On a morning that could have been spent sleeping in, more than two dozen Catholics gathered for Saturday morning Mass Aug. 2 at St. Ignatius Martyr Church for the First Saturday Marian Devotion.
“Many people would think it’s a hardship to get up on a Saturday morning, but it’s a sacrifice you’re offering to the Lord,” said Deacon Joseph “Joe” Calvert, who serves as director of the Archdiocese of Louisville’s Marian Committee.
The Marian Committee hosts the First Saturday Devotion every month at St. Ignatius, 1818 Rangeland Road.
The devotion begins with Mass, followed by the opportunity for reconciliation, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, a Gospel and homily and sacred music, said Deacon Calvert.
It “goes back to the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima back in 1917,” when Mary appeared to three shepherd children — Francisco, Jacinta and Lucia, he noted.
When Lucia — who later became a Carmelite nun — was in the convent, Mary “asked that a devotion be made on the first Saturday of each month in reparation for sin,” he explained, noting that these apparitions have been recognized by the Catholic Church.
“We’re supposed to be childlike. We‘re supposed to be needy. And what expresses childlikeness more than going to your mother? So I think that’s how the Lord wanted it to be. I mean, he gave her to us at the cross. So that’s how he wanted it to be.”
— Deacon Joseph Calvert
The First Saturday Devotion includes praying the rosary, spending 15 minutes reflecting on the mysteries of the rosary, attending Mass and going to confession, he said. Mary promised “special graces” for those who make the devotion for five first Saturdays in a row, he added.
But most participants don’t stop coming after five first Saturdays, he said. “Most people, if they do go to five Saturdays, find that they want to go more.”
The Marian Committee’s First Saturday Devotion usually brings forth a congregation of 30-40 Catholics each month, including small children, he said.
“I think they want their kids to understand what sacred silence is, and the richness, the beauty of Catholic worship,” he said. “It’s like a mini-retreat in some ways. The world has a lot of speed and a lot of noise, and this is a place where you can tune those out and reset and be quiet with Jesus and redirect parts of your life that need to get redirected.”
Deacon Calvert has participated in the devotion since his conversion to Catholicism in 1995, he said.
“Are there other ways to Jesus? Yes, there are. But are there better ways to Jesus? I can’t imagine there would be,” he said, reflecting on the graces he’s received from practicing the devotion.
The Blessed Mother “makes up for our defects,” he said. “You know, my prayers are going to have a lot of faults in them, selfishness and all that. But you ask her to pray, and her prayers are going to be perfect. So maybe there’s a humility implied in going to her.
“We’re supposed to be childlike. We’re supposed to be needy. And what expresses childlikeness more than going to your mother? So I think that’s how the Lord wanted it to be. I mean, he gave her to us at the cross. So that’s how he wanted it to be,” he added.
Several parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville also offer Mass on the first Saturday of the month. A listing of Mass times can be found at archlou.org/parishes/mass-schedules.
