Showing posts with label Heavenly Promises. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Heavenly Promises. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

The Brown Scapular and the Sabbatine Privilege


The Brown Scapular and the Sabbatine Privilege

On July 16, 1251, Our Lady gave the Brown Scapular to Saint Simon Stock.

On July 16, 1858, on the 18th and last apparition of Our Lady at Lourdes, She appeared to Bernadette, dressed as Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Our Lady held out the Scapular to us at Fatima, wanting us all to wear it and to offer it to others

“It shall be a sign of salvation, a protection in danger, and a pledge of peace. Whosoever dies wearing this Scapular shall not suffer eternal fire.”   ~ Our Lady to Saint Simon Stock

"Wear it devoutly and perservingly, it is my garment.   To be clothed in it means you are continually thinking of me, and I in turn, am always thinking of you and helping you to secure eternal life."   - Our Lady to St. Simon Stock

Friday, September 20, 2013

Night Prayer in Response to a Request from Our Lord


Night Prayer in Response to a Request from Our Lord

ETERNAL FATHER, I desire to rest in Thy Heart this night. I make the intention of offering to Thee every beat of my heart, joining to them as many acts of love and desire. I pray that even while I am asleep, I will bring back to Thee souls that offend Thee. I ask forgiveness for the whole world, especially for those who know Thee and yet sin. I offer to Thee my every breath and heartbeat as a prayer of reparation. Amen.

“During the night you will rest in My Heart! My Heart will listen to the beats of yours, which will be so many acts of love and desire. Thus even while you are sleeping, you will bring back to Me souls that offend Me… Ask forgiveness for the whole world, especially for those that know Me and yet sin; offer yourself in reparation!” Our Lord to Sr. Josefa Menedez


Image taken from Wikimedia Commons

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Flower Prayers of St. Gertrude


Flower Prayers of St. Gertrude

To Jesus
Hail! Vivifying Gem of Divine Nobility! 
Hail, Most Loving Jesus, Unfading 
Flower of Human Dignity! 
Thou art my Sovereign and only Good.

Promise: After reciting this prayer, St. Gertrude was visited by Our Lord, who told her: "Whosover salutes Me, as you have done, in reparation for the blasphemies and outrages which are poured forth on me throughout the world, when he is tempted at the hour of his death and accused by the demon, will be consoled by me.

To Mary
HAIL, White Lily, of the ever-peaceful and glorious Trinity! 
Hail, Vermilion Rose, the delight of Heaven, of whom the King 
of Heaven was born and by whose milk He was nourished! 
Do thou feed our souls with the effusions of your divine influences.

Version taken from Herald of Divine Love
Hail O radiant Lily of the ever-peaceful Trinity! O resplendent rose of Heavenly Charm! Hail paradise of delights, O most beautiful habitation of God! 

Promise: During an apparition of the Blessed Mother, St. Gertrude noted that the Holy Trinity was depicted under the form of a white lily with three petals. The Blessed Mother made it known that she would exert her influence with the Holy Trinity on behalf of those who saluted her as the White Lily of the Trinity and the Vermilion Rose of Heaven. She then added: "I will appear at the hour of death to those who salute me thus, in such glory that they will anticipate the very joys of Heaven."

Image from Waiting for the Word

Monday, July 15, 2013

Revelations and Promises of the Five Holy Wounds


Revelations and Promises of the Five Holy Wounds

"Plunge your actions into My Wounds and they will be of value.  All your actions, even the least, soaked in My Blood, will acquire by this alone an infinite merit and will please My Heart."

"In offering My Wounds for the conversion of sinners, even though the sinners are not converted, you will have the same merit before God as if they were."

"When you have some trouble, something to suffer, quickly place it in My Wounds, and the pain will be alleviated."

"This aspiration must often be repeated near the sick:  "My Jesus, pardon and mercy through the merits of Your Holy Wounds!"  This prayer will solace soul and body." 

These Promises were dictated by Our Lord to Sr. Mary Martha Chambon of the Monastery of the Visitation of Chambery (1841-1907) (who died in the odor of sanctity)

for all those who honor Him with devotion to His Holy Wounds.

1. "At each word that you pronounce of the Chaplet of the Holy Wounds, I allow a drop of My Blood to fall upon the soul of a sinner."

2. "Each time that you offer to My Father the merits of My Divine Wounds, you win an immense fortune."

3. "Souls that will have contemplated and honored My crown of thorns on earth, will be My crown of glory in Heaven!"

