Since the advent of Christianity, Saturdays have been specially dedicated to the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. Many pious devotions and meditations have been instituted in Her honor, along with indulgences granted by saintly popes to encourage the faithful to continue and spread these Marian practices. Subsequently, the various apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself to Sr. Lucia (one of the three visionaries of Fatima), further elevated the significance of Saturdays (First Saturdays of every month in particular) in honoring the Immaculate Heart of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary.

 

          We are reminded in this book that devotion to Mary’s Immaculate Heart is a central theme of Fatima. Due to the numerous offenses and injuries to which the Blessed Virgin Mary’s tender heart was subjected to and is constantly being subjected to even at the present moment,  we are called by God through Our Lady to have compassion on Her Sorrowful Heart, to console Her Who has been very much saddened by our sins, as well as to make reparation (amends) to remove those outrageous thorns encircling Her Heart.

 

          The question then is, “How then, can we console and make amends to the Sorrowful Immaculate Heart of Mary and to the Sacred Heart of Jesus?” This book presents a simple and beautiful approach for faithful to make reparation. Counterintuitively, we soon realize that the greatest consolation we can present to the Immaculate Heart of our dear Heavenly Mother would be our inability to do anything else besides sympathizing and suffering with the afflictions of our Beloved Mother Mary. Nothing atones for our prideful sins more than our humble and ardent love and desires to placate the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

 

          Furthermore, this book reveals that one important practice of the First Saturdays Devotion is the reception of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Holy Communion. The Eucharist is the crux of the devotion to Mary’s Immaculate Heart because the God-Man Jesus we receive in Holy Communion was formed in the chaste womb of Mary Immaculate. By expressing our gratitude for the privilege of Holy Communion, we extend our thanksgiving to the Blessed Virgin Mary for being the source of Jesus’ Body and Blood. With Mary Most Holy so intimately and perfectly united with God, the presence of Mary’s Immaculate Heart in our hearts prepares our inner dispositions to worthily receive Her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Additionally, when we contemplate on the purity and spotlessness of Mary Immaculate, our corrupt nature and evil inclinations are made all the more visible and disgusting. Confession then becomes the solution for us wayward sinners to return back to God and restore sanctifying grace in our souls. Moreover, the fifteen-minute meditations on First Saturdays was proposed by the Blessed Virgin Mary Herself in honor of the fifteen mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary. Also essential to the First Saturday devotions is the recitation of the Holy Rosary because its mysteries provide us with what should be the main focus of our lives – God instead of Man, remind us that the narrow path to eternal life consists in embracing the Cross and suffering, as well as reassure us of the eternal reward that awaits us after our earthly life – provided we persevere till the end.

 

          Last but not least, Our Lord Jesus Christ’s revelation to Sr. Lucia enables us to appreciate the significance of the five consecutive First Saturdays to make reparation for the five main offenses against the Blessed Virgin Mary that are clearly explained in this book.