Today, we start our commemoration of the first Saturday devotion of Our Lady of Fatima, which was conveyed to Lucia, one of the Fatima visionaries, on December 10, 1925 when she was a postulant sister at the Dorothean convent in Tuy, Spain, when the Blessed Mother appeared with the child Jesus. This message states that Lucia is to make known that Mary will assist us at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all who on the First Saturday of five consecutive months confess their sins, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep the Blessed Mother company for fifteen minutes meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, with the purpose of making reparation to her Immaculate Heart.
Jesus stated in an appearance to Lucia in May 29,1930 that five Saturdays were chosen because there are five kinds of offenses and blasphemies that are made against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, namely: (1) blasphemies against her Immaculate Conception, (2) against her perpetual virginity, (3) against the divine and spiritual maternity of Mary, (4) the rejection and dishonoring of her images, and (5) the neglect of implanting in the hearts of children a knowledge and love of the Immaculate Mother. We are very glad to be able to honor the five first Saturday devotion again this year.
Our psalm states: “All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.” The power of God is reflected in the holy name of Jesus, the feast that we celebrate today, January 3. Reverence for the Holy Name of Jesus arose in the apostolic era. St Paul in his Letter to the Philippians wrote, “So that at Jesus’ name every knee must bend in the heavens, on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue proclaim to the glory of God the Father: Jesus Christ is Lord” (2:10-11). Just as a name gives identity to a person and reflects a person’s life, Jesus’ name reminds us of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for us. This feast day in January for the Holy Name of Jesus dates back to the 15th century. In invoking Jesus’ name with reverence and faith, we are to turn to him with our hearts to implore his assistance: to invoke his help in spiritual trials, to help us resist temptation, and to receive God's grace and blessings in the midst of our journey of faith.
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