Feast of the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary

Happy Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary! On this day following the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we celebrate the Heart full of love of our Mother, whose Heart is profoundly united to that of her Son.

Our Lady reminds us of her marvelous promise: in the end, her Immaculate Heart will triumph. Over everything. A universal triumph, an irrevocable and unconditional promise.

“Isn’t it true that our greatest happiness is to belong entirely to Jesus and Mary and to love Them exclusively, without reserve? (…) To give Jesus and Mary the consolation of being loved … and that in this exchange of love, They could save many souls.”
—Lúcia dos Santos, seer of Fatima

Let us remember the importance and influence that Jean Eudes had on the life of our dear Catherine of Saint-Augustin, even in her childhood. He spread throughout France a devotion that was particularly dear to him: the devotion to the Heart of Mary. During a mission he preached in Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, his hometown, young Catherine encountered him. His teachings strengthened and deepened the Marian devotion already present in her young heart. Under his influence, she made a Marian consecration and later brought this devotion to New France. This profound connection between these two saints is beautifully united in their shared love for the Heart of Mary.

The Immaculate Heart of our Most Holy Mother suffers from the ingratitude, indifference, and blasphemies committed against it. A key part of the message of Fatima is that God asks us to make reparation for the sins of the world. In 1916, the Angel taught the children of Fatima prayers of reparation and called them to penance. The Holy Virgin also asked for prayers and acts of reparation, and on July 13, 1917, she promised to return with a special request for reparation. She fulfilled this promise in 1929 by appearing to Lúcia dos Santos, then a novice, and giving the following message:

“Look, my daughter, at my heart surrounded by thorns which ungrateful men pierce at every moment with their blasphemies and ingratitude. At least you, try to console me and tell others that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with all the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the First Saturday for five consecutive months, confess, receive Holy Communion, recite the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary to make reparation.”
This is the devotion of the First Saturdays, also called the Act of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

This request continues and is even more necessary today than in 1929. It is also within reach of every Catholic. By fulfilling it, we bring joy to Our Lord, who, like every son, delights when others honor his Mother.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us! Cor Immaculatum Mariae, Ora pro nobis!

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