays.
Why is reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary necessary for this?
First, it is important to have a good understanding of what reparation means. Please click here for more information.
Shouldn’t we make reparation to Jesus for sins against Him? Absolutely! We need to make reparation for the sins that wound His Heart. We need to do this by making reparation for all sin, especially sins against the Holy Eucharist. Yet, we also need to make reparation for sins against His Mother.
The greatest Gift of Jesus is Himself in the Holy Eucharist, given at the Last Supper. Our Lady is Jesus’ second greatest Gift to us. Our Lady is Jesus’ Gift to us from the Cross. “Behold thy Mother” (Jn. 19:27). Many reject this Gift. For example, they disregard Mary or think it is optional to revere her. It is not optional to love your neighbor or to honor your father and mother. In fact, Mary is the worst treated mother in the world. At the same time, this greatly offends the Sacred Heart of Jesus even more than it offends Mary. For Jesus, a Divine Person is being offended.
As Our Lady’s children, we have the responsibility to repair the offenses against her if we wish to fruitfully approach Jesus. Also, one might be surprised to know that the greatest offenses against Mary are done within the Catholic Church.
Some think they can go straight to Jesus and bypass Mary. This is incorrect. Mary is the way Jesus chose to come to us. Mary is the way we need to go to Jesus. All grace comes to us from Jesus through Mary. Her consent brought all grace into the world at the Annunciation. Mary has no less of a role now in Heaven. This is true whether or not we know or believe it.
All sin offends Our Blessed Mother. The damage done by sin creates a blockage on the path of grace from Jesus through Mary to us. In the case of mortal sin, this blockage is complete. In the case of venial sin, this blockage varies in size. Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary helps clear the blockage so that more grace can flow to us and others in the world.
Those of us in the state of grace can make reparation for ourselves and others. By making reparation for the sins of those not in the state of grace, we help clear the damage (blockage) of their sins so that actual grace can be given to them. We can then fervently pray (supplicate) that they will respond to this actual grace, repent, and convert. This conversion would mean that they are in the state of sanctifying grace.
Again, reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is for Jesus
Let us recall the prayer Our Lady taught us on July 13, 1917, “O Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.” Our Lady taught us whenever we show her devotion or make reparation to her Immaculate Heart, it is for the sake of loving Jesus and pleasing Him. The purpose of the First Saturdays devotion is to make reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Hence, the reparation of the First Saturdays is for the love of Jesus. Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is not an end in itself but is ordered to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, the Source and Summit of our spiritual life. Yet, Our Lady is the path to Jesus.
The world is and will be in great danger before the period of peace arrives. This reparation can help us to safely find our way through the tribulation.
So, let us return to our original question: Why start the Communal First Saturdays®?
Starting and Making
Starting the Communal First Saturdays® is not to be confused with making the First Saturdays or the Communal First Saturdays®. For information on the latter, see the pamphlets, Why Make the First Saturdays? 22 Reasons and Why the Communal First Saturdays? 29 Reasons. The reasons for making the First Saturdays contribute to our understanding as to why we should start the Communal First Saturdays®.
Communal First Saturdays® makes it easier
The Communal First Saturdays® exists to make it easier for a larger number of people to do the First Saturdays correctly and in a way that is canonically and liturgically approved.
The Communal First Saturdays® fulfills God’s wish to establish devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in the world.
The Communal First Saturdays® fulfills God’s wish to establish devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in the world. What does it mean to establish devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in the world? The concept of “establish” refers to something that is visible, public, permanent, and continuous. Public can be understood as something known to the public. Yet, in the case of the Church, it must refer to something the faithful can publicly attend. Permanent may last but does not need to be repeated, such as the collegial consecration. Continuous is ongoing with regular repetition over an indefinite period of time, such as the First Saturdays. If a devotion is established, it must have canonical and liturgical approval by the Church. “Canonical” means that it is approved according to Canon Law. Hence, it is authorized by the Church. Exorcists tell us that the devil is greatly enraged and defeated by the authority of the Church.
