 On your mark, get set, go. Hey friends, this is Dan Burke and Stephanie Burke, right? Oh, yeah. That's right. My faithful spouse long, I should say long suffering. And you're watching behind the scenes divine intimacy radio. We're gonna start the show right now. I don't think we have any announcements. So let's just roll into the show on Fatima And the first five Saturday promises. I'm excited about doing the show. Yeah, I mean I love our lady And uh, you kind of like father mcdonald. Yeah Yeah, just a little bit just a little bit. Okay on your mark, get set, go Welcome to divine intimacy radio. This is dan and stephanie Burke And uh, I forgot how to say it, right? Yeah, right. Okay, right. Let's start over. I love that we're we're we're live And so people get to see all of our You know bad bad work here mine anyway But uh, we get to edit that out for the show. Try it again one more time On your mark, get set go This is dan and stephanie Burke. Welcome to divine intimacy Radio your radio haven of rest your hermitage of the heart your monastery of the mine where we lift our hearts and minds to heaven To draw on the wisdom of the saints and the teaching of the church to help us to navigate this incredibly challenging and difficult period called life, but in our time it's uh, it's a phase or a period of More challenges than usual at least in my my lifetime. Yeah. Yeah, you've certainly gotten darker over the course of my life Right, you know, so there was one, you know, there's one thing about your own personal pregation and your difficulties It's different when you look out to the world and it seems like it's devolving around you Well, not if you seem it is it is Here's the great news We have we have the answer and jesus is lord Jesus is lord. That's my And our lady is is queen of heaven and earth. So that's right. Yeah. All right. So why don't you introduce our guests today? Awesome. So I want to welcome father matthew mcdonald again to our show He is a priest of the archdiocese of new york And currently serves as parochial vicar at saint mary's church in washington bill new york Father mcdonald has written articles for catholic world report crisis magazine and spiritual direction dot com On various topics dealing with theology spirituality and current events affecting the church in the world He has taught for us at the avala institute school of spiritual formation And saint paul's evangelization institute Most importantly, his greatest loves are our lord our lady the priesthood Serving the church and working for the salvation of souls and I know this to be absolutely 100 true So welcome father mcdonald. It's good to have you Thank you dan and sefanie is an honor and blessing to be with you I'm also the youngest priest of the archdiocese in york Nine and a half years old. I'm a leap your babies. So yeah Awesome Awesome. Well today Father, I knew you you had a better uh understanding of this topic than than I than I have of course, we've we've been to fathoma and there's this resurgent interest in fathoma and The the secrets and the consecration to russia And I thought a creation of russia consecration of russia to the immaculate heart of mary. Thanks for that correction. That's exactly right And uh and and so I thought it would be a good time Because people's interest is high There's much about the consecration that uh is incredibly bizarre in terms of commentary out there and uh All of that and what's what's fascinating about it is How much ink has been spilled on what is completely totally and 100 out of our control right so So what I thought would be healthier spiritually is to say well, wait, what is it that we can do? To participate in uh, the glorious good of these apparitions And of the promises for first five saturdays and all of that. Can I say one positive thing about the the consecration? Yeah, I have to say and myself and a number of people in our community people that are very close to us Were deeply moved by the consecration. I mean I wept through it. Yeah, and I did not expect that to happen Yeah, me it was very very beautiful And very moving so I certainly the graces were flowing and pouring out on the world So I just want to start with that. Yeah, you know that it's the church being the church, right? That was what was so beautiful about it father. I did you watch it live as well? Well, I actually let a holy hour in my parish during the middle of the consecration So we prayed we prayed the consecratory prayer. We prayed the rosary. We prayed the litany of loretta We also prayed the um, the prayers that the angels made in reparation Which are very powerful prayers of reparation and about 70 people in the church and it was just a beautiful Period of prayer grace filled moment of prayer, you know, that's awesome We we sorry go ahead and meet her up you the holy father like he was leading us to a new disposition to be open to the graces of god and I think with the first the five first saturday devotion that's our own passage into what the holy father has done not only pope francis, but Pope john paul the second pope saint john paul the second pope pass the 12th before them Yeah, you're that's exactly where we're going with this show is what you know Rather