Mass Intentions: 7:30 PM (Sat) “pro populo” / 9:30 AM / 12:00 PM +Francisco Ramírez; intention of Concha Ramírez and children.
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Floral Offering In thanksgiving for 30TH wedding anniversary of Glenn and Cindy Guderian.
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No Daily Masses August 4-8 & 11-15 (Mon-Fri)
Fr. Guillermo will be out of town in vacation. If you need the sacraments in danger of death, please, call the surrounding catholic parishes (Centerville, Huntsville, Buffalo, etc.) A visiting priest will be offering the Saturday PM and Sunday masses.
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Friday, August 15 Is a Holy Day of Obligation
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The only Mass will be at 7:30 PM. If you cannot make it at that time, check other parishes at a reasonable distance from you, and attend if possible.
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Faith Formation Registrations: All August. Bring birth certificate. Classes begin Sunday, September 7; 10:45-11:45 AM
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On July 19, 1830, Sister Catherine Labouré, a Daughter of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, was awakened by the voice of a child calling her to the chapel. When she arrived there, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to her and said:
“God wishes to entrust you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but do not be afraid; you will receive the grace needed to carry it out. Tell your spiritual director everything that happens within you. Times are evil in France and throughout the world.”
Mary was standing on a globe, with rays of light streaming from her hands. Surrounding her was an oval frame bearing the words: “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” Then the image turned, revealing the back of the medal: the letter “M” intertwined with a cross, beneath which were the Sacred Heart of Jesus, surrounded with thorns, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, pierced with a sword. Twelve stars encircled the design.
Mary instructed Catherine to have a medal made in this form. Today it is known as the Miraculous Medal, and Mary promised that all who wear it with faith, after having it blessed, will receive great graces. The wearing of the Miraculous Medal has since become one of the most widespread devotions to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
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The Message of Fatima and the Immaculate Heart
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary became even more widespread after Mary’s apparitions to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917, before the Russian Revolution. During these apparitions, she asked that Russia be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart to prevent the spread of what she called "the errors of Russia."
In 1925, eight years later, Mary appeared again to Sister Lucia, one of the original visionaries who had since become a nun. She asked for acts of reparation to be made for the many ways her Immaculate Heart is offended—such as:
- denying her Immaculate Conception,
- rejecting her perpetual virginity and divine motherhood,
- ridiculing or scorning her holy images,
- and leading children away from love for her.
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The 5 Practices the Blessed Virgin Mary Requested
Our Lady requested five acts of devotion, each done with the intention of making reparation to her Immaculate Heart:
- Pray five decades of the Rosary daily.
- Wear the Brown Scapular as a sign of consecration and protection.
- Offer your daily duties to God as a sacrifice, especially through the Morning Offering.
- Make the Five First Saturdays of Reparation (explained below).
- Ask the Pope, in union with all the bishops of the world, to consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart.
The Immaculate Virgin Mary promised that if this were done, Russia would be converted, and a time of peace would be granted to the world. If not, she warned that Russia would "spread her errors throughout the world."
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The Devotion of the First Saturdays
The First Saturdays of Reparation—often simply called the “First Saturdays”—was not a new devotion, but it gained new urgency and popularity following the Fatima apparitions.
To fulfill this devotion, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, one should:
- Go to Confession (within eight days before or after, as long as one remains in a state of grace).
- Attend Mass and receive Holy Communion.
- Pray five decades of the Rosary, including the Fatima Prayer after each decade.
- Spend 15 minutes keeping Mary company by meditating on the Mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to her. This meditation can involve reading Scripture, looking at sacred images, or quiet contemplation.
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Fatima Prayer
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.
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Traditional Prayer of Reparation
Here is a traditional prayer often used during the First Saturday devotion:
Most holy Virgin and our Mother, we listen with grief to the complaints of thy Immaculate Heart surrounded with the thorns which ungrateful men place on it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. Moved by the ardent desire of loving you as our Mother and of promoting a true devotion to your Immaculate Heart, we prostrate ourselves at your feet to prove the sorrow we feel for the grievances that men cause your, and to atone, by means of our prayers and sacrifices, for the offenses with which men return to your tender love.
Obtain for them and for us the pardon of so many sins. A word from you will obtain grace and amendment for us all.
Hasten, O Lady, the conversion of sinners, that they may love Jesus and cease to offend the Lord, already so much offended, and will not fall into hell.
Turn your eyes of mercy toward us, that from this time on we may love God with all our heart while on earth and enjoy Him forever in heaven. Amen.
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Mary’s Promise
The Blessed Virgin Mary promised that those who faithfully complete the Five First Saturdays of Reparation will receive her special assistance at the hour of death.
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If you know or suspect abuse of minors or vulnerable adults, contact (800) 252-5400 or txabusehotline.org and our Diocese Victim Assistance Coordinator at (903) 266-2159 or vac@dioceseoftyler.org.