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Praying The Holy Rosary

The Nine First Fridays Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

“I promise you, in the excessive mercy of my Heart

that my all powerful love will grant

to all those who receive Holy Communion on the first Friday for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance; they shall not die in my disgrace nor without receiving the sacraments; my divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in that last moment.”           

 - Our Lord to St. Margaret Mary

The History

Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alocoque (1647-1690), a French nun in the Visitation Order, and gave her the special task to spread devotion to His Most Sacred Heart at a time when religion was growing cold in the hearts of mankind.

He said to her:

“Behold this heart which, not withstanding the burning love for men with which it is consumed and exhausted, meets with no other return from most Christians than sacrilege, contempt, indifference and ingratitude, even in the sacrament of my love [the Eucharist]. But what pierces my heart most deeply is that I am subjected to these insults by persons especially consecrated to my service.”

Jesus asked for special prayers and practices to make amends (reparation) for this great neglect to the proper reverence owed to God. For those who did this faithfully, he made what St. Margaret Mary referred to as the “Great Promise”:

“I promise you, in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the first Friday for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance; they shall not die in my disgrace nor without receiving the sacraments; my divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in that last moment.” 

This was the last and greatest of the Twelve Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

1. I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their homes.
3. I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
4. I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death.
5. I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.
6. Sinners will find in my heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Lukewarm souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
9. I will bless every place in which an image of my heart is exposed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart.
12. I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all 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.

How to complete the First Friday Devotion

• Go to Mass and receive Holy Communion on 9 consecutive First Fridays
• Have the intention of making reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for all the sinfulness and ingratitude of men.

Why Practice the Devotion?

Jesus wants us to rest on his heart, like St. John, and the First Friday devotion is an opportunity for us to encounter him more than just on Sundays and to deepen our love of him.

Coming to know, love and trust that we may take rest in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and place our anxieties within, is what the First Fridays are all about.

The Five First Saturdays Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

“Look, my daughter, at my Heart, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce me at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console me, and say that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the rosary, and keep me company for 15 minutes while meditating on the 15 mysteries of the rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me.”

- Our Lady to Sr. Lucia

The Devotion's History

The practice of the First Saturday devotion was requested by Our Lady of Fatima, who appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal, multiple times starting in 1917. It is a devotion that atones for the sorrows of Our Lady. 

On July 13, 1917, Mary appeared to the children and showed them a vision of hell. Afterward, she said to Lucia, the oldest of the three children:

"You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace... “I shall come to ask . . . that on the First Saturday of every month, Communions of reparation be made in atonement for the sins of the world.”

Eight years later, when one of the children, Sr. Lucia, was a postulant, Our Lord appeared to her with Our Lady and showed Sr. Lucia the Immaculate Heart, pierced by a sword. Our Lady said,

"Look, my daughter, at my heart, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console me and say that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me."

Why Five Saturdays?

Our Lord appeared to Sr. Lucia on May 29, 1930, and gave her the reason behind the five Saturdays devotion. The devotion takes place over a period of five consecutive months and each Saturday atones for a different offense against Our Lady. The five Saturdays atone for:

• attacks against Our Lady's Immaculate Conception;
• attacks against her perpetual virginity;
• attacks against her place as the Mother God and mother of all humanity;
• those who try to implant indifference and hatred of Our Lady within the hearts of children;
• those who insult her sacred image.

How to Practice the Devotion

On each of these Saturdays you must:

• receive communion in the state of grace within 24 hours of Saturday. (This usually will involve going to confession beforehand).
• say a five decade rosary
• meditate on the mysteries for at least fifteen minutes. This could be done all at once or you can spend three minutes on each mystery as you say the rosary.

Why Practice the Devotion?

You should first approach the practice of this devotion with love for Our Lady and Our Lord. When practiced worthily Our Lady promises to assist you at the hour of your death with all the graces necessary for salvation. Through this devotion many souls can be saved, including your own. As with any devotion, the promise is not a free ticket to heaven. Rather, it is a promise of Divine assistance for those who have lived Christian lives and frequented the sacraments.

Divine Mercy Novena

2025 - April 18 - April 26 Divine Mercy Novena

April 27 - Divine Mercy Sunday



In the Diary of St. Faustina, Jesus asked that the Feast of Divine Mercy, known today as Divine Mercy Sunday, be preceded by a Novena to The Divine Mercy. A Novena is nine days of prayer in preparation for a feast. In the case of the Novena to The Divine Mercy, we pray the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy each day for a specific intention.