4. "I will grant all that is asked of Me through the invocation of My Holy Wounds.  You will obtain everything, because it is through the merit of My Blood, which is of infinite price.  With My Wounds and My Divine Heart, everything can be obtained."

5. "From My Wounds proceed fruits of sanctity.  As gold purified in the crucible becomes more beautiful, so you must put your soul and those of your companions into My Sacred Wounds; there they will become perfected as gold in the furnace.  You can always purify yourself in My Wounds."

6. "My Wounds will repair yours.  My Wounds will cover all your faults.  Those who honor them will have a true knowledge of Jesus Christ.  In meditation on them, you will always find a new love.  My Wounds will cover all your sins."

11. "A sinner who will say the following prayer will obtain conversion: "Eternal Father, I offer You the Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ to heal those of our souls."

12. "There will be no death for the soul that expires in My Holy Wounds; they give true life."

13. "This chaplet is a counterpoise to My Justice; it restrains My Vengeance."

14. "Those who pray with humility and who meditate on My Passion, will one day participate in the glory of My Divine Wounds."

15. "The more you will have contemplated My painful Wounds on this earth, the higher will be your contemplation of them glorious in Heaven."

16. "The soul who during life has honored the Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ and offered them to the Eternal Father for the Souls in Purgatory, will be accompanied at the moment of death by the Holy Virgin and the angels; and Our Lord on the Cross, all brilliant in glory, will receive her and crown her."

17. "The invocations of the Holy Wounds will obtain an incessant victory for the Church." 

Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons

The 14 Promises of the Way of The Cross


The 14 Promises to Brother Estanislao (1903-1927),

made by Our Lord to those devoted to the Way of The Cross


(1)  "I'll grant everything that's asked of Me with Faith, when making The Way of the Cross."

(2) "I promise Eternal Life to those who pray from time to time, The Way of the Cross."

(3)  "I'll follow them everywhere in life and I'll help them, especially at the hour of death."

(4)  "Even if they have more sins than blades of grass in the fields, and grains of sand in the sea, all of them will be erased by The Way of the Cross."  *This does not eliminate by any means the need to go to confession

(5)  "Those who pray The Way of The Cross often, will have a special glory in Heaven."

(6)  "I'll deliver them from Purgatory, indeed if they go there at all, the first Tuesday or Friday after their death."

(7)  "I'll bless them at each Way of The Cross, and My blessing will follow them everywhere on earth and after their death, in Heaven for all Eternity."

(8) "At the hour of death I won't permit the devil to tempt them; I'll lift all power from him in order that they'll repose tranquilly in My Arms."

(9)  "If they pray it with true love, I'll make of each one of them a living Ciborium in which it will please Me to pour My grace."

(10)  "I'll fix My Eyes on those who pray The Way of The Cross often;  My hands will always be open to protect them."

(11)  "As I am nailed to the Cross, so also will I always be with those who honor Me in making The Way of The Cross frequently."

(12)  "They'll never be able to separate themselves from Me, for I'll give them the grace never again to commit a Mortal sin."

(13)  "At the hour of death I'll console them with My Presence and we'll go together to Heaven.  Death will be sweet to all those who have honored Me during their lives by praying The Way of the Cross."

(14)  "My Soul will be a protective shield for them, and will always help them, whenever they have recourse." 

Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons 

Sunday, June 23, 2013

The Miraculous Novena of Grace


The Miraculous Novena of Grace

Most amiable and most loving St Francis Xavier, in union with thee I reverently adore the Divine Majesty. I rejoice exceedingly on account of the marvellous gifts which God bestowed upon thee.

I thank God for the special graces He gave thee during thy life on earth and for the great glory that came to thee after thy death. I implore thee to obtain for me, through thy powerful intercession, the greatest of all blessings – that of living and dying in the state of grace. I also beg of thee to secure for me the special favour I ask in this novena (mention your request).

In asking this favour I am fully resigned to the Divine Will. I pray and desire only to obtain that which is most conducive to the greater glory of God and the greater good of my soul.

V. Pray for us, St Francis Xavier.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:
O God, who didst vouchsafe, by the preaching and miracles of St Francis Xavier, to join unto thy Church the nations of the Indies, grant, we beseech thee, that we who reverence his glorious merits may also imitate his example, through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Then add an ‘Our Father’ and ‘Hail Mary’, three times, in memory of St Francis Xavier’s devotion to the Most Holy Trinity, and ten ‘Glory be’ in thanksgiving for the graces received during his ten years of apostleship.

