We are approaching the New Year and the first Friday of the year. With that, you have a chance to begin the First Fridays Devotion.
Just what is the First Friday Devotion? The First Fridays Devotion, also called the Nine First Fridays Devotion or the Communions of Reparation to the Sacred Heart, is a Catholic devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to offer reparations for sins to the Blessed Sacrament.
At the end of the 17th century, Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alocoque (1647-1690) and asked her to spread devotion to His Most Sacred Heart. In a letter written to her Mother Superior in May 1688, St. Margaret Mary set The Great Promise Our Lord made regarding the Nine First Fridays and what we must do to earn it:
“On Friday during Holy Communion, He said these words to His unworthy slave, if I mistake not: ‘I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that Its all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on nine first Fridays of consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they will not die under My displeasure or without receiving their sacraments, My divine Heart making Itself their assured refuge at the last moment.'”
First Friday Requirements: To meet the requirements for the First Friday Devotion, you must, on each First Friday for nine consecutive months:
1. Attend Holy Mass
2. Receive Communion
3. Go to Confession*
You must have the intention, at least implicitly, of making reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for all the sinfulness and ingratitude of men, not just for yourself but for all humanity.
Our Lord made these promises to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque regarding those who practice the Nine First Fridays and have a deep devotion to His Sacred Heart. The Twelve Promises listed below include the “Great Promise.”.
- I will give them all of the graces necessary for their state of life.
- I will establish peace in their homes.
- I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
- I will be their strength during life and above all during death.
- I will bestow a large blessing upon all their undertakings.
- Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and the infinite ocean of mercy.
- Tepid souls shall grow fervent.
- Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
- I will bless every place where a picture of my heart shall be set up and honored.
- I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
- Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be blotted out.
- I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful love will grant all to those who communicate on the First Friday in nine consecutive months the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving their sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.
The Church grants a plenary indulgence to those who attend Mass and receive holy communion in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the First Friday of each month for nine (9) consecutive months.
First Friday Devotion Prayers
Prayers recommended in the First Friday Devotion.
Litany of The Sacred Heart of Jesus
Act of Reparation to The Sacred Heart of Jesus
Memorare to The Sacred Heart of Jesus
Prayer of Adoration and Love to The Sacred Heart
Prayer of Adoration to the Blessed Sacrament
Prayer of Trust in the Sacred Heart
Prayer of Consecration
Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, of Infinite Majesty, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, Sacred Temple of God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heaven, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all treasures of wisdom and knowledge, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells the fullness of divinity, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, obedient to death, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, our peace and our reconciliation, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the Saints, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Jesus, meek and humble of heart.
R. Make our hearts like to Thine.
Let us pray.
Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Your most beloved Son and upon the praises and satisfaction which He offers You in the name of sinners; and to those who implore Your mercy, in Your great goodness, grant forgiveness in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, who livest and reignest with Thee forever and ever. Amen.
Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
O Jesus, Divine Savior, deign to cast a look of mercy upon Your children, who assemble in the same spirit of faith, reparation, and love, and come to deplore their own infidelities, and those of all poor sinners, their brethren. May we touch Your Divine Heart by the unanimous and solemn promises we are about to make and obtain mercy for ourselves, for the world, and for all who are so unhappy as not to love You. We all promise that for the future:
For the forgetfulness and ingratitude of men, we will console you, O Lord.
For the way you are deserted in your holy tabernacle, we will console you, O Lord.
For the crimes of sinners, we will console you, O Lord.
For the hatred of the impious, we will console you, O Lord.
For the blasphemies uttered against you, we will console you, O Lord.
For the sacrileges that profane your sacrament of love, we will console you, O Lord.
For the outrages against your divinity, we will console you, O Lord.
For the injuries of which you are the adorable victim, we will console you, O Lord.
For the coldness of the greater part of your children, we will console you, O Lord.
For the contempt of your loving invitation, we will console you, O Lord.
For the infidelity of those who called themselves your friends, we will console you, O Lord.
For the abuse of your grace, we will console you, O Lord.
For our own unfaithfulness, we will console you, O Lord.
For the incomprehensible hardness of our hearts, we will console you, O Lord.
For our long delay in loving you, we will console you, O Lord.
For our tepidity in your holy service, we will console you, O Lord.
For your bitter sadness at the loss of souls, we will console you, O Lord.
For your long waiting at the door of our hearts, we will console you, O Lord.
For the heartless scorn that grieves you, we will console you, O Lord.
For your loving sighs, we will console you, O Lord.
For your loving tears, we will console you, O Lord.
For your loving imprisonment, we will console you, O Lord.
