The Requests of Our Lady of Fatima
During the First World War (1917), the Blessed Virgin appeared to three shepherd children near Fatima, in Portugal about sixty miles from Lisbon. Her six visits began in May and ended in October, the month of the Rosary. She requested the daily recitation of the Rosary, penance, and devotion to Her Immaculate Heart (First Saturdays Devotion).
The First Saturdays devotion
On December 10th, 1925, at Tuy (Spain), Our Lady appeared to Sister Lucia and 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 say that I promise to help at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, shall
- Confess, and receive Holy Communion
- Recite five decades of the Rosary
- Keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary.
- With the intention of making reparation to me” (to her immaculate Heart.)
Confession may be made in the eight days before or after Communion. The Rosary may be recited at any convenient time of the day, and the fifteen-minute meditation may be made at any time of the day, either on all the mysteries as a whole or on one special mystery. The Rosary and Meditation may be combined by thinking on each mystery a few minutes before or after reciting the decade. A sermon for the occasion may be substituted for the meditation.
Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
O Mary, Virgin and most powerful Mother of Mercy, Queen of Heaven and Refuge of sinners, we consecrate ourselves today to thine Immaculate Heart. We consecrate to thee our very being and our whole life, all that we have, all that we love, all that we are. To thee we give our bodies, our hearts and souls, to thee we give our homes, our families and our country.
Mindful of this consecration we now promise to imitate thee by the practice of Christian virtues without regard for human respect. We resolve to receive Holy Communion on the first Saturday of every month when possible and to offer daily five decades of the Rosary with all our sacrifices in the spirit of penance and reparation. Amen