The pure and compassionate heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated with the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Every Catholic man can grow in happiness by seeking the Gift of Understanding so he can more fully grasp the blessing of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in his life and build the Virtue of Piety so he can compete the Five First Saturdays Devotion as reveals by our glorious Lady of Fatima.
Commentary
The Blessed Virgin Mary recalls the harrowing experience of losing Jesus and finding Him three days later in the Temple; Mary again (Lk 2:19, 2:35, 2:51) refers to her heart, reflecting upon and keeping God’s mysterious actions “in her heart.”
Building on earlier devotions, St. Jean Eudes promoted devotion to the admirable heart of Mary in the 1600s. At the height of WW I, Our Lady of Fatima appeared to three children and offered the image of her Immaculate Heart encircled with thorns which pierced it, representing the sins of humanity for which reparation must be made. At the height of WW II, Pope Pius XII instituted the annual feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the whole Church, encouraging joint devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The hearts of Jesus and Mary were linked together throughout the Incarnation, from the first moment Jesus resided in Mary’s womb to when His Sacred Heart was pierced by a lance at the Crucifixion, and Mary’s heart is pierced in sorrow at the foot of the Cross; the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is thus celebrated on the day after the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Conceived without sin and with the perfection of virtue, Mary’s heart is recognized as Immaculate (“unstained” by Original Sin). The devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary emphasizes the actual physical heart of Mary (her Virginal body) and on her interior life (her soul); her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, her love for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and, as Mother of the Church, her compassionate love for all Catholics who struggle on earth. While devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus focuses on gratefully receiving the overflowing love He has for mankind, the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary focuses on the study and imitation of her love for the Trinity.
Be awed by Jesus Christ
Ponder the mystery of Jesus, the Son of the Father, as He lives within the Holy Family: Son of the Father, Jesus has Divine Knowledge about His true identity as a Person of the Trinity; the perfection of Justice, Jesus is powerfully drawn, to “be in His Father’s house” to Venerate His Father while also choosing to be Obedient (a part of Justice) to St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Be blessed by the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Realize: On the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Church venerates and guides every Catholic man to more perfectly imitate the compassion and virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Believe: Reflect upon Mary Full of Grace and Mother of the Church (CCC 721-726, 963-975).
Pray: Holy Spirit, give me the Gift of Understanding so You help me perceive the powerful blessing which God has granted men in the Blessed Virgin Mary and I am able to draw near and be blessed by the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Complete the Five First Saturdays Devotion
Realize: Our Lady of Fatima promised, on behalf of her Son, those who kept a special devotion on the first Saturdays of five consecutive months would receive graces necessary for salvation at the hour of their death.
Believe: Research the Five First Saturdays Devotion of Our Lady of Fatima.
Pray: Gracious Lady of Fatima, pray that I grow in the Virtue of Piety (a part of Justice) so I may love and honor your Immaculate Heart, and I am moved to complete and be blessed by the Five First Saturdays Devotion.