The Nine First Fridays Devotion: How to practice it and the 12 promises
The Nine First Fridays Devotion is a beautiful Catholic devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus associated with the revelations to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. At its heart is a call to receive Our Lord in Holy Communion in a spirit of love and reparation to His Sacred Heart for nine consecutive First Fridays. The devotion is also associated with what has become known as the Great Promise of the Sacred Heart.
What Is the Great Promise of the Nine First Fridays?
Our Lord’s promise to St. Margaret Mary is traditionally given as follows:
“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 Friday for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance; they shall not die in my disgrace nor without receiving the sacraments; my divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in that last moment.”
The promise directs our attention towards the mercy and love of the Sacred Heart and the grace of final repentance.
How to Complete the Nine First Fridays Devotion
The devotion has three requirements:
- Receive Holy Communion on each First Friday.
- The nine Fridays must be consecutive.
- They must be made in honour and in reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Thus, the Nine First Fridays are more than simply completing a sequence of dates. They are undertaken in a spirit of devotion and reparation to the Heart of Christ.
Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Sacred Heart of Jesus, animated with a desire to repair the outrages unceasingly offered to Thee, we prostrate before Thy throne of mercy, and in the name of all mankind, pledge our love and fidelity to Thee!
The more Thy mysteries are blasphemed, the more firmly we shall believe them, O Sacred Heart of Jesus!
The more impiety endeavours to extinguish our hopes of immortality, the more we shall trust in Thy Heart, sole hope of mankind!
The more hearts resist Thy Divine attractions, the more we shall love Thee, O infinitely amiable Heart of Jesus!
The more unbelief attacks Thy Divinity, the more humbly and profoundly we shall adore It, O Divine Heart of Jesus!
The more Thy holy laws are transgressed and ignored, the more we shall delight to observe them, O most holy Heart of Jesus!
The more Thy Sacraments are despised and abandoned, the more frequently we shall receive them with love and reverence, O most liberal Heart of Jesus!
The more the imitation of Thy virtues is neglected and forgotten, the more we shall endeavour to practice them, O Heart of Jesus, model of every virtue!
The more the devil labours to destroy souls, the more we shall be inflamed with desire to save them, O Heart of Jesus, zealous Lover of souls!
The more sin and impurity destroy the image of God in man, the more we shall try by purity of life to be a living temple of the Holy Spirit, O Heart of Jesus!
The more Thy Holy Church is despised, the more we shall endeavour to be her faithful children, O Sweetheart of Jesus!
The more Thy Vicar on earth is persecuted, the more we will honour him as the infallible head of Thy Holy Church, show our fidelity and pray for him, O kingly Heart of Jesus!
O Sacred Heart, through Thy powerful grace, may we become Thy apostles in the midst of a corrupted world, and be Thy crown in the kingdom of heaven. Amen.
The 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary
The following 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart are traditionally associated with the revelations to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque:
- I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
- I will give peace in their families.
- I will console them in all their troubles.
- I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.
- I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.
- Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
- Tepid souls shall become fervent.
- Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.
- I will bless those places wherein the image of my Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.
- I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
- Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my Heart.
- In the excess of the mercy of my heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the First Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my Heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour.
Devotion of Love and Reparation
The Nine First Fridays invite Catholics to something deeper than the completion of a devotional practice. They invite us to respond to the Sacred Heart of Jesus with love, fidelity and reparation.
For nine consecutive months, the devotion repeatedly brings us back to Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist. Its spirit is expressed beautifully in the Act of Reparation: when Christ is rejected, we seek to love Him more; when His Sacraments are neglected, we seek to receive them with greater love and reverence.
If you have never made the Nine First Fridays, consider beginning this beautiful devotion to the Sacred Heart and persevering through all nine months.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