For your loving death, we will console you, O Lord.
Let us pray: O Jesus! Divine Savior, from whose Heart comes forth this bitter complaint, “I looked for one that would comfort me, and I found none,” graciously accept the feeble consolation we offer You, and aid us so powerfully by Your grace, that we may, for the time to come, shun more and more all that can displease You, and prove ourselves in everything, and everywhere, and forever Your most faithful and devoted servants. We ask it through Your Sacred Heart, O Lord, who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.
Memorare to The Sacred Heart of Jesus
Remember, O most kind Jesus, that none who have had recourse to Your Sacred Heart, implored its assistance, or called for mercy, have ever been abandoned. Filled, and animated by this same confidence, O divine Heart, Ruler of all hearts, I fly to You, and oppressed beneath the weight of my sins, I prostrate myself before You. Despise not Your unworthy child, but grant me, I pray, an entrance into Your Sacred Heart. Sustain me in all my combats and be with me now, and at all times, but especially in the hour of my death. O gracious Jesus! O amiable Jesus! O loving Jesus! Amen.
Prayer of Adoration and Love to the Sacred Heart
I adore Thee, I love Thee, I praise Thee, I cry to Thee for mercy, I return Thee thanks, I invoke Thee and confide myself entirely to Thee, O most holy and adorable Heart of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who for the salvation of us all didst submit Thyself to the rigors of Divine Justice, and didst voluntarily accept a birth accompanied with poverty, sorrow and contempt, a life of labor and contradictions, but of kindness for all, and a death full of opprobrium, confusion and sorrow, and who, in fine, for the love of those who wish to be saved through Thy divine charity, dost remain in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar to the end of time. Accomplish, O most adorable Heart, Thy wishes in my poor and miserable heart, which I dedicate and consecrate to Thee forever. Grant that it may live in the sentiments of love and gratitude which it owes Thee, that it may at all times breathe only Thy honor and glory, in order that it may expire in the waters of perfect contrition. Amen.
Prayer of Adoration to the Blessed Sacrament
Jesus Christ, my Lord and my God, Whom I believe to be really present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, receive this most profound act of adoration to supply for the desire I have to adore Thee unceasingly, and in thanksgiving for the sentiments of love which Thy sacred Heart has for me in this sacrament. I cannot better acknowledge them than by offering Thee all the acts of adoration, resignation, patience, and love which this same Heart has made during its mortal life, and which it makes still and which it shall make eternally in heaven, in order that through it I may love Thee, praise Thee, and adore Thee worthily as much as it is possible for me. I unite myself to this divine offering which Thou dost make to Thy divine Father, and I consecrate to Thee my whole being, praying Thee to destroy in me all sin and not to permit that I should be separated from Thee eternally. Amen.
Prayer of Trust in The Sacred Heart
In all my temptations, I place my trust in Thee, O Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In all my weaknesses, I place my trust in Thee, O Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In all my difficulties, I place my trust in Thee, O Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In all my trials, I place my trust in Thee, O Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In all my sorrows, I place my trust in Thee, O Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In all my work, I place my trust in You, O Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In every failure, I place my trust in Thee, O Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In every discouragement, I place my trust in Thee, O Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In life and in death, I place my trust in Thee, O Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In time and in eternity, I place my trust in Thee, O Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Prayer of Consecration
I, _______, give myself to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I consecrate to Him my person and my life, my actions, pains, and sufferings, so that henceforth I shall be unwilling to make use of any part of my being except for the honor, love, and glory of the Sacred Heart.
My unchanging purpose is to be all His and to do all things for the love of Him while renouncing with all my heart whatever is displeasing to Him.
I take you, O Sacred Heart, as the only object of my love, the guardian of my life, the assurance of my salvation, the remedy of my weakness and inconstancy, the atonement for all my faults, and the sure refugee at my death.
O Heart of love, I place all my trust in You, for I fear everything from my own wickedness and frailty, but I hope for all things from Your goodness and bounty.
Consume in me all that can displease You or resist Your holy Will. Let Your pure love imprint You so deeply upon my heart that I shall nevermore be able to forget You or be separated from You. May I obtain from all Your loving kindness the grace of having my name written in You, for I desire to place in You all my happiness and all my glory, living and dying in virtual bondage to You.
*Some Catholic resources on this devotion say that Confession is not strictly required unless you need the sacrament to receive a worthy Communion; in other words, you need to go to Confession so you can be in the state of grace before you can receive Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Other sources say you must go to Confession within eight days before or after the Friday. Even if you are in a state of grace, consult your spiritual director or parish priest if in doubt. The more prevalent view prescribes the latter
