At Fatima, Mary gave many messages to the three children. These messages were particularly concerned with asking for prayer, penance and repentance. One of the requests was that people receive communion and pray, particularly on the First Saturday of each month. Saturday has traditionally been devoted to Mary. A few years later, Mary appeared again to Sr. Lucia and gave her the outline for the so-called five first Saturday devotion.
1. Receive communion
2. Go to confession
3. Pray the rosary
4. Meditate for fifteen minutes on the mysteries of the rosary.
These four tasks are to be completed for five consecutive first Saturdays. She said that those who faithfully fulfill this request will receive many graces, particularly on their deathbed. They will be given the necessary graces to reach Heaven and resist the final temptations. Of course, people need to be careful not to view this promise superstitiously. Mary, or even God, can never guarantee that a person will reach Heaven. Since every person has free will, it is ultimately up to them whether they choose God and Heaven or to reject God and go to Hell. Even those who devoutly fulfill the five first Saturdays still have the capacity, as does every human being, of rejecting God for eternity. However, we can be assured that those who do complete this devotion faithfully will receive abundant graces now and in the future, and that God will not abandon those who demonstrate their great love for Him and His mother.
