Saturday, March 4, 2023


First Saturday

Ember Day 

Genesis, Chapter 42, Verse 35

When they were emptying their sacks, there in each one’s sack was his moneybag! At the sight of their moneybags, they and their father were AFRAID.

 

Why was Jacob (Israel) and Joseph’s brothers afraid? As I pondered this thought it occurred to me that they were afraid because they had no compassion in them. Yes, even Jacob; for was it not Jacob who cheated his brother out of his birthright and stole Esau’s dying blessing from his own father Isaac. These men were hard. Yet, God still loved them and blessed them. Finding the money sacks still in with the grain meant to them that now they would have to pay for the grain with their lives-for nothing is free! This act of compassion from Joseph unsettled them. It upset their world; it toppled their assumptions of the world, and they would never be the same. They were by this simple gesture being asked to radically change. To think in a new way: that is to realize that the dignity and loyalty that men seek; is not a birthright given to the firstborn or something to be gained taken by being the most powerful of men. That dignity and loyalty are the birthright of all persons; however, they can be lost by unbridled selfishness. Wisdom teaches us that in order to retain our dignity and the loyalty of others we must be persons of character and that we must lose our absorption with ourselves to contemplate and develop a sincere love for others.

 

First Saturday[1]

In December of 1925, Our Lady appeared to Sister Lucia, giving her the following guaranty of salvation for those who complete the First Five Saturdays Devotion:

“I promise to assist them at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for the salvation of their souls."

 

Why Five Saturdays?

 

The five first Saturdays correspond to the five kinds of offenses and blasphemies committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

 

1) Blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception

2) Blasphemies against her virginity

3) Blasphemies against her divine maternity, at the same time the refusal to accept her as the Mother of all men

4) Instilling indifference, scorn and even hatred towards this Immaculate Mother in the hearts of children

5) Direct insults against Her sacred images

 

How to complete the Five First Saturdays Devotion: 

 

On the first Saturday of five consecutive months:

 

1. Go to confession.

2. Receive Holy Communion.

3. Say five decades of the Rosary.

4. Keep Our Lady company for 15 minutes, meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary.

5. Have the intention of making reparation to Our Lady for the offenses listed above. 

Saturday in the first week of Lent 

EPISTLE, i. Thess. v. 14-23. 

BRETHREN: We beseech you, rebuke the unquiet, comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient towards all men. See that none render evil for evil to any man: but ever follow that which is good towards each other, and towards all men. Always rejoice. Pray without ceasing. In all things give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you all. Extinguish not the spirit. Despise not prophecies. But prove all things: hold fast that which is good. From all appearance of evil refrain yourselves. And may the Q-od of peace Himself sanctify you in all things: that your whole spirit, and soul, and body, may be preserved blameless in the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Gospel and Prayer, the same as those of to-morrow.

 

EMBER SATURDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT

Station "With St. Peter 

And the Lord hath chosen thee this day

to be His peculiar people (1st lesson) 

It is Ember Saturday. Oremus, flectamus genna! Let us pray, and in spirit kneel at the tomb of St. Peter, the great priest and supreme shepherd of Christ's flock, and let us listen with reverence to the words of his successor Pius XI "On the Priesthood," for on this day, in hundreds of cathedrals, apostolic hands will be laid on young levites, levites "who have chosen the Lord, this day, to be their God, and to walk in His ways and keep His ceremonies, and precepts and judgments, and obey His commands" (epistle). 

"The human race has always felt the need of a priesthood: of men who have the official charge to be mediators between God and humanity, men who should consecrate themselves entirely to this mediation as to the very purpose of their lives; men who are set aside to offer to God public prayers and sacrifices in the name of human society. For human society as such is bound to offer to God public and social worship. It is bound to acknowledge in Him its supreme Lord and first beginning, and to strive towards Him as to its last end, to give Him thanks and to offer Him propitiation. 

