Like many Americans, I carry insurance on a number of different things--some because I'm legally obligated to, and some because I choose to as a matter of risk mitigation. I carry liability insurance for our two cars. I have health and long-term disability insurance through work for myself and my family, and my wife and I both have modest life insurance policies. We carry home insurance on our residence, and I also have an umbrella policy to supplement that as well.
Paying insurance premiums each month seems like a complete racket...until you actually need it. We haven't had to file too many claims, but when we have, the majority of loss was fortunately covered without too much outlay on our part. I consider the premiums a sunk cost, but ones that provide some peace of mind to deal with the uncertainties of life.
When I first started doing the Nine First Friday and Five First Saturday devotions a few years ago, I viewed it as a kind of "spiritual insurance policy." Our Lord and Our Lady made promises to those who observe and propagate these devotions as follows:
12 Promises of the Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary (First Friday Devotion):
I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
I will give peace in their families.
I will console them in all their troubles.
I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.
I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.
Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
Tepid souls shall become fervent.
Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.
I will bless those places wherein the image of my Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.
I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my Heart.
In the excess of the mercy of my heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the First Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my Heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour.
The Promise of Our Lady to Sr. Lucia at Fatima (First Saturday Devotion):
"Behold, my daughter, my Heart encircled with thorns, with which ungrateful men pierce It at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. Give me consolation, you, at least; and make known on my behalf that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all who on the First Saturday of five consecutive months confess their sins, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, with the purpose of making reparation to my Immaculate Heart.”
For reference, the conditions for the First Friday devotion are as follows:
Receive Holy Communion on each of the First Fridays;
The nine first Fridays must be consecutive;
They must be made in honor of and in reparation to His Sacred Heart.
The conditions for the (Five) First Saturday devotion are as follows:
Go to confession;
Receive Holy Communion;
Say five decades of the Rosary;
Keep Our Lady company for 15 minutes, meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary;
Have the intention of making reparation to Our Lady for the offenses listed above.
It can be challenging sometimes for busy families with lots of activities and things to complete the consecutive requirements for these devotions. But it is not onerous, if one prioritizes it. I will sometimes go to noon Mass on campus on Fridays if I can't make the 6pm Latin Mass and benediction at our parish. One time we were traveling all day for vacation on a First Friday and we found a parish offering Mass along our route. I usually go to the 9am Saturday morning, but in a pinch one could do an evening vigil Mass to satisfy the requirement as well. Confession can take place eight days before or after the First Saturday as well, so there is some flexibility as well.
These are the logistical things with regard to these devotions. But what I really want to focus on here is something else entirely: that commitment to these devotions are rooted in the trust of the penitent in God, and that the fruits of the grace bestowed upon the penitent become truly apparent in this spirit of devotion.
Let's begin with the spirit of trust needed for this devotion.
When someone promises something, we consider the trustworthiness of the person making the promise. If we encounter a car salesman who promises we will be satisfied with the purchase of a new car that he is selling, what exactly would we base that trust on? Why should we trust them?
In contrast, for a faith to grow, we must have trust in God and believe that He is worthy of trust. And he is. If we hold back on that trust, we become like St. James says, "a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways" (Ja 1:8). To completely abandon ourselves in trust to Christ--to leave our fathers and mothers, our plows, our homes to follow him--and his promises testifies to the degree of our faith in him. A child-like trust in God is pleasing to Him, a worthy oblation. And we must become, as Christ said, "like children" in order to have this trust. The trust of a child is one who rests without fear in his father's arms and falls asleep at once; who believes his father will follow through on what he says. In essence, that our Father is who Christ says he is.
As to the second part, this trust is related to a belief that if the Lord promises certain graces in this devotion, those graces will, in fact, be given to the devotee. The Lord does not give us a scorpion when we ask for an egg (Lk 11:12), and we judge a tree by its fruit (Mt 7:16).
I can honestly say there were periods in my life in which I felt I would never be free of the shackles of certain sins. To remain in a state of grace for any period of time seemed like a fantasy, an elusive state reserved for saints and people unlike myself. And yet, in large part due to the graces obtained from this devotion, the Lord freed me from one after another habituation and defects that I never thought would have been possible given how mired I was in them. And not only myself, but the grace of peace and consolation in our family has been apparent as well. It's hard to explain or point to one thing or another because the transformation was subtle. But without doubt, we were the recipient of many graces as a family that set us on a firm foundation. I attribute much of this to the First Friday and First Saturday devotion.
There is something else as well--we do not have to fear death, because of these promises of our Lord and our Lady. I trust--as an act of faith--that they will make good on these promises, provided I do my part in this life in co-operation with grace, and that I will not be abandoned to the depths at my hour of death. This is a supreme consolation that also allows us to live life more fully--a life lived in fear is stunted; a life lived free of fear allows one to be bold, to witness, to step out and take chances for the Gospel. It alleviates the anxiety that the prospect of death fills people with, because we know and trust that death has been conquered by Christ. It holds no power over us.
It should not be overlooked that Our Lord and Our Lady do expect something in return from us, and that is that we complete the devotion in a spirit of reparation for offenses against the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart, and in reparation for the ingratitude of men. When we keep Our Lady company, we do so in a spirit of consolation, sharing in her sorrow and providing our small mondicums of comfort to her who suffered so much. In doing so, our own hearts are transformed and more disposed to the fruits of grace promised to us in these devotions.
Our Lord and Our Lady make these promises not because they have to, or because they are compelled to, but because of the overwhelming outpouring of their love and mercy to bring sinners to repentence and their final resting place. One can only be moved to repentance by grace; and yet, repentance itself is a great grace because it reveals to us our natural state. When we believe we stand justified by our works, or by our standing in society, or because we are "good people," we stand deluded. We stand there under the weight of an overwhelming debt we cannot pay and with no recourse. But when we recognize our sinful state and inability to be saved apart from God, we see reality as it really is, and not through a glass darkly (1 Cor 13:12). This is the fruit of grace.
Does our salvation depend on adherence to such devotions, and that those who do not take part in them have no hope of being saved? Of course not. The Lord has mercy on those whom He chooses to (Rom 9:18). His mercy is not bound by the sacraments or by the limitations of time and space either. He is the Lord, and He is sovereign.
We serve a just God, but we also are subject to a merciful One that does not wish anyone to be damned, but to come to repentance and be saved. Because of this, he gives us tangible gifts and graces to assist us in this arduous task, for his yoke is easy and his burden light (Mt 11:28-30). "The Lord delayeth not his promise, as some imagine, but dealeth patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance" (2 Pt 3:9). He does not "set us up for failure," but asks that we trust Him to do for us the impossible--that is, that which is not possible for us on our own.
If you have not done the First Friday and First Saturday devotions, think about it and give it a go. The Lord does not renege on His promises, and you will see the fruits of grace sprout on the vine in due time. He is faithful, worthy to be trusted, and desires that all--including you--be with Him forever in Heaven. He does not leave us orphans.
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