Dear Barbara,

Very Good question.

Having done both First Friday and First Saturday Masses for over forty years, it is one question that I have pondered about for a while. My local Catholic parish also doesn't have a morning First Saturday Mass year-round.

Because of minor health issues I've had to deal with for the past 3 years, I've had to go to the Saturday Vigil Mass @ 4:00pm to renew my weekly covenant and fulfill my Sunday obligation.

I submitted your question to my A.I. tool of choice: Magisterium A.I. and it gave me the following answer below. It mentioned five practical solutions to the situation we have both run into. The easiest would be number 1.:

Use the Saturday‑evening “Vigil” Mass.

I answered similar questions on First Fridays and First Saturdays a while ago. You may find them helpful.

• Can you address topics on altars, indulgences, Eastern rite views, and making reparation to Mary?
• Can I fulfill Our Lady's wishes for the Five First Saturdays of the month at other Catholic parishes?

I think the essential elements I listed are more specific and to the point but that’s just my opinion.
I hope this helps,

Dear Barbara,

The devotion of the Five First Saturdays is a private act of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary that the Church has long encouraged. The essential elements are:

• Confession
• Receiving Holy Communion
• Praying the Rosary, and
• Performing a short act of reparation (usually 15 minutes of meditation or a work of charity) on each of the first five Saturdays after the month of the Immaculate Conception (1).

When a Saturday Mass is not readily available, the Church’s pastoral guidance allows several practical solutions:

1. Use the Saturday‑evening “Vigil” Mass.

A Saturday evening Mass that is celebrated as the vigil for the Sunday celebration is still a Mass celebrated on Saturday. Because the devotion requires receiving Holy Communion on the Saturday itself, the vigil Mass can satisfy that requirement—as long as you receive the Eucharist there. The Directory on Popular Piety emphasizes that the First‑Saturday practice “should be seen as an opportunity to live intensely the paschal Mystery celebrated in the Holy Eucharist” (1), so any Saturday celebration of the Eucharist fulfills the need.

2. Seek a Saturday Mass elsewhere.

If the local parish does not offer a Saturday Mass, you may:

• Travel to a nearby parish that has a Saturday celebration (many dioceses schedule a Saturday Mass for families or for the faithful who work on Sundays).
• Ask a priest for a private or “home” Mass on the required Saturday; the Church permits a priest to celebrate the Eucharist in a chapel, hospital, or even a private residence when a faithful cannot attend a public Mass.
• Use a religious community’s daily Mass (many monasteries, convents, or chaplaincies celebrate a daily Mass that can be attended on Saturday).

3. If Communion cannot be received that day.

The devotion is a pious practice, not an absolute liturgical obligation. When, despite sincere effort, you cannot receive Communion on a particular Saturday, the Church advises the faithful to:

• Make a heartfelt act of contrition and the intended act of reparation, expressing the desire to receive the Eucharist at the next possible opportunity.
• Mike’s additional suggestion: Pray a Spiritual Communion.
• Confess and receive Communion as soon as possible (e.g., the following day) and consider that Saturday’s devotion fulfilled in spirit, while keeping the intention to complete the five‑Saturday series without interruption.

4. Complete the remaining elements.

Regardless of where you receive the Eucharist, the other parts of the devotion are always possible:

• Confession – arrange a sacramental Confession before (if you are aware of having committed mortal sins) or after the Mass.
• Rosary – pray the Rosary (or at least the three Hail Marys) in honor of the Immaculate Heart.
• Act of reparation – spend fifteen minutes in meditation, offer a small work of charity, or recite the approved act of reparation (the Church’s “public act of reparation” for the Sacred Heart, which the Directory extends to the Immaculate Heart). (1)

5. Keep the five‑Saturday sequence intact.

The devotion is meant to be observed on five consecutive Saturdays. If a Saturday must be missed because no Mass is possible, the usual practice is to restart the series after the interruption, so that the five‑Saturday chain remains uninterrupted. This respects the spirit of the promise attached to the devotion (the “great promises” of Mary) while acknowledging pastoral realities.

In summary:

1. Attend the Saturday‑evening vigil Mass and receive Communion there; it counts as a Saturday celebration.
2. If no vigil is offered, travel to a nearby parish, request a private Mass, or use a religious community’s daily Mass.
3. When Communion is truly impossible, make a sincere act of contrition, complete the Rosary and reparation, and receive the Eucharist at the next opportunity, then restart the five‑Saturday sequence if needed.
4. [Mike’s additional suggestion: Talk to your local pastor, priest or bishop, in that order, about having a Saturday morning First Saturday Mass on a regular basis. This may not be possible, but you won’t know until you ask.]

By following these steps, you can faithfully keep the Five First Saturdays devotion even when a regular Saturday Mass is not locally available.

References:

• (1.) Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy: Principles and Guidelines, 174
  Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments 2001 A.D.

Magisterium A.I.

Hi Barbara,

You said:
I shall try to follow your example and continue it after I have finished the five First Saturdays, and the First Fridays.

Great. I figure I can ask that one of my extra FFs or FSs can be given to someone else in my family or to one of my friends.

We are the Body of Christ!!!

Mike