Our Lady needs credit for the period of peace
If the First Saturdays is merely practiced privately, and not practiced publicly, there would be no way of knowing that the First Saturdays led to the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The result would be that Our Lady could not be given credit for the period of peace. This would be an injustice to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and an injustice would only be another obstacle to the period of peace. The Communal First Saturday® prevents this injustice.
The following are many other reasons to start the Communal First Saturdays®
It is very visible
The Communal First Saturday® is very visible. Even the use of its devotional book, The Communal First Saturday Devotional is something visible, which contributes to the visible witness of Our Lady’s triumph.
It promotes more powerful prayer & reparation
The Communal First Saturdays® as public prayer, can enable our prayer to have greater power and greater reparatory value. As Scripture says: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18:20).
Public fulfillment & the Great Prayer
The Communal First Saturdays® provides a public fulfillment of the First Saturdays, just as the Pope and bishops provided a public fulfillment of the consecration of Russia and the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1984.
The Communal First Saturdays® helps to foster “the Great Prayer” throughout the world called for by St. John Paul II. (cf. The Gospel of Life).
Is ordered to the Eucharist
The Communal First Saturdays® gives visible witness that devotions should be ordered to the Liturgy, especially to the Holy Eucharist.
Promoting the Rosary
- The Communal First Saturdays® is the greatest way to promote the Rosary. Most often we see that the Rosary is recited in places other than in the parish. Saying the Rosary in other places is good but it seems to say that the Rosary is only for a few.
The scheduled Communal First Saturdays® in the parish gives a clear and public witness to the fact that the parish itself supports the recitation of the Rosary. Support of the parish for the Rosary tells all of the parishioners that it is important to say the Rosary. - There is another reason that the Communal First Saturdays® is the best way to promote the Rosary. At Fatima, Our Lady gave us a Rosary in a more powerful form. Our Lady did this by combining the power of the Rosary and the Immaculate Heart Devotion together. This double-powered Rosary is an outstanding way to say the Rosary, and the Communal First Saturdays® has such a Rosary. The Communal First Saturdays®’ very own signature Rosary reflects devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Only the Communal First Saturdays® has this more powerful Rosary. For all of the 14 reasons that the Communal First Saturdays® is the best way to promote the Rosary, please see the pamphlet Promoting the Rosary through the Communal First Saturdays, available on our website (CommunalFirstSaturdays.org).
Provides environment to be lovingly attentive to the Real Presence while he is within you during Holy Communion
The Communal First Saturdays® provides the environment for the faithful to be lovingly attentive to Jesus, while He is still present within, after they received Him in Holy Communion. The Eucharist is not an instantaneous sacrament. Jesus continues to impart grace during Holy Communion as long as one is properly disposed and lovingly attentive to Him. The Communal First Saturdays® Signature Meditation with Scripture in the form of lectio divina, immediately after Mass, makes this possible. For more information, please see 10 ways in which the Communal First Saturdays® Signature Meditation helps increase grace in us.
It greatly multiplies reparation
- The Communal First Saturdays® fulfills all of the practices in a communal This makes it easier for each person to fulfill the First Saturdays. All the people have to do is participate in the scheduled devotion.
- The Communal First Saturdays® also can enable one to practice the entire Fatima message. For example, we say all the prayers taught by the Angel and Our Lady.
- By starting the Communal First Saturdays®, a person is able to multiply the amount of reparation that he or she can make to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
It is a monthly retreat
- By being scheduled in the parish, all the parishioners can have an increased awareness of the First Saturdays. This can lead to more people attending the Communal First Saturdays®.
- The Communal First Saturdays® provides a monthly parish retreat by which one can be spiritually renewed.