HISTORY:
This novena, also called ‘The Novena of Grace’, which begins March 4th and ends on the 12th, the day of the canonization of St Francis Xavier, owes its origin to the Saint himself. At Naples, in December, 1633, Father Marcello Mastrilli, S.J., was at the point of death. The Saint appeared to him and, bidding him to renew a vow he had made to labour in Japan, said:

“All those who implore my help daily for nine consecutive days, from the 4th to the 12th of March included, and worthily receive the Sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist on one of the nine days, will experience my protection and may hope with entire assurance to obtain from God any grace they ask for the good of their souls and the glory of God.”

The Father arose, instantly cured. So well had the Saint kept his promise that this devotion in his honour became universally known as the Novena of Grace. Its efficacy is not restricted to the dates mentioned. It may be made very appropriately from November 25th to December 3rd, the Feast of St Francis Xavier. Though any prayers can be said in honour of the Saint, the foregoing are generally recommended.

From: My Prayerbook, by Fr Lasance
Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons

The 15 Promises of the Most Holy Rosary



 Promises Made by the Blessed Virgin to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan

1. To all those who will recite my Rosary devoutly, I promise my special protection and very great graces.

2. Those who will persevere in the recitation of my Rosary shall receive some signal grace.

3. The Rosary shall be a very powerful armor against hell; it shall destroy vice, deliver from sin, and shall dispel heresy.

4. The Rosary shall make virtue and good works flourish, and shall obtain for souls the most abundant divine mercies; it shall substitute in hearts love of God for love of the world, elevate them to desire heavenly and eternal goods. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means!

5. Those who trust themselves to me through the Rosary, shall not perish.

6. Those who will recite my Rosary piously, considering its Mysteries, shall not be overwhelmed by misfortune nor die a bad death. The sinner shall be converted; the just shall grow in grace and become worthy of eternal life.

7. Those truly devoted to my Rosary shall not die without the consolations of the Church, or without grace.

8. Those who will recite my Rosary shall find during their life and at their death the light 
of God, the fullness of His grace, and shall share in the merits of the blessed.

9. I will deliver very promptly from purgatory the souls devoted to my Rosary.

10. The true children of my Rosary shall enjoy great glory in heaven.

11. What you ask through my Rosary, you shall obtain.

12. Those who propagate my Rosary shall obtain through me aid in all their necessities.

13. I have obtained from my Son that all the confreres of the Rosary shall have for their brethren in life and death the saints of heaven.

14. Those who recite my Rosary faithfully are all my beloved children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.

15. Devotion to my Rosary is a special sign of predestination.

Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Holy Face Promises Made to Sr. Marie of St.Peter


Holy Face Promises of Our Lord to Sr. Marie of St. Peter

(1) By offering My Face to My Eternal Father, nothing will be refused, and the conversion of many sinners will be obtained.

(2) By My Holy Face, they will work wonders, appease the anger of God and draw down mercy on sinners.

(3) All those who honor My Face in a spirit of reparation will by so doing perform the office of the pious Veronica.

(4) According to the care they take in making reparation to My Face disfigured by blasphemers, so will I take care of their souls which have been disfigured by sin. My Face is the Seal of the Divinity, which has the virtue of reproducing in souls the image of God.

(5) Those who by words, prayers or writings defend My cause in the Work of Reparation, especially My priests, I will defend before My Father, and will give them My Kingdom.

(6) As in a kingdom they can procure all that is desired with a coin stamped with the King's effigy, so in the Kingdom of Heaven they will obtain all they desire with the precious coin of My Holy Face.

(7) Those who on earth contemplate the wounds of My Face shall in Heaven behold it radiant with glory.

(8) They will receive in their souls a bright and constant irradiation of My Divinity, that by their likeness to My Face they shall shine with particular splendor in Heaven.

(9) I will defend them, I will preserve them and I assure them of Final Perseverance. 

Image Credit 
Waiting for the Word

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Prayer to Jesus Suffering


Prayer to Jesus Suffering

(Our Lord said to St. Mechtilde: "Behold, I make over to thee all the bitterness of My Passion, that thou mayest offer it to Me again as though it were thine own possession. And whoever shall do this, shall receive double at my hand, and whenever he renews this offering he shall surely receive the double; and this is that hundredfold which a man receives in this life, and in the world to come, life everlasting.") 

