I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to resist picking up prayer cards or little devotional booklets when I see them in the Church pews or stacked in the narthex after Mass. I am always surprised at finding yet another devotion that I am not familiar with or that seems to be exactly the prayer I need in a particular circumstance. While this can result in some Catholic clutter in my home (much to my wife’s chagrin), the beauty I see in this (and that my wife sees too!) is that there are certainly enough devotions in our Church to match the multitudes of personalities or needs that we all have.
This begs the question-how is one to pick which devotions one will practice? Well, as said above, much will be determined by personality or specific needs. Still, there are some devotions that should be prioritized by all Catholics. One of the foremost devotions that should be at the top of all of our lists is the First Friday Devotion. Jesus Himself revealed to today’s Saint, Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, that those who practice this devotion will receive the grace of final penitence, will not die in His disfavor, AND will receive the Sacraments prior to death. Pretty powerful…and that is in addition to the fact that this devotion will console our Savior’s most Sacred Heart. Today, let’s learn more about St. Margaret Mary, her heavenly revelations of Jesus, and how to practice the First Friday Devotion.
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was born in France on July 22, 1647 to a well-to-do Catholic family. At a young age and throughout her childhood, she received visions of Christ in His passion (that she assumed were normal occurrences for everyone) which most likely contributed to her strong horror of sin and love for God. At the age of 4, Margaret promised the Lord to consecrate her purity and to make a vow of perpetual chastity to Him. All was well for little Margaret until a series of tragedies began to strike. At 8 years old, her beloved father died. From 9 years old to 13 she became bedridden from an illness that effectively paralyzed her. Upon making a vow to Mary to become a nun if she was made better, she received a miraculous cure. The sufferings did not end there, however. In the years that followed, mean-hearted relatives took over her mother’s estate and reduced Margaret and her mother (who herself became extremely ill) to practical servants. Saint Margaret Mary would later write, “I think He intends to try you like gold in the crucible, so as to number you amongst His most faithful servants. Therefore you must lovingly embrace all occasions of suffering, considering them as precious tokens of His love. To suffer in silence and without complaint is what He asks of you.” St. Margaret Mary did just this, she took all of these crosses without complaint as a way to help her practice obedience for future life in the convent.
Eventually, Margaret’s mother regained control of their estate and life normalized. Though encouraged to be social and seek marriage, a vision of Jesus who reproached her for not keeping her vow prompted her to finally enter the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary at 23 years old. Once in the convent, St. Margaret Mary’s life still did not become easy. In fact, she was often misunderstood and considered delusional. As her one desire was for Jesus, she persevered until some very special apparitions would change the course of her life and that of the Church.
Between December 1673 and June 1675, Jesus unveiled His burning love for souls in four apparitions to St. Margaret Mary while she was in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. In the third apparition, Jesus made known to her again of how much He had loved men, who on their end had only given him ingratitude and contempt. He said, “I feel this more than all that I suffered during My Passion. If only they would make Me some return for My Love, I should think but little of all I have done for them and would wish, were it possible, to suffer still more. But the sole return they make for all My eagerness to do them good is to reject Me and treat Me with coldness.” He then asked St. Margaret Mary if she would make up for the ingratitude of so many. To this end, He asked that, “you shall receive Me in Holy Communion as often as obedience will permit you….You shall, moreover, communicate on the First Friday of each month.” In St. Margaret Mary’s writings, Jesus further said, “I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful love will grant to those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in My disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.” Thus, the source of the First Friday devotion.
For such great a promise from our Lord, the requirements needed to carry out the First Friday devotion are very simple. On each Friday for nine consecutive months, one must attend Holy Mass, receive Communion, and go to Confession. On each of these Fridays, the communicant should have the intention of making reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for all the sinfulness and ingratitude of men (including their own). And that’s it! Still, we must not mistake this devotion as some kind of a magic formula. Jesus promises us the grace of final perseverance…but in our freedom we still will need to actively choose to cooperate with this grace. What better way to prepare ourselves for choosing it than getting in the habit of choosing Jesus in this devotion. Those nine consecutive Fridays aren’t just easy to remember, they are habit forming. God’s plan is so good; He is always inviting us to come into deeper relationship with Him.
So, if you haven’t already practiced this devotion, it's time to sort through your prayer cards and pull this one to the top! Then, mark your calendar for the next nine first Fridays of the month. If you have already made this devotion, maybe get the prayer card out anyway and give it to someone who hasn’t. Better yet, offer to pray it with them and then go out for breakfast or dinner; the best friendships have Jesus at their center anyway. Remember, Jesus Himself gave us this devotion as a sure way of offering reparation to Him and consoling His Sacred Heart. Let us take full advantage of this powerful opportunity, and thank our heavenly friend St. Margaret Mary Alacoque for being His instrument to bring this devotion to us.
“Do not be afraid to abandon yourself unreservedly to His loving Providence, for a child cannot perish in the arms of a Father who is omnipotent.” -Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
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