On the first Friday and Saturday of each month, Catholics around the archdiocese gather in several parishes for the First Friday and First Saturday devotions, honoring the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
At the Shrine of St. Martin of Tours, 639 S. Shelby St., where the observance extends well into the night, these devotions have been observed together for nearly three decades. An overnight vigil begins Friday evening and concludes with a midnight Mass early Saturday morning.
The two-hearts devotion at St. Martin began in December of 1997 under the leadership of Father Dennis Cousens, who was pastor at the time.
The overnight devotion is “a sacrifice of time, convenience and sleep,” which is made “in reparation for sin,” Father Cousens said in an email interview. Though retired, he continues to celebrate the monthly 7 p.m. First Friday Mass.
“This is very important, and it’s powerful, and you feel the grace by the end of the night. And we need more people coming. People don’t get how important it really is, but it is.”
— Brenda Crosswait Teeter
“This devotion emphasizes the union of these two hearts — two hearts that beat as one; to love Jesus with the heart of Mary and to love Mary with the heart of Jesus; and to pray for the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary over the evils facing our world today, as requested by Our Lady of Fatima,” Father Cousens said.
Participants gather at the downtown shrine as early as 6 p.m. for confessions and the Rosary before the 7 p.m. First Friday Mass.
Following Mass, congregants pray in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and other prayers. Then, at midnight, the First Saturday Mass begins.
The First Friday devotion traces its origins to the revelations given to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th century. In the revelations, Jesus promised graces to those who received communion and made reparation to his Sacred Heart on the first Friday of the month.
The First Saturday devotion is a spiritual exercise rooted in the Blessed Virgin Mary’s request at Fatima in the 20th century and consists of her promise to give graces to those who make reparation to her Immaculate Heart through confession, reception of Holy Communion, and the recitation of and reflection upon the Rosary.
Father Cousens said the Shrine of St. Martin of Tours is a fitting place for this devotion, noting, “St. Martin … has statues of both the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary above what are called the two Shrine Altars on each side of the sanctuary. It’s like God planned for the devotion to find a home there.”
Mike Craven, a member of the shrine, has attended the night-long devotion for more than 25 years, he said in a recent interview.
He discovered the First Saturday Mass while on break during his night shift at the Ford Company, he said. After attending the Mass a few more times, he told his boss that he couldn’t work on First Fridays and First Saturdays so he could be an altar server each month.
For Brenda Crosswait Teeter, a longtime attendee who sings in the choir for the monthly Masses, the vigil provides a much-needed opportunity for the faithful to make reparation.
The devotion is “what we need right now,” she said. “Jesus asked St. Margaret Mary Alacoque to make reparation to his Sacred Heart. … We really do need, especially now, to make reparation because he sees everything — all the sin of the world, and it’s so terrible.”
The devotion “is very important, and it’s powerful, and you feel the grace by the end of the night,” she said. “And we need more people coming. People don’t get how important it really is, but it is.”
Several parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville also offer Mass on the first Friday and Saturday of the month. A listing of Mass times can be found at archlou.org/parishes/mass-schedules.