O most gracious Jesus, Redeemer and Saviour of the whole human race, I recall to Thy mind with gratitude and love all the sorrow and anxiety which Thou, my Creator and my God, didst feel in Thine agony, when Thou didst pray yet longer, and didst bedew the earth with the sweat of Blood, wrung from Thee by Thine exceeding anguish, desire and love, beseeching Thee by all and each of those most sacred drops, all which I here offer Thee with devout affection, that Thou wouldst wash away all the stains of my sins. I recall to Thy mind Thy being unjustly bound with heavy chains, Thy innumerable stripes and blows, and all the contumely and the blasphemy wherewith Thou wast assailed, when all proclaimed Thee a deceiver of the people; when Thou wast falsely accused before Pilate, ignominiously mocked by Herod, and set aside for an impious robber; and when all the whole multitude clamorously demanded that Thou shouldst be crucified. All this Thou didst endure with such love and such patience that although Thou couldst by one look have appalled Thine adversaries, and with one word convicted the false witnesses against Thee, yet Thou didst submit to be led like a sheep to the slaughter, and stand before Thy judge with Thy head bowed in humility, Thine eyes fixed on the ground, not once opening Thy mouth to speak one word of complaint at the lying accusations brought against Thee. Wherefore I give Thee thanks on behalf of all mankind, and offer Thee all the outrages and insults heaped on Thee, in satisfaction for all the insults I have offered Thee by my sins. I give Thee thanks also and I recall to Thy mind Thy most cruel and excessive scourging, wherewith Thy whole body was so gashed and torn, that from the sole of Thy foot to the top of Thy head there was no soundness in Thee. I set forth now before Thee, likewise, that intolerable anguish Thou didst feel when the crown of thorns was so harshly forced upon Thy kingly head, when the sharp thorns pierced Thy head and Thy brow, and were thrust into Thy brain, and Thy most gentle loving face, into which the Angels desire to look, was covered with slow trickling drops of Thy roseate Blood. O most pitiful Jesus, I now recall to Thy mind, the unutterable anguish which thrilled through Thy whole Body, when Thou wast fastened to the Cross with iron nails, when Thou wast lifted up on high on Thy cross, and blasphemed by the Jews, mocked in Thy thirst with vinegar and gall, and hung up between two robbers, as the refuse and off-scouring of all creatures. Lastly, O most gracious Jesus, I recall to Thy mind with gratitude and compassion all and each of the sorrows Thou didst feel throughout Thy whole most sacred Body and especially in Thy sweetest Heart, by reason of Thy foreknowledge that Thy most bitter, most shameful, most guiltless Passion would be of no avail to so many; and when Thy deified Heart itself broke with excessive love and grief, and Thy most holy soul quitted Thy blessed Body with an inconceivable pang! For all these, Thy sorrows, I give Thee infinite thanks; and through Thy sweetest Heart, in the power of the Holy Spirit, in behalf of, and with the love of all creatures, I offer Thee all Thy grief, and pain, and torment of Body and soul, throughout all the time of Thy Passion, for all the sins I have committed, for all the good I have left undone or done negligently, and to turn away all the punishment I have so justly deserved. Do Thou now vouchsafe to ratify and accept this my oblation and to absolve me from all my sins. Amen. 

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the adorable wounded Face of Jesus, through the intercession of Little Theresa, to obtain my request.


Image Credit Waiting for the Word

Promises of Our Lord for those who are Devoted to His Wounds


Promises of Our Lord for those who are Devoted to His Wounds

Heavenly Promises...

At each word that you pronounce of the Chaplet of the Holy Wounds, I allow a drop of My Blood to fall upon the soul of a sinner.

Each time that you offer to My Father the merits of My divine Wounds, you win an immense fortune.

Souls that will have contemplated and honored My crown of thorns on earth, will be My crown of glory in Heaven!

I will grant all that is asked of Me through the invocation of My Holy Wounds.

You will obtain everything, because it is through the merit of My Blood, which is of infinite price.  With My Wounds and My Divine Heart, everything can be obtained.

From My Wounds proceed fruits of sanctity.  As gold purified in the crucible becomes more beautiful, so you must put your soul and those of your companions into My sacred Wounds; there they will become perfected as gold in the furnace.  You can always purify yourself in My Wounds.

My Wounds will repair yours. My Wounds will cover all your faults.  Those who honor them will have a true knowledge of Jesus Christ.  In meditation on them, you will always find a new love. My wounds will cover all your sins.

Plunge your actions into My Wounds and they will be of value. All your actions, even the least, soaked in My Blood, will acquire by this alone an infinite merit and will please My Heart.