Our Lord told St. Faustina, "I desire that during these nine days you bring souls to the fountain of My mercy, that they may draw ... strength and refreshment and whatever grace they need in the hardships of life, and especially at the hour of death" (Diary, 1209).

The Chaplet can be said anytime, but the Lord specifically asked that it be recited as a novena. He promised, "By this Novena (of Chaplets), I will grant every possible grace to souls."

For each of the nine days, our Lord gave Saint Faustina a different intention:

All mankind, especially sinners; the souls of priests and religious; all devout and faithful souls; those who do not believe in God and those who do not yet know Jesus; the souls who have separated themselves from the Church; the meek and humble souls and the souls of little children; the souls who especially venerate and glorify His mercy; the souls detained in purgatory; and souls who have become lukewarm. 

The Divine Mercy Daily Intentions

The Divine Mercy message is one we can call to mind simply by remembering ABC: 

A - Ask for His Mercy. God wants us to approach Him in prayer constantly, repenting of our sins and asking Him to pour His mercy out upon us and upon the whole world. 

B - Be merciful. God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others. He wants us to extend love and forgiveness to others just as He does to us. 

C - Completely trust in Jesus. God wants us to know that the graces of His mercy are dependent upon our trust. The more we trust in Jesus, the more we will receive. 

This message and devotion to Jesus as The Divine Mercy is based on the writings of Saint Faustina Kowalska, an uneducated Polish nun who, in obedience to her spiritual director, wrote a diary of about 600 pages recording the revelations she received about God's mercy. Even before her death in 1938, the devotion to The Divine Mercy had begun to spread. 

http://www.thedivinemercy.org/message/

Divine Mercy Devotion at Our Parish

Cenacle of Divine Mercy

There is a strong devotion at St. Francis Borgia for the Divine Mercy. The purpose of this group is to experience the beauty of the Catholic Faith through the study of Sacred Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Diary of Saint Faustina. Members will be encouraged to discern and exercise the Faith through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, and to help people become sensitive to the gift and beauty of all life, especially through care for the rejected, lonely, disabled, elderly, sick and dying. This program will help you better understand the role of trust, forgiveness, and mercy in your daily lives. Divine Mercy is not just devotional prayers; it is a Way of Life to be lived.

There are two sessions: 

~ Morning Session:  Wednesdays
   7:45 am in Queen Mother Room ( Orange Room) Jesuit Hall
  Contact: Donna K. Brown   636.239.4176

~ Evening Session: Wednesdays
  6:30 pm at home of Joe & Robin Scherer
  Contact: Joe & Robin Scherer   636.667.2824

The mission of the National Eucharistic Revival is to renew the Church by enkindling a living relationship with Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.

This revival movement is in answer to a call by the Holy Spirit, and all the fruits belong to Him.

The revival is an unprecedented movement of Catholics across the United States—healed, converted, formed, and unified by an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist—sent out on mission “for the life of the world.”

The revival is a grassroots call and a challenge for every Catholic across the United States to rekindle the fire of love and devotion for the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.

The second phase of the National Eucharistic Revival begins June 11, 2023, and will foster Eucharistic devotion at the parish level.

Augustine Institute's App

The Augustine Institute is proud to introduce "Amen" its latest offering. Amen is the free Catholic app that brings you beautiful prayers, faithful meditations, and nourishing Scripture to draw your mind, body and soul to rest in God.

Download from your favorite Google or Apple app store.

myParish App



St. Francis Borgia has its own parish app. Parishioners can download the app to both Apple iPhones and Android phones by going to their app stores and searching for "myparishapp".

The features and capabilities of this app will foster a stronger sense of community and faith in the daily lives of all parishioners. St. Francis Borgia will be able to quickly and easily communicate with all parishioners via messages and notifications to keep you in the loop with what is going on in our church. You will then be able to quickly reply to messages or RSVP for upcoming events.

Other features include:

– the daily readings read at Mass,

– the latest Catholic news from around the world,

– an easy-to-reference list of Catholic prayers with prayer requests,

– a helpful examination of conscience and next confession reminder,

– a reminder feature called “Mass Mode,” for Mass and confession. This includes phone silencing notification to help encourage us all to be more present while at St. Francis Borgia.

– Be sure to check out two new additions to our parish app! 

A new “Reflections” button with Dr. Hahn’s weekly Sunday bible reflections offers inspiring insights into a fuller understanding of the readings heard every Sunday at Mass. 

And "Reflect Daily" is the daily Gospel reflections from CatholicMom.com that we've come to love during the Advent and Lenten seasons. Just click on the app buttons for refreshing insights to daily Scripture!

myParish app can become our handy, go-to faith building resource along with other parish-related features. Download it today!