First Friday and First Saturday: Monthly Invitations to Prayer
Help your parish make more room for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
The First Friday and First Saturday devotions offer Catholics a monthly invitation to grow in love for Jesus and Mary. A parish can support these devotions through the Mass, prayer, and opportunities for Eucharistic Adoration. Adoration gives the faithful time to remain with Christ and can help cultivate a deeper life of prayer.
What are the First Friday Devotions?
The First Friday devotion is associated with devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and traditionally emphasizes receiving Holy Communion on the first Friday of the month, with the intention of making reparation. The devotion is associated with the revelations of Jesus Christ to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the late seventeenth century. [1, 2, 3] Pope Pius XI described the custom of receiving Holy Communion on the first Friday of the month as a devotion that had become widespread in the Church.
The Church recognizes the devotion’s history and spiritual value, including its role in encouraging more frequent reception of the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. A parish Holy Hour or period of hours on the First Friday of the month can give this monthly devotion a shared place of prayer: time to adore Christ, offer prayers of reparation, and respond to the love made visible in the Eucharist.
A parish can mark First Friday by celebrating Mass and inviting parishioners to receive Holy Communion with attention and devotion. Where feasible, the parish can also offer time for confession and a period of Adoration or prayer focused on Christ’s merciful love. The devotion is a response to Christ’s love through faith, sacramental life, and Christian living.
How to Fulfill the First Friday Devotion
The traditional First Friday devotion consists in receiving Holy Communion in a state of grace on the first Friday of nine consecutive months, with devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and an intention of reparation.
- Nine consecutive First Fridays. Receive Holy Communion on the first Friday of the month for nine months in a row without interruption. [1, 2]
- Holy Communion in a State of Grace. Receive Holy Communion worthily on each of the nine First Fridays, ordinarily at Mass. [1, 2]
- Sacramental Confession when needed. If you are conscious of mortal sin, receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before receiving Communion.
- Intention of Reparation. Offer your Holy Communion with the specific intention of honoring the Sacred Heart of Jesus and making reparation for sins and offenses committed against Him. [1, 2, 3]
The “Great Promise”
- Grace of Final Repentance. Jesus promised that those who complete the devotion will not die in His displeasure or without receiving the necessary sacraments.
- Refuge at Death. He assured that His Divine Heart will be their secure refuge at the final moment of life. [1, 2]
The devotion should not be presented as a substitute for ongoing conversion, perseverance, the sacraments, and a life of faith.
Welcome the First Saturday, too
The First Saturday devotion is associated with devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the practice of the First Five Saturdays. It includes receiving Holy Communion on five consecutive First Saturdays, together with confession, the Rosary and a separate fifteen-minute meditation. In a parish these devotions can be observed through the Mass and other suitable opportunities for prayer, with Eucharistic Adoration offered as a way to deepen the faithful’s time with Christ. Devotion to Mary’s Immaculate Heart became widespread after the apparitions at Fatima in 1917.
How to Fulfill the Five First Saturdays Devotion
- Sacramental Confession: Receive the sacrament of Reconciliation with the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the First Saturday or if necessary, within eight days before or after it. (If it cannot be made within that period, accounts of Sister Lucia’s clarification allow Confession to be made even beyond that period when necessary, provided the person is in a state of grace when receiving Communion and intends to make reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.) [1, 2, 3, 4]
- Holy Communion: Receive Holy Communion worthily with the intention of making reparation. [1, 2, 3]
- Five Decades of the Rosary: Pray five decades of the Rosary with that intention. [1, 2, 3]
- Fifteen-Minute Meditation: Keep Our Lady company for 15 minutes by meditating on one or more of the mysteries of the Rosary. This meditation is separate from and in addition to praying the five decades of the Rosary. [1, 2, 3]
The Promise
According to the revelations, Our Lady promised to assist at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for salvation to those who faithfully practice this devotion for five consecutive months. The devotion should not be presented as a substitute for ongoing conversion, perseverance, the sacraments, and a life of faith.
The Five Offenses Against the Immaculate Heart of Mary
- Blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception. This involves denying or mocking the dogma that Mary was conceived without original sin through the singular grace of God. [1, 2]
- Blasphemies against her Perpetual Virginity. This is the rejection of the Church’s teaching that Mary remained a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Jesus. [1, 2]
- Blasphemies against her Divine Maternity. This includes denying Mary’s title as the Mother of God and refusing to recognize her spiritual role as the Mother of all humanity. [1, 2]
- Instilling hostility in children. This offense is committed by those who publicly try to plant indifference, scorn, or hatred toward the Immaculate Mother in the hearts of children. [1]
- Outraging her holy images. This refers to acts of vandalism, desecration, or direct insults aimed at statues, icons, and sacred depictions of the Virgin Mary. [1, 2]
How can a parish observe these days?
A parish can begin simply, with a clear monthly invitation and a schedule that people can remember. For example, the parish might celebrate Mass on the First Friday and First Saturday, provide a suitable opportunity for confession, and offer a period of prayer before or after Mass. Parishes should invite people to continue participating after completing the nine-month devotion. Regular opportunities for Adoration can help sustain that ongoing participation.
A parish might offer Adoration on both the First Friday and the First Saturdays, a monthly overnight vigil from Friday until Saturday, or begin with one monthly holy hour and expand as more people are able to participate. The aim is not simply to fill a schedule. It is to make space for encounter with Christ and to help the faithful bring the fruits of prayer into their homes, work, and service of others.
Adoration can complement these devotions, but it does not replace their connection with the Mass and Holy Communion. A parish schedule should therefore make the Eucharistic celebration central, while allowing time for quiet prayer, thanksgiving, and reparation.
Parishes may also include prayers and catechesis suited to each devotion. On First Friday, a short reflection or prayer to the Sacred Heart can help people understand the connection between the devotion and Christ’s love. On First Saturday, a Marian prayer or reflection can help parishioners see Mary not as separate from Christ’s saving work, but as his Mother and disciple, whose life points to him. The parish can explain the meaning of reparation as a response of prayer and love, rather than presenting it as a mechanical requirement.
More on reparation can be found on our other webpages:
Simple ways a parish can begin
- Speak with your pastor or parish adoration coordinator about offering a monthly schedule.
- Decide whether to begin with one Holy Hour or offer extended Adoration.
- If planning extended or overnight Adoration, arrange coverage and responsibilities with parish leadership.
- Publicize the schedule and make it clear that newcomers are welcome.
Action Items
- Make the First Friday and First Saturday a monthly invitation in your parish.
- If you are a lay person, share this webpage with your parish priest or adoration coordinator.
Sources:
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy: Principles and Guidelines, 171. https://www.magisterium.com/docs/4fba701f-fda0-47a5-a2de-2e210d81f770/ref/171
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy: Principles and Guidelines, 174. https://www.magisterium.com/docs/4fba701f-fda0-47a5-a2de-2e210d81f770/ref/174
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy: Principles and Guidelines, 164. https://www.magisterium.com/docs/4fba701f-fda0-47a5-a2de-2e210d81f770/ref/164
The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church, 34. https://www.magisterium.com/docs/da25a3b7-f234-4f1d-bc5c-128c330b936e/ref/34
Miserentissimus Redemptor, 3. https://www.magisterium.com/docs/f7934b59-7530-468f-abd1-e4fb540de614/ref/3
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