In offering My Wounds for the conversion of sinners, even though the sinners are not converted, you will have the same merit before God as if they were.

When you have some trouble, something to suffer, quickly place it in My Wounds, and the pain will be alleviated.

This aspiration must often be repeated near the sick: "My Jesus, pardon and mercy through the merits of Your Holy Wounds!"  This prayer will solace soul and body.

A sinner who will say the following prayer will obtain conversion: "Eternal Father, I offer You the Wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ to heal those of our souls."

There will be no death for the soul that expires in My Holy Wounds; they give true life.

This chaplet is a counterpoise to My justice; it restrains My vengeance.

Those who pray with humility and who meditate on My Passion, will one day participate in the glory of My divine Wounds.

The more you will have contemplated My painful Wounds on this earth, the higher will be your contemplation of them glorious in Heaven.

The soul who during life has honored the Wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ and has offered them to the Eternal Father for the Souls in Purgatory, will be accompanied at the moment of death by the Holy Virgin and the angels; and Our Lord on the Cross, all brilliant in glory, will receive her and crown her.

The invocations of the Holy Wounds will obtain an incessant victory for the Church.

How to Say the Chaplet of the Most Holy Wounds

Image Credit Waiting for the Word

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Salutations of the Wounds of Jesus Christ


Salutations of the Wounds of Jesus Christ

When St. Gertrude had recited this prayer 5,466 times, in honor of all the Wounds of our Lord Jesus, He appeared to her in vision, having on each Wound a rose flashing with a golden splendor, and greeted her tenderly, saying: "Behold, I will appear to thee, in this refulgent form at the hour of thy death, and I will cover all thy sins, and adorn thee with a glory, like that with which thou hast adorned My Wounds by thy salutations; and all who use this or any similar devotion shall receive the like favor." In order to make up this number, and become a partaker of this promise of Christ, you may say the following prayer five times a day for three years, adding the oblation, which our Lord directed to Saint Mechtilde to repeat after each division of five. 

SALUTATIONS

Glory be to Thee, most gracious, sweetest, most benign, sovereign, transcending, effulgent, and ever peaceful Trinity, for the roseate Wounds of Jesus Christ, my chosen and only love. 

OBLATION 

(To be said alter each five repetitions.) 
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, accept this prayer, with that surpassing love, with which Thou didst endure all the Wounds of Thy most Holy Body. Have mercy on me, and on all sinners, and on all the Faithful, living and departed. Grant them grace and mercy, remission of sins and everlasting life. Amen. 

Image Credit Waiting for the Word

Saint Gertrude's Purgatory Prayer



Saint Gertrude's Purgatory Prayer

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

Our Lord told St. Gertrude the Great, that the following prayer would release 1,000 souls from Purgatory each time it is said. The prayer was extended to include living sinners which would alleviate the indebtedness accrued to them during their lives.


Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons

The Three Hail Marys


The Three Hail Marys In Honor of the Three Great Privileges

This devotion promoted by St. Anthony of Padua, St. Leonard of Port-Maurice 
and St. Alphonsus de Liguori

Said Morning and Evening...

(1) "The First Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Father, whose omnipotence raised my soul so high above every other creature, that, after God, I have the greatest power in Heaven and on earth. Promise: In the hour of your death I will use that power of God the Father to keep any hostile power from you."

(2) "The Second Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Son, who communicated His inscrutable wisdom to me... Promise: In the hour of your death I will fill your soul with the light of that wisdom so that all the darkness of ignorance and error will be dispelled."

(3) "The Third Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Holy Ghost, who filled my soul with the sweetness of His love and tenderness and mercy. Promise: In your last hour I will then change the bitterness of death into divine sweetness and delight."

Recommended after each Hail Mary: By thy Pure and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, make my body pure and my soul holy.  

With this invocation at the end: for the morning: "O my Mother, preserve me from mortal sin during this day," for the evening: "O my Mother, preserve me from mortal sin during this night."

PROMISE: During an apparition to St. Gertrude, the Blessed Mother promised: 
"To any souls who faithfully prays the Three Hail Marys, I will appear at the hour of death in a spendor of beauty so extraordinary that it will fill the souls with heavenly consolation."

PRACTICE OF ST. LEONARD: St. Leonard often preached the devotion of the Three Hail Marys morning and evening in honor of Mary Immaculate, to obtain the grace of avoiding all mortal sin during the day or night. He assured his listeners: “Those who remain persistently faithful to this pious practice will most certainly receive the grace of eternal salvation.”

