1st Saturdays & Sundays

At Fatima, Portugal, in A.D. 1917, our Blessed Lady, asked us to go to Confession, go to Holy Mass (and then again on Sunday), to pray five decades of The Most Holy Rosary, and meditate for 15 minutes on all 15 of the Mysteries of The Most Holy Rosary — the 15 most important Moments or Events in Jesus Christ’s Life here on earth.  She then asked that we offer all of this up to God in reparation for all of the sins committed against Her Immaculate Heart, which is united to our Lord Jesus’ Most Sacred Heart.  Our Most Blessed Lady asked us to do this on the First Saturday of each month, for 5 months in a row.  (This is not done to gain a Plenary Indulgence, so one cannot go to Confession 7 days before/after the First Saturday, as many believe.  The only reason Lucia gave for not going to Confession on First Saturday is if “it were a hardship”.  I believe that that would mean that it was basically impossible, due to circumstances beyond our control, to get to Confession on First Saturday.  God knows our circumstances.  In that case, I would get to Confession ASAP and offer it to our Lord to fulfill the requirements for First Saturday.  Sometimes, one can go 20 minutes or so before Holy Mass to a Priest and ask to make a short Confession or even, if one is in a state of grace, to ask a Priest to go to Confession directly after Holy Mass.  Be considerate.)  It is a very good thing to do each month, as it helps us to observe well the First Sunday of the month, which sets the tone for the whole month. 

Sunday is God’s Day, the First Day of the week, and He Is very Jealous of it.  He rested on that day, even though, as God, He did not need to do so.  He did so as an example to us.  It is a day set apart for prayer, acts of charity, rest and even recreation.

We should go to Holy Mass on Sunday (Saturday evening only for when we know that we will be traveling or unable to get to church on Sunday).  We should refrain from doing work around the house, from doing work for money (unless we would get fired for not working on Sunday), and, as much as we can, refrain from encouraging other people to work on Sunday:  we should avoid eating out, going to movies, going to museums, shopping, even for food, unless it is an emergency.  We can do anything on Sunday if it is truly an emergency.  When we do this, we show that we consider Sunday to be sacred — consecrated to God — and different from the rest of the week.

We should pray besides going to Holy Mass, which is, through The Most Holy Eucharist, “The Source and Summit” of our lives.  We should pray together as a family — such as pray The Most Holy Rosary together, read the Bible for half an hour, together, read from a book on the Saints or the Catchism or Divine Intimacy, or another good, spiritual book.  As our Lord requested through St. Faustina, we should make The Way of The Cross, during the Hour of Great Mercy — 3:00 p.m. — and we could pray The Chaplet of Divine Mercy during that time, as well, for ourselves, our intentions, our country, the world, etc.

We should do acts of charity, such as visiting relatives, especially parents and grandparents on that day, and very especially if they are ill or in nursing homes, hospitals, etc.  If we have no relatives in these places, we could visit those, who have no one to visit them; we could visit a prisoner in prison or in jail; we could help a person or a family in need with a donation of food or clothing or money, etc.  Without acts of charity and mercy towards those in need and those, who are our enemies, we will not be able to reach Heaven.  This is shown very clearly where our Lord said:

(Gospel of St. Matthew):  [41] “Then He shall say to them also that shall be on His Left Hand:  ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. [42] For I was hungry, and you gave Me not to eat:  I was thirsty, and you gave Me not to drink. [43] I was a stranger, and you took Me not in:  naked, and you covered Me not:  sick and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ [44] Then they also shall answer Him, saying:  ‘Lord, when did we see Thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to Thee?’ [45] Then He shall answer them, saying:  ‘Amen I say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to Me.’ ”  [46] And these shall go into everlasting punishment:  but the just, into life everlasting.”  (Douay-Rheims Bible)

If we have time, after our prayer and acts of charity, we can rest.  If we abstain from television, radio, the Internet, and, of course, from electronic games such as X‑box, we can begin to lessen, and, hopefully, end our addictions to these pastimes, which make us waste a great deal of time, which is so precious.  We should remember that earth is our testing ground and that we should measure the worth of any television show, radio program, electronic game, etc., in how it helps us to become closer to God and being a tough soldier of God — a Saint — or whether it does the opposite.  We are at war here on earth, whether we realize it or not.  We are hopefully fighting the good fight against the world (materialistic tempations), our flesh (passions including pride, anger, envy, lust, , and the devil (whose main goal is to steal as many Souls from God, as possible), with God’s Help, so that we can do what is right instead of what is easy, so that we can reach Heaven when we die.

It is NOT ideally a day to spend at a football game, which lasts longer than a Holy Mass, or watching a football game, which lasts so long, either — it is GOD’S DAY!

Since God made us for Him and not for ourselves or others, our relationship with Him is paramount. The First Three Commandments, which concern God, were placed on one Tablet, and the other Seven Commandments, which concern our relationship with others, were placed on the second Tablet.  If we do not keep well the Commandments, which concern God, we will not be able to keep the other Commandments well, which will mean that we will not live well or die well.

How we spend God’s Day, each week, affects the rest of the week. If we spend it well, in His Honor, He will bless us the rest of the week.  If we spend it badly, the rest of the week will go badly.  This is why First Saturdays are so important.  We are preparing to observe the First Sunday of the month, well, through our Confessions, Holy Mass, praying in honor of our Most Blessed Lady, meditating on the whole Life of our Lord all at once, instead of just part of It, etc.

Nurses, doctors, policemen, firemen, and other necessary personnel, who worked on Sunday, used to have to go to a Priest every three months, I believe, to get dispensation to work on Sunday.  This is not required any more, but I firmly believe that if these necessary personnel, mainly emergency personnel, donated their time on Sunday instead of getting paid for it, that The Lord would reward their donation in His Honor, greatly, and would even cut down on the need for their services on His Day.  Since I learned the importance of keeping our Lord’s Day holy, I have turned down jobs, which would require me to work on that day, and The Lord has provided well for me.

If we do not take back Sunday, one by one, family by family, we will never be able to change our world.  If you read the account of the approved La Salette Apparition, our Most Blessed Lady said, very sorrowfully, that if the very poor farmers in that area of France did not stop working on Sunday and did not stop taking Her Son’s Name in vain, that the children under seven would die, and the crops would turn to dust.  Of course, the children, who received the Message, were not believed, at first, and the children under seven died, and the crops turned to dust. (If a child has been baptized, he has become a Child of God, and he is not held accountable for sin until he reaches the age of reason — seven years old.  If the child dies before the age of seven, he will normally go straight to Heaven.) This is an example of how seriously our Lord takes Sunday.

This is an account told by a former Marine, who lived in Columbus, Ohio, in the ghetto, and it illustrates the importance of keeping Sunday holy.  He was a black American, and he was driving through the deep South on Sunday.  He had mag wheels, each of which cost approximately $250, and, as he drove through a small town, he ran over something, which caused all of his tires to go flat.  There was only one gas station in the town, and it was closed, because it was Sunday.  He went to it, anyway, and raised the owner (who might have lived above or next to the gas station).  The owner did indeed have the needed mag tires, but he would not sell them to this man, because it was Sunday.  They cost, approximately $1,000.00, altogether.  The gas station owner did decide to GIVE the mag tires to the man, as it was Sunday!  I am quite sure that The Lord blessed this man handsomely for such an act of charity, on His Day.

Here’s hoping that your First Saturday, First Sunday and month go well!

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