Back-to-Back Feasts of the Two Hearts!

Today, Friday, is the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus…and tomorrow, Saturday, is the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Sacred Heart is both a new and old feast and the Immaculate Heart is new. Holy Church calls us to honor our Two Hearts together at this time. Please note, today is a Solemnity.

What a wonderful weekend in the Church, though we must see everything from now on through the veil of our tears, to interpret it all through the lens of the present chastisement. These Two Great Loves have been forsaken.

“Behold this Heart, which, notwithstanding the burning love for man with which it is consumed and exhausted, meets with no other return from the generality of Christians than sacrilege, contempt, indifference and ingratitude.”

The above words were given to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in the year 1690, along with the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Let us strive to make reparation today and always, to His most loving Heart, for all the offenses against It in our own times, even within the Church. Of course, the internet is rife with devotions to the Sacred Heart-no problem finding ideas! Litanies are so beautiful to pray with your family. Here is the Litany of the Sacred Heart (and also the Litany of the Immaculate Heart).

From The Daily Missal:

“The Feast of the Sacred Heart was established in order that the faithful might honour with more devotion and zeal, under the symbol of the Sacred Heart, the love of Jesus Christ, which induced Him not only to suffer and to die for the redemption of mankind, but also to institute the Sacrament of His Body and Blood in commemoration of His death.”

From the trad Mass:

O God, who in the Heart of Thy Son, wounded by our sins, dost mercifully bestow on us infinite treasures of Love: grant, we beseech Thee, that whilst we render It the devout homage of our affection, we may also fulfill our duty of worthy satisfaction.

Alleluia, alleluia. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. Alleluia.

Come to me, all you that labour and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Alleluia.

As a member of the World Apostolate of Fatima (otherwise known as the Blue Army), one is to recite the following prayer every morning, which invokes the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

Fatima Morning Offering

O my God in union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Jesus from all the altars throughout the world, joining with It the offering of my every thought, word and action of this day. O my Jesus, I desire today to gain every indulgence and merit I can, and I offer them together with myself, to Mary Immaculate, that she may best apply them to the interests of Thy Most Sacred Heart. Precious Blood of Jesus, save us! Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us! Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

The Five First Saturdays are a devotion given to us by Our Lady of Fatima, for reparation to her Immaculate Heart. Please see First Saturdays At Home-Never More Important! Please also consider performing our June Fatima Family Holy Hour for the Church today (scroll down). Contact us above to let us know how your family enjoyed it!

If you are from FishEaters Forum, the canon lawyer agreed with me about my prayers being fine to publish on this blog and also the issue regarding private/public prayer-contact me for her response and please consider defending me from the harassment I received-my sincere thanks.

Image courtesy http://amazingcatechists.com

First Saturdays At Home-Never More Important!

The observance of the Five First Saturdays are one of the requests of Our Lady of Fatima, to obtain reparation to her Immaculate Heart. As humanity is now engulfed in a difficult and confusing situation, there has never been a more important time to respect this request of Our Blessed Mother. We know not how this will ultimately play out. We much beseech God’s mercy. Trust. Be at peace. But take this as a serious warning. Public masses are shut down. Even confession is gone in some places, which was previously unthinkable. Our Blessed Lord said:

“Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are to come, and to stand before the Son of man.”

Luke 21:36

So we, as Children of God, are at peace.

Normally the First Saturdays are observed in church. Since many are now at home, we can still fulfill this request to the best of our ability. I am sure our dear Mother will accept this. She has requested they be observed for 5 months in a row, but it is not a bad idea to perform them perpetually. Following are the activities (and the substitutions where applicable), based on the World Apostolate of Fatima’s recommendations. This is all done with the intention of making reparation to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart and what a wonderful devotion to do with your family at home during this time!

1) Receive the Sacrament of Penance. At home: Make an intention to receive the sacrament as soon as possible. I might add, to say an Act of Contrition, trying to be sorry for the Love of God (perfect contrition), not just the fear of punishment.

2) Receive Holy Communion. At home: Make a Spiritual Act of Communion (see link below for help with this).

3) Recite the Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary (some say the Sorrowful Mysteries during Lent).

4) Meditate on the Mysteries of the Rosary for 15 minutes with Our Blessed Mother. If you are unaccustomed to this devotion, this may be the most challenging aspect for you. Here are some tips: Place yourself in Our Lady’s presence (a picture or statue is very helpful). Ask her to enlighten you further on the Mysteries you just contemplated in the Rosary (I suppose you could contemplate other Mysteries as well). Let your thoughts drift. Imagine the Mysteries visually. Don’t try, just let the inspirations come to you. And they will! As you perform this exercise more, it will get easier. Your relationship with Our Mother will grow and eventually it will no longer be an “exercise,” but an intimate and wonderful conversation!

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Today is a traditional feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady. Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us!

Please see the World Apostolate of Fatima’s page addressing the First Saturdays during this time. Lots of great info:

https://www.bluearmy.com/first-saturday-devotion/