It helps the faithful to fulfill the obligation of their Baptism and Confirmation
The Communal First Saturdays® helps the faithful to fulfill the obligation of their Baptism and Confirmation. Baptism removes the stain of original sin by communicating sanctifying grace to the soul. Each person is consecrated to God by a seal imprinted on the soul. By Baptism, the faithful share in the three roles of Christ: king, prophet, and priest. By sharing in Christ’s kingship, the faithful are responsible for their part in His kingdom by following Him. By sharing in the prophetic role of Jesus, the faithful spread the Faith by word and example. Spreading the First Saturdays is an excellent way to fulfill this obligation. Lastly, those baptized are called to share in the priesthood of Christ. The faithful do this by mediating on behalf of others in dependence on the priesthood of Christ. This mediation is carried out by the practice of prayer and sacrifice. Sacrifice is offered in reparation for sin and in supplication for sinners. The practice of the First Saturdays provides an outstanding way to fulfill this obligation of reparation.
The Communal First Saturdays® spreads the Catholic Faith in a very powerful way
Helps us fulfill the obligations of our Confirmation
On Pentecost, the Sacrament of Confirmation was instituted by sending the Holy Spirit upon Mary and the Apostles. The immediate effect was that the apostles went out and spread the faith. By being confirmed, we too are called to spread our Catholic Faith in a more powerful way. Living and spreading the Catholic Faith are the most important ways we can fulfill our obligation to live out our Confirmation. In spreading the Communal First Saturdays®, the faithful are able to spread much of their Catholic Faith. Please see below for more information.
Spreads Confession
In spreading the Communal First Saturdays®, the faithful are able to spread much of their Catholic Faith, as for example, the first practice is Confession. As we find in the Gospel, Confession is the call to repentance, to prepare the way of the Lord. An essential part of Confession is the penance in reparation for one’s sins. This includes reparation for sins against our neighbor. After Jesus, Mary, our Mother, more than anyone else, is owed reparation for sins against her. In the First Saturdays devotion, each of the four practices is done in reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Spreads the Rosary
As the Popes have said, the Rosary is the Gospel Prayer, a compendium of the Catholic Faith. As the Gospel leads us to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, so does the Communal First Saturdays.
Spreads Meditation on Scripture
As Jesus spent time in prayer with his disciples in the Garden immediately following the first Mass, so, following Holy Communion, we spend time with Him and His Mother in the 15 minute meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary. We use the ancient method of lectio divina to meditate on the mysteries as found in Scripture. Pope Benedict XVI said:
In this context, I would like in particular to recall and recommend the ancient tradition of Lectio divina: the diligent reading of Sacred Scripture accompanied by prayer brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is speaking, and in praying, responds to him with trusting openness of heart (cf. Dei Verbum, n. 25). If it is effectively promoted, this practice will bring to the Church – I am convinced of it – a new spiritual springtime.
As a strong point of biblical ministry, Lectio divina should therefore be increasingly encouraged, also through the use of new methods, carefully thought through and in step with the times. It should never be forgotten that the Word of God is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path (cf. Ps 119[118]: 105).
The “spiritual springtime” refers to a period of peace. Yet, Our Lady said the peace would result from collegial consecration and the established First Saturdays. Both prophecies can be fulfilled in the First Saturdays devotion. The Communal First Saturdays alone uses the lectio divina for the meditation.
Spreading Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Each practice of the First Saturdays is to be done in reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary; otherwise, one does not fulfill the First Saturdays.
The Communal First Saturdays® spreads reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in a very powerful way. The Communal First Saturdays® together with its Devotional book make sure that the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is made for all practices. By participating and following along, the people can be sure to make this essential intention.
Hence, Catholics are able to carry out the new evangelization in a way that is easy and far beyond any other way, a way that Our Lady promised would bring world peace. This peace can be achieved by promoting the Communal First Saturdays®.
For a more complete understanding of why we should start the Communal First Saturdays®, see 2.2 Communal Order of Devotion and Liturgy on pages 24-55 in the book called Spreading the Communal First Saturdays®. You may also wish to listen to a special series, that goes over the Order of Devotion in detail, called Answering Jesus” Question.