Powered By Love

First reading	1 John 3:11-21

Our love is to be something real and active

This is the message

as you heard it from the beginning:

that we are to love one another;

not to be like Cain, who belonged to the Evil One

and cut his brother’s throat;

cut his brother’s throat simply for this reason,

that his own life was evil and his brother lived a good life.

You must not be surprised, brothers when the world hates you;

we have passed out of death and into life,

and of this, we can be sure

because we love our brothers.

If you refuse to love, you must remain dead;

to hate your brother is to be a murderer,

and murderers, as you know, do not have eternal life in them.

This has taught us, love –

that he gave up his life for us;

and we, too, ought to give up our lives for our brothers.

If a man who was rich enough in this world’s goods

saw that one of his brothers was in need,

but closed his heart to him,

how could the love of God be living in him?

My children,

our love is not to be just words or mere talk,

but something real and active;

only by this can we be certain

that we are children of the truth

and be able to quieten our conscience in his presence,

whatever accusations it may raise against us,

because God is greater than our conscience and he knows everything.

My dear people,

if we cannot be condemned by our own conscience,

we need not be afraid in God’s presence.

HOW IMPORTANT IS LOVE?

Our writer today paints a picture for us that shows how important it is to love one another.  He tells us that it must not just be the action of our mouths that express love but our actions and our lives must reflect this love for others.  The consequences of failing to do this are severe.  If we do not love then we are classified as a murderer, to be in the same class as Cain whom we are told belonged to the Evil One. 

THE RESULTS OF OUR LOVING.

Don't think for one moment that by loving those around us that the world will admire you. No, it is more likely that seeing your example that they will hate you.  Why?  It is because you are showing them by your behavior how they should act.  Your return of love for their unlove will anger them because it will tickle their conscience.  Also, they will see how happy you are and compare it with the wretchedness of their own lives and they will be very jealous indeed.  But, fear not, keep the faith and do not return evil for evil.  Your example is an instrument God will be using to bring more of his wayward children back into the fold.  Let revenge and fault finding be the food of the lost for you are not lost for you walk in the Light of Christ. 

LOVE IS AN ACTION WORD.

Talk is cheap so is writing words such as these on paper or reading them if we do not take action.  Love is an action word.  We must do things for people that are truly helpful for them.  Our author echoes the words we find in the letter of James.  He says if a man who can help another fails to do so then how can the love of God be in that man's soul?  So, what it boils down to is to help where you can and do so with a humble heart and expect nothing in return including gratitude.  Do it not for the person you see, but for the person that resides in him, namely Christ the Lord.  For our acts of charity are not given to mere men but they are done in recognition of the length Jesus went to show His love for us.  He went to the Cross for us.

THE RESULT FOR US.

While we do things for our neighbor and expect no reward, our Father in heaven gives us the reward of a clear conscience. If we ourselves can stand before God knowing that we have done our best and showed by our lives that we loved because we were loved, then He will find no fault in us and cover us with the Blood of Christ and accept us as one of His own. 

Remember the Poor Souls in Purgatory today. 

Today is the First Saturday of the month.  Read about the First Five Saturdays Devotions. 

The Five First Saturdays Devotion
How to Precisely fulfill the Five First Saturdays Devotion
as Requested by Our Lady of Fatima


Our Lady of Fatima Promises all the Graces Necessary for Heaven
if a Catholic Finishes the Five First Saturdays Devotion

"Whether the world has war or peace depends on the practice of this devotion, along with the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This is why I desire its propagation so ardently, especially because this is also the will of our dear Mother in Heaven." -Sr. Lucy (March 19, 1939)

During her July apparition at Fatima, Our Lady said to Lucia, “I shall come to ask... that on the First Saturday of every month, Communions of reparation be made in atonement for the sins of the world.” Although she made no further mention of this devotion at Fatima, on December 10, 1925, our Blessed Mother again appeared to Lucia at Pentevedra, Spain, where the seer had been sent to the Dorothean Sisters to learn to read and write. It was there Our Lady completed her request for the Five First Saturdays and gave her great promise.

Appearing with the Queen of Heaven in that apparition was the Infant Jesus, Who said to Lucia: “Have pity on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother. It is covered with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to remove them with an act of reparation.”

Our Lady then spoke: “See, my daughter, my Heart encircled by thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. Do you, at least, strive to console me. Tell them that I promise to assist at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation all those who, in order to make reparation to me, on the First Saturday of five successive months, go to confession, receive Holy Communion, say five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for a quarter of an hour, meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary.”

The elements of this devotion, therefore, consist in the following four points, all of which must be offered in reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. One should make this intention before carrying out Our Lady’s requests. A renewal of the actual intention at the time is best; however, if such an intention is made now, it will fulfill the requirements if, for instance, the actual intention is forgotten at the time of confession.


Confession: This confession can be made before the First Saturday or afterward, provided that Holy Communion be received in the state of grace. In 1926, Christ in a vision explained to Lucia that this confession could be made a week before or even more and that it should be offered in reparation.


Holy Communion: Before receiving Holy Communion, it is likewise necessary to offer it in reparation to Our Lady. Our Lord told Lucia in 1930, “This Communion will be accepted on the following Sunday for just reasons if my priests allow it so.” So if work or school, sickness, or another just reason prevents the Communion on a First Saturday, with this permission it may be received the following Sunday. If Communion is transferred, any or all of the other acts of the devotion may also be performed on Sunday if the person so desires.


Rosary: The Rosary is a vocal prayer said while meditating upon the mysteries of Our Lord’s life and Passion and Our Lady’s life. To comply with the request of our Blessed Mother, it must be offered in reparation and said properly while meditating.


15-minute meditation: Also offered in reparation, the meditation may embrace one or more mysteries; it may include all, taken together or separately. This meditation should be the richest of any meditation because Our Lady promised to be present when she said: “...those who keep me company....”

To those who faithfully follow Our Lady’s requests for the Five First Saturdays, she has made a wonderful promise which she, as Mediatrix of All Graces, will certainly fulfill: “I promise to assist at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation.” This means that our Blessed Mother will be present at the hour of death with the actual grace of final perseverance, (which after the gift/grace of Faith), is the most important grace.

After completing the Five First Saturdays, one may continue the devotion simply to console the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady. A tender love of our Blessed Mother will lead one to do all he can to make reparation for the sins which pierce her Immaculate Heart. Let us remember, too, that although Our Lady made this promise to those who would observe five such First Saturdays in succession, in her July apparition she asked simply that Communions of reparation be made on every First Saturday to atone for the sins of the world.

To read more about devotions to Our Lady, click this link: CLICK HERE