than spending all time all kinds of time speculating and questioning about things that we are unable to resolve and I and I've read all the Arguments this way that way and the other I I tend toward bishop Athanasius schneider as the best guide in this Uh, very measured very understanding of history and very, you know, what clear about what we can and can't know Uh, but outside of that I want to focus on what we can do to enter into this great grace Specifically where there is no question About the grace is coming. There is no argument or debate And that is the the five first saturdays. I did this when I first became catholic I read about it and I had that when I first became catholic I had this disposition of well the church teaches it I'm just going to do it and whether I understand it or not and I didn't really understand it But I succeeded in my first effort to do the the five first saturdays But let's jump in and talk about Uh, what it is and what are the what what did mary say to lucía francisco and jacinta And regarding hell and and all of and in the first five saturdays Once you open this up and set lay the foundation for us father okay, so On july 13th 1917 at fathoma portugal the blessed virgin mary said to the three Shepherd children lucía francisco and jacinta You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go To save them god wishes to establish in the world devotion to my immaculate heart If what I say to you is done Many souls will be saved and there will be peace I should shall come to ask for the communion of reparation on the first saturdays so in terms of It's a beautiful quote in terms of Establishing the world devotion to the immaculate heart What's interesting here is to you have seen hell where the poor sinners go and And the blessed mother is referring to how she she showed the children hell before that, right? Yes, yes, and and it scared them to death Yeah, and that's I think that's why francisco always has this really sort of Intense look on his face. I've asked somebody Why we always look so intense and all the photos and somebody said well he's blessed mother showed him hell I just not something to laugh about but it is it is interesting so To keep people from going to hell The lord wishes to establish devotion to Mary's immaculate heart. Why would that why would that affect their eternal? Salvation of folks to be devoted to her immaculate heart something that st. Louis de manfort speaks about um In true devotion to marry in relation to marry and consecration, but this can be applied to You know any time we approach our lady We always go to jesus through mary And she's our queen Again back in sacred scripture In the davidic kingdom if you wanted to gain favor With the king of israel you would not go to his wife. You would go to the queen mother And that's why our lady is so important And our lady as st. Louis de manfort says She takes us in our in our brokenness And she takes us with our bruises like a bruised apple and she polishes us up So that when we're presented before jesus Yes, jesus loves us despite our brokenness and sins But when we go to our lady and her immaculate heart she polishes us up She heals us so that we're even more pleasing and delightful in the eyes of her son in the eyes of the father Beautifully said it's very interesting. What does it mean? I shall come to ask for communion of reparation. I think that The word reparation is an ancient word very not Not very commonly understood In our time. What does it mean? to To ask for the communion of reparation on first saturdays Okay, this touches upon two important questions One How to approach our lord and holy community at mass And to the community of reparation often at mass When we go to church something that we could be mainly drawn to all right. Am I saying the prayer is right? Am I understanding the readings? am I singing songs But before we say prayers we we hear readings and we sing songs there must be an offering that I make to Jesus because he's extending his own offering to me at the mass at every mass at the moment of consecration So when I when I go to mass I go first and foremost to unite my life presently to the one true sacrifice of christ in love in thanksgiving in contrition Presenting to him my needs and the needs of the church in the world Secondly with the communion of reparation Sometimes in my life I can notice in my family in the church in the world people committing grave sins and evils And they're indifferent to those sins and evils and the damage that they do not only to themselves But to the church in the world So when I offer up communion and reparation for sins I'm saying To God the Father in Jesus Christ who I receive in the Eucharist in unity with the Holy Spirit God I'm offering this communion as an act of love So that you can use it to help undo the damage of my sins As well as other people's sins or indifferent to the evil that they're doing And the damage that they're causing to themselves and to souls Yeah, I mean said another way and just just basic basic, you know 101 language it's making up for Making up for the damage that's been done whether it's through our own sins or own Because you know scripture tells us that adjustments