Pogi's Reflections on First Saturday Devotion

In 1208 St. Dominic was laboring without success to convert souls back to the Faith, our Lady gave him a powerful weapon, that consisted of the Angelic Salutation, a pattern of “mysteries” and how they should be prayed. Her intention for the the Angelic Salutation combined with meditations on the mysteries was that it should be used as a prayer and catechism to teach the true Christian faith. Today, we call this our Rosary.

On December 10, 1925, as the world was turning to dictators and communism, Our Blessed Mother appeared Sister Lucia in Spain. By Our Blessed Mother’s side, elevated on a luminous cloud, was the Child Jesus. The Most Holy Virgin rested one of Her hands on Lucia’s shoulder and showed her a heart encircled by thorns, which She held in Her other hand. Our Lady said: 

“Look My daughter, at My Heart, surrounded by thorns with which ungrateful men pierce Me every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You, try to console Me by announcing in My name that I promise to assist at the moment of death, with all the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the First Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep Me company in prayer for fifteen minutes.

We call our Rosary and devotions, like the one we are about to start “Marian” in nature. We Catholics say we are devoting ourselves to our Blessed Mother. Are we? Or is She devoting Herself to us?

When we pray the Rosary it is in the name of the father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Angelic Salutation gives us a way to call on our Blessed Mother for support when we speak to Our Heavenly Father. “Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with Thee,” is a respectful greeting to to woman in Mary’s time. “Blessed art Thou among women and Blessed is the Fruit of Thy womb, Jesus.” Again, this is a respectful greeting to Mary from Elizabeth because Elizabeth knows about Mary’s pregnancy. “Holy Mary Mother of God,” References to Mary as the “Mother of God” are found throughout the New Testament, not in those words, but the meaning is there. “Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.” When you put it all together, we are using respectful greetings from God and man to ask our Blessed Mother to pray for us – 54 times in our Rosary. In essence, by praying the Rosary and fulfilling Her request of 5 First Saturdays, we are asking Her to devote Herself to us in prayer, now and at the hour of our death.

As you pray your First Saturday devotion, think about our Blessed Mother who through Her devotion to Her Son’s last act on the cross, brings us together with Her in prayer. That last act was when Jesus looked at his Mother and said: “Woman, behold your son.” Then he said to His disciple John, “Behold your mother."

Throughout the Church's history, great theologians, mystics, popes and saints have all viewed John as representing you and me. The last gift Jesus gave humanity before giving every drop of His Sacred Blood was His mother.