First Friday Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
History and Prayers

While some saints referenced the Heart of Jesus in their writings even centuries earlier, in 1673, a French Visitandine (Visitation) nun named Margaret Mary Alacoque had visions of Jesus, wherein he asked the Church to honor His Most Sacred Heart. In particular, Jesus asked the faithful to “receive Communion on the First Fridays, for nine consecutive months.” The request was connected to a specific promise made to all who venerated and promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart. After Margaret Mary’s death, the First Friday practice steadily spread in the Church — endorsed by popes and promoted by saints — but it greatly increased in popularity when Margaret Mary was canonized a saint in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV.

Why nine consecutive months? The number nine is traditionally associated with a novena and finds its origin in the nine days that the apostles spent in prayer before Pentecost. A novena provides an extended amount of time for preparation and interior renewal.

What am I supposed to do on First Fridays? Go to Mass and receive Holy Communion with the intention of honoring Christ’s Sacred Heart. If you are not in a state of grace, and thus unable to receive, you will also need to go to confession.

What are the “promises” connected to this devotion? Jesus told Margaret Mary,
(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.

PRAYERS:

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART
Lord, have Mercy…Lord, have Mercy
Christ, have Mercy…Christ, have Mercy
Lord, have Mercy…Lord, have Mercy

God the Father in Heaven,…have Mercy on us
(Repeat this response after each invocation)
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,...
God the Holy Spirit,...
Holy Trinity, one God,...
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father,...
Heart of Jesus, Formed in the womb of the Virgin Mother,...
Heart of Jesus, One with the Eternal Word,...
Heart of Jesus, Infinite in Majesty,...
Heart of Jesus, Holy Temple of God,...
Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High,...
Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heaven,...
Heart of Jesus, Aflame with love for us,...
Heart of Jesus, Source of Justice and Love,...
Heart of Jesus, Full of Goodness and Love,...
Heart of Jesus, Wellspring of all Virtue,...
Heart of Jesus, Worthy of all praise,...
Heart of Jesus, King and Center of all hearts,...
Heart of Jesus, Treasure-house of Wisdom and Knowledge,...
Heart of Jesus, In Whom dwells the fullness of God,...
Heart of Jesus, In whom the Father is well-pleased,...
Heart of Jesus, From Whose fullness we have all received,...
Heart of Jesus, Desire of the Eternal Hills,...
Heart of Jesus, Patient and full of Mercy,...
Heart of Jesus, Generous to all who turn to You,...
Heart of Jesus, Fountain of Life and Holiness,...

Heart of Jesus, Atonement for our sins,...
Heart of Jesus, Obedient even to death,...
Heart of Jesus, Pierced by a lance,...
Heart of Jesus, Source of all Consolation,...
Heart of Jesus, Our Life and Resurrection,...
Heart of Jesus, Our Peace and Reconciliation,...
Heart of Jesus, Victim for our sins,...
Heart of Jesus, Salvation of all who trust in You,...
Heart of Jesus, Hope of all who die in You,...
Heart of Jesus, Delight of all the Saints,...

Lamb of God; You take away the sins of the world…have Mercy on us
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world…have Mercy on us
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world…have Mercy on us

V. Jesus, meek and humble of heart.
R. Touch our hearts and make them like Your Own.

Father, we rejoice in the gifts of love we have received from the Heart of Jesus, Your Son. Open our hearts to share His Life and continue to bless us with His Love. We ask this in the Name of Jesus the Lord. AMEN

ACT OF CONSECRATION
O most Holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore You, I love You, and with a lively sorrow for my sins, I offer You this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and completely obedient to your Will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in You and for You. Protect me in the midst of danger, comfort me in all afflictions, give me health of mind, body and soul, assistance in my temporal needs, Your Blessings on all that I do, and the Grace of a holy death. AMEN

ACT OF REPARATION
Lord Jesus Christ, we look at the Cross, and we, Your Pilgrim Church, can see what sin has done to the Son of Mary, to the Son of God. But now You are Risen and Glorified. You suffer no more in the flesh. Sin can no longer expose You to the Agony in the Garden, to the scourging, to the death on a cross. But it can reach You through Your Mystical Body. This is part of You. Your Church on Earth still feels the strength of sin. For this we make our Act of Reparation.

We, who have sinned in the past, now consecrate ourselves to the healing of your Mystical Body, to the part in the mystical Body, to the part in the mystery of its well-being and its growth. Sanctify us for this task. May Your Sacred Heart be the symbol, not of one loved, but of two. Your love for us and our love for You. Accept our love and help us make it real by serving You in all our brothers and sister, so that love and concern may lead all people to know the one true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. AMEN.

CONCLUDING PRAYERS
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have Mercy on us. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us. St Joseph, pray for us. All you angels and saints, pray for us. May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. AMEN

“If you believe what you like in the Gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.”

+St. Augustine of Hippo+

My father had a stroke today. If you see this, please say a prayer for him.

THE DEVIL HATES LATIN

It is said that "the devil hates Latin", since the language was canonized on the Cross and it unifies the Church. One of the Roman Catholic Church's leading experts on exorcism has said: "If I speak Latin, the demon responds to me in Latin. He has a horror of that language." On the diabolical possession of then Mariam Baouardy, now St. Mary of Jesus Crucified, the exorcists forced Satan to speak in Latin. Satan said, "This damn language makes me suffer too much; it is against me."

Many ask why the devil hates Latin and why it is used in exorcisms and has power over the devil. The answer is that ecclesiastical Latin is a sacred language that was reserved only for the divine service of the Catholic Church, in prayer and in the Sacraments.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI urged Catholics around the world to memorize the most common Catholic prayers in Latin.

Here are some of the basic Catholic prayers in Latin you may want to memorize:

-Sign of the Cross-
In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen

-Apostles' Creed-
Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae. Et in Iesum Christum, Filium eius unicum, Dominum nostrum, qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine, passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus, descendit ad infernos, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis, ascendit ad caelos, sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis, inde venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos. Credo in Spiritum Sanctum, sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, sanctorum communionem, remissionem peccatorum, carnis resurrectionem, vitam aeternam. Amen

-Our Father-
Pater Noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen

-Hail Mary-
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen

-Glory Be-
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen

-The Fatima Prayer-
Domine Iesu, dimitte nobis debita nostra, salva nos ab igne inferiori, perduc in caelum omnes animas, praesertim eas, quae misericordiae tuae maxime indigent.

-Hail, Holy Queen-
Salve Regina, Mater misericordiae. Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve. Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevae. Ad te Suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle. Eia ergo, Advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte. Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende. O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria.

V. Ora pro nobis, Sancta Dei Genitrix.
R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.

"Jehovahs do not honor the Holy Icons ... The honor we give to the icons is considered idolatry.

I once said to a Jehovah:
'Do you not have pictures in your homes?'
"We have," he tells me.
"Well, the mother, when her child is away, does she not kiss the photo of her child?".
"She kisses it," he tells me.
"Is she kssing the paper or her child?"
"Her child," he tells me.
"Well, like her, when she kisses the photo of her child", I tell him, "she kisses her child and not the paper, so we kiss Christ, we do not kiss the paper or the board in the pictures" "!!

St. Paisios the Athonite

"Remember that the earthly Fatherland with its Church is the threshold of the heavenly Fatherland, and therefore love it warmly and be ready to offer your soul for it."

+ St. John of Kronstadt

when it's going good praise God, when it's going bad praise God, always ask for the grace to do God's will.