First Saturday
GERMAN AMERICAN DAY
John,
Chapter 13,
Verse 23
One
of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,
was reclining at Jesus’ side.
Lean on Him!
Can, we
say, “His mercy endures forever!” It is when we have received it (mercy) and have
given it away that we find Him. Everybody needs to forgive somebody.
Forgiveness
will unleash a power in your life that is underrated and often ignored. It is
underrated mainly because it is underused. We fail to capture the power of
forgiveness because we are afraid of it, because we have grown comfortable in
our familiar wounds, or because we are sinfully stubborn. But the power is
there waiting for us.[1]
Allen
R. Hunt outlines there are three parts to forgiveness: 1) Receiving
Forgiveness which involves experiencing God and forgiving yourself. 2) Deciding
to Forgive. 3) Sharing Forgiveness.
1.
Confess and receive Holy Communion
On February 15, 1926
the Child Jesus alone came to visit Sr. Lucia and asked if the devotion to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary was being propagated. Sr. Lucia spoke of a difficulty
some people have in confessing on the first Saturday and asked if they might be
allowed eight days in order to fulfill Our Lady's requests. Jesus answered: "Yes,
even more time still, as long as they receive Me in the state of grace and have
the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary."
2.
Recite the Rosary
Five decades of the
Rosary may be recited at any time or place; yet, since one will be attending
Mass in order to receive Holy Communion, a very desirable time and place would
be before or after Mass in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Meditation on
the mysteries according to one's capacity is an essential condition for praying
the Rosary. Yet, involuntary distractions do not rob the Rosary of fruit if one
is doing the best he can.
3.
"Keep me company for fifteen minutes while
meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary."
The question is often
asked: Does the meditation while reciting the Rosary fulfill this condition, or
is there required an additional
fifteen minutes of meditation? That an additional 15 minutes of
meditation is required was recently confirmed by Sr. Lucia of Fatima. It is
clear too from a statement by the first Bishop of Fatima.
The last entry in the
chronology of Fatima, published in the official Calendar of the Sanctuary for
the year of 1940, and signed by Dom Jose Correia da Silva, the first Bishop of
Fatima, gave a summary of Our Lady's requests concerning the Five First Saturdays.
From that official statement in the Calendar of the Sanctuary, we read the
Bishop's enumeration of the various items that pertain to the devotion of the
five Saturdays:
It consists in going
to Confession, receiving Communion, reciting five decades of the Rosary and
meditating for a quarter of an hour on the mysteries of the Rosary on the first
Saturday of five consecutive months. The Confession may be made during the
eight days preceding or following the first Saturday of each month, provided
that Holy Communion be received in the state of grace. Should one forget to
form the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, it may
be formed at the next Confession, occasion to go to confession being taken at
the first opportunity.
The meditation embraces
one or more mysteries; it may
even include all, taken together or separately, according to individual
attraction or devotion; but it is preferable to meditate on one mystery each month.
Speaking of the
requirement of "keeping me company for fifteen minutes while meditating
on the mysteries of the Rosary," the Bishop's comment that "it
is preferable to meditate on one mystery each month" could apply only
to an extra fifteen minutes, for each decade of the Rosary must have its own
particular meditation. This is clear from the definition of the Rosary given in
the official document of the Church on indulgences, the ENCHIRIDION OF
INDULGENCES published by Pope Paul VI in 1968. It describes the Rosary as
follows:
"The Rosary is a
certain formula of prayer, which is made up of fifteen decades of HAIL MARYS
with an OUR FATHER before each decade, and in which the recitation of each decade is accompanied by pious
meditation on a particular mystery of our Redemption." (n. 48)
* * * * * * * * * *
Like the Rosary, this
meditation may be made any time or place during the first Saturday. Yet again,
like the Rosary, a very fitting time and place would be in the presence of the
Blessed Sacrament before or after Mass. The question has been asked:
"Would an extra Rosary, which would require about fifteen minutes, fulfill
this request? It would seem, if fruitfully meditated, that it would. Or again,
the time could be spent reading
meditatively on one of the fifteen mysteries, which is a form of mental
prayer that involves reading with frequent pauses to reflect on the matter
read.
4.
With the intention of making reparation.
All of the conditions
mentioned above - in numbers 1 to 3 - should be fulfilled with the intention of
making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. On the occasion of the visit
of the Child Jesus to Sr. Lucia (Feb. 16, 1926), she asked: "My Jesus,
what about those who forget to make the intention?" Jesus answered: "They
can do so at their next confession, taking advantage of their first opportunity
to go to Confession."
The above are the
minimum requirements for fulfilling the conditions of Our Lady's promise to
obtain for us "at the hour of death the graces necessary for
salvation." Yet, these Communions of reparation, as has been pointed
out, are only a portion of the devotion of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. These
few pages are meant to help bring about a frame of mind and heart that will
make us aware of the need of reparation all through the month, and not just on
the first Saturday.
WHY FIVE SATURDAYS?
It
is sometimes asked why Our Lady asked for Communions of reparation on five
first Saturdays, instead of some other number. Our Blessed Lord answered that
question when He appeared to Sr. Lucia May 29, 1930. He explained that it was
because of five kinds of offenses and blasphemies against the Immaculate Heart
of Mary, namely: blasphemies against her Immaculate Conception, against her
perpetual virginity, against the divine and spiritual maternity of Mary,
blasphemies involving the rejection and dishonoring of her images, and the
neglect of implanting in the hearts of children a knowledge and love of this
Immaculate Mother.
German-American Day Facts &
Quotes
·
The
current population of Germantown, PA is 26,563 inhabitants.
·
Wisconsin,
Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa are now home to the
largest number of German descendants in the US.
·
After
the Second World War, around 375,000 Germans immigrated to the US. In the 50s
and 60s alone, around 786,000 Germans immigrated to the US.
·
Albert
Einstein was a German immigrant, a Jew who opted to remain in the US when the
Nazi party came to power in 1933.
·
The world will not be destroyed by
those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything. - Albert Einstein
German-American Day Top Events and
Things to Do
·
Read
some popular stories by German writers including Hansel and Gretel, The
Trial and The Man Without Qualities.
·
Spend
some time learning more about the religious oppression in Germany in 1683 in
order to further understand why the founding 13 families fled the country and
arrived in Philadelphia.
·
Enjoy
a glass of mulled wine. It is a common drink found at Christmas markets all
through Germany.
·
Enjoy
a German movie. Some of our favorites: Victoria (2015), Land of Mine
(2015) and Downfall (2004).
·
Learn
more about the Nazi Regime from WW2 in order to better understand how the
population of German-Americans grew so quickly around that time.
"Read
these counsels slowly. Pause to meditate on these thoughts. They are things
that I whisper in your ear-confiding them-as a friend, as a brother, as a
father. And they are being heard by God. I won't tell you anything new. I will
only stir your memory, so that some thought will arise and strike you; and so
you will better your life and set out along ways of prayer and of Love. And in
the end you will be a more worthy soul."
89. Don't tell Jesus that you
want consolation in prayer. If he gives it to you, thank him. Tell him always
that you want perseverance.
Daily Devotions
·
Total
Consecration
Day 25
·
Stations of the
Cross: Thursday before First Friday Devotion
[1] Allen R. Hunt, Everybody needs to forgive
somebody.
[4]http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way-point-1.htm
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