PRACTICE OF ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI: The Saint suggested that the Three Hail Marys be said kneeling and that this ejaculation should be recited after each Hail Mary: “By thy pure and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, make my body pure and my soul holy.”

The devotion of the Three Hail Marys was also promoted by Fr. John Baptist of Blois, who founded the Confraternity of the Three Hail Marys. Pope Leo XIII granted an indulgence to those who practiced the devotion and Pope Benedict XV raised the Confraternity to the rank of an Archconfraternity.

Image Credit 
Waiting for the Word

Sunday, June 16, 2013

The Miraculous Medal



“O Mary conceived without sin, 
pray for us who have recourse to Thee.”

Remember Our Lady’s Promises:

† “Those who repeat this prayer with great devotion will be in a special manner under the protection of the Mother of God.”

† “All those who wear it (the medal of the Immaculate Conception), when it is blessed, will receive great graces, especially

The First Apparition

During the night of July 19, Catherine was awakened from her sleep by a beautiful child. The child spoke, “Sister Labouré, come to the chapel. The Blessed Virgin is waiting for you.” Catherine entered the chapel, knelt down at the communion rail, and prayed. A short while later, the Blessed Virgin appeared and spoke to Catherine: “God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will have the protection of God and St. Vincent (de Paul). I will always have my eyes upon you.” Then, the Blessed Virgin departed.

The Second Apparition

On November 27, the Blessed Virgin appeared, standing upon a globe, crushing the head of a serpent with her feet. Rays of light streamed from her hands.  The rays represent, as Our Lady would later tell St. Catherine, “the graces that the Blessed Virgin obtains for those who ask them of her.” Surrounding the image of Our Lady were the words “O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee.”

The Blessed Virgin told Catherine, “Those who repeat this prayer with great devotion will be in a special manner under the protection of the Mother of God.” She then instructed Catherine: “Have a medal struck upon this model. All those who wear it, when it is blessed, will receive great graces, especially if they wear it around the neck.”

The Medal of the Immaculate Conception After a thorough investigation as to the authenticity of St. Catherine’s visions, the Church approved the making of The Medal of the Immaculate Conception. The first medals were distributed in 1832.

The Back of the medal

The cross symbolizes Christ; the “M” stands for Mary, who stood beneath the Cross, as her Son was crucified. The two hearts represent the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary. The twelve stars recall the vision of St. John: And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars (Apocalypse 12:1).

Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons

The Five First Saturdays Devotion

 

The Five First Saturdays Devotion

“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 no one to make an act of reparation to remove them.” - The Child Jesusto Sr. Lucy, Dec. 10, 1925

The Promises 
1. The Virgin Mary's assistance at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation.
2. Establishing devotion to the Immaculate Heart willresult in the salvation ofsouls and peace.

Why Five Saturdays?
First of all, Saturday has traditionally been set aside as a day to honor Mary. For, on the first Holy Saturday — between the day of Jesus’ Crucifixion and that of his Resurrection — she alone remained steadfast in her Faith that Jesus would rise again as He said. Beyond this, Sr. Lucy relatesthe reason forfive: 

When I was in the chapel with Our Lord part of the night of May 29-30, 1930, and I spoke to Our Lord about this question, I suddenly felt myself more intimately possessed by the Divine Presence and, if I am not mistaken, this is what was revealed to me: “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 to, or scorn or even hatred of this Immaculate Mother.
(5) The offenses of those who outrage her directly in her holy images.”

Requirements On the 1st Saturdays of 5 consecutive months:

1. Make a good Confession (This can be made within 8 days before or afterthe first Saturday).

2. Receive Holy Communion (Regarding the difficulty thatsome could meet in fulfilling this
requirement on Saturday, Our Lord told Sr. Lucy: “The practice of this devotion will be
equally acceptable on the Sunday following the first Saturday when my priests, for a just cause, allow the faithful”).

3. Pray 5 decades the Holy Rosary.          

4. Keep Our Lady company for 15 minutes while meditating on the 15 mysteries of the Holy Rosary. This is to be done separately from the Rosary using one,several or all of the mysteries.

5. The above 4 requirements must all be done with the intention of making reparation to
the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Thus our purpose is to console and compassionate the 
Immaculate Heart for the offenses she receives by those who ungratefully reject her maternal intervention and despise her prerogatives.

For a complete account of the message of Fatima, visit: fatima.org.