"The Apostle of the Gentiles perfectly sums up what may be said of the greatness, the dignity and the duty of the Christian priesthood: 'Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ and the dispensers of the mysteries of God.' The priest is the minister of Christ--an instrument, that is to say, in the hands of the divine Redeemer. He continues the work of the redemption in all its world-embracing universality and divine efficacy, that work which wrought so marvelous a transformation in the world. Thus the priest, as is said with good reason, is indeed 'another Christ'; for in some way, he is himself a continuation of Christ. 'As the Father hath sent Me, I also send you,' is spoken to the priest; and hence the priest, like Christ, continue to give 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will.'" (From the Encyclical Letter of His His Holiness Pope Pius XI.) 

Let us pray, then, for all who in these days will be raised to this high and responsible position "that the God of peace may sanctify them in all things; that their whole spirit, and soul, and body, may be preserved blameless, for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (epistle); that the Lord may make them worthy laborers in His vineyard; that the Holy Spirit may fill them with pentecostal fire and apostolic fortitude for the great work of "incorporating all things in Christ." 

St. Peter, rock of the Church, bearer of the keys of God's kingdom, great priest of Jesus Christ, holy shepherd of His flock, bless those who are about to become fishers of men. 

Prayer Source: Orate Fratres/Worship: A Review Devoted to the Liturgical Apostolate, The Liturgical Press

 

Catechism of the Catholic Church

PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST

SECTION TWO-THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

Chapter 2 “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Article 8-THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT

V. The Use of the social Communications media

2493 Within modern society the communications media play a major role in information, cultural promotion, and formation. This role is increasing, as a result of technological progress, the extent and diversity of the news transmitted, and the influence exercised on public opinion.

2494 The information provided by the media is at the service of the common good. Society has a right to information based on truth, freedom, justice, and solidarity:

The proper exercise of this right demands that the content of the communication be true and - within the limits set by justice and charity - complete. Further, it should be communicated honestly and properly. This means that in the gathering and in the publication of news, the moral law and the legitimate rights and dignity of man should be upheld.

2495 "It is necessary that all members of society meet the demands of justice and charity in this domain. They should help, through the means of social communication, in the formation and diffusion of sound public opinion." Solidarity is a consequence of genuine and right communication and the free circulation of ideas that further knowledge and respect for others.

2496 The means of social communication (especially the mass media) can give rise to a certain passivity among users, making them less than vigilant consumers of what is said or shown. Users should practice moderation and discipline in their approach to the mass media. They will want to form enlightened and correct consciences the more easily to resist unwholesome influences.

2497 By the very nature of their profession, journalists have an obligation to serve the truth and not offend against charity in disseminating information. They should strive to respect, with equal care, the nature of the facts and the limits of critical judgment concerning individuals. They should not stoop to defamation.

2498 "Civil authorities have particular responsibilities in this field because of the common good.... It is for the civil authority ... to defend and safeguard a true and just freedom of information." By promulgating laws and overseeing their application, public authorities should ensure that "public morality and social progress are not gravely endangered" through misuse of the media. Civil authorities should punish any violation of the rights of individuals to their reputation and privacy. They should give timely and reliable reports concerning the general good or respond to the well-founded concerns of the people. Nothing can justify recourse to disinformation for manipulating public opinion through the media. Interventions by public authority should avoid injuring the freedom of individuals or groups.

2499 Moral judgment must condemn the plague of totalitarian states which systematically falsify the truth, exercise political control of opinion through the media, manipulate defendants and witnesses at public trials, and imagine that they secure their tyranny by strangling and repressing everything they consider "thought crimes."

Daily Devotions

·       Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast: An increase of the faithful

·       Saturday Litany of the Hours Invoking the Aid of Mother Mary

·       Total Consecration to St. Joseph Day 18

·       Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

·       Make reparations to the Holy Face

·       Drops of Christ’s Blood

·       Iceman’s 40 devotion

·       Universal Man Plan


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