sin seven times a day And so we can even just look at ourselves. Okay, what have I done to contribute to the brokenness of the world? The the sins that nailed my lord to the cross Right and then the sins of those around us And then the sins that may have been a result of our own sin, which I always think is even a deeper Revelation, you know, when I ripple effect of our ripple effect is just once you take time to think about that You know, hold on because it's it's pretty horrifying But but I think those things are necessary We must understand how we've contributed to these things and in that sorrow Say lord, I desire to make up for this even though I can't right, but I desire to by by making these Acts of love so I think we're going to have to take a break and when we come back from the break I want to hit a point you just made even though we can't So father can speak theologically about how is it that our insufficient act of of reverence actually is magnified And has a much larger effect which should motivate us to do it, right? So we'll be right back And your mark gets set Go now we're in the break. So you wanted to make an announcement real sure Let's let's make a couple of announcements. I want to make sure that everybody checks out spiritualdirection.com forward slash events where we are We still have a few tickets left for the Avalos summit It'll be held at the catholic university of america july 15 through the 70s spiritual warfare spiritual warfare and the sermon of spirits amazing amazing Speakers including bishops strickland and father mcmanus monsignor risetti cathleen beckman and uh dan and yours truly No, never mind. Who's us? That's why go ahead. Okay, and uh, There also check out our courses at avala-institute.org in the school of spiritual formation We have a class coming up on the mass in the old testament approaching the lord in fear and trembling as we should and Of course by dr. David arias in the graduate program The introduction to spiritual theology. So these are phenomenal courses Check us out at spirit at avala-institute.org and all of our events Where we'll be speaking and traveling and everything that's going on at spiritualdirection.com forward slash events I even think there's a couple of spots left for our pilgrimage To israel in may in may. Yep. Cool. Okay. Let's jump back in and your markets that go Actually stop reset On your markets Well, maybe I'll come too. Ready Okay Welcome back to divine intimacy radio. This is dan and stephanie berk with father matthew mcdonald talking about the Fatima promises regarding first five saturdays And father tell us a bit about How it is, you know, if you understand your theology. Well, you know We know that We know our meager acts of reparation just in terms of what we do Is not significant, right, but how is it that it's Can make a huge difference anyway Well, it can make a huge difference because We're can we're consoling the heart of jesus christ and his humanity And we're bridging On behalf of The sins when people Commit sins and are indifferent to them We are offering acts of love that are finite to the infinite love and mercy of god And god could take our limited actions And their merits and apply them In his mercy in infinite ways. I think we see that very clearly um in the book of Exodus where moses Stands in the breach for israel after israel While he's on mount sinai Receiving the ten commandments is committing the sin of idolatry worshipping the golden calf and moses In light of this grave sin Goes before god and makes intercession Offers acts of love acts of intercession acts of reparation For his people who are hardened to the evil that they're doing When they don't and who don't deserve it he nonetheless stands in and says lord have mercy on them Yeah, how beautiful and you know what comes to mind as you as you say that is if we think about um, so So what consoles us, you know if if we receive the tender touch of a mother That calms our senses right it calms our passions There's something about the love and tenderness of a mother that is very consoling So if you think about having the lord requesting that we go through his mother and in the words the child jesus said in the in um, well, and i'll I'll i'll make a bridge here, but says december 20th 10th 1925 um at a dorothean convent In spain sister lucía a postulate and last surviving member of fatima Received a visit from the mother of god and she describes the visit in her memoirs And she talks about the child jesus saying to her have compassion on the heart of your most holy mother covered with thorns With which ungrateful man pierced it at every moment and there's no one to make an act of reparation to remove them So, you know the the compassionate heart of the mother Um wanting us to console her and to console him through her as well And there's it's the it's an act of love and love Drives away everything, you know love love overcomes all things all evil all difficulties all pain all sorrow that love God is love And that love is so powerful that it actually drives away all the darkness in the pain So I think you know to make an apparate An act of reparation Just as an act of the will is good But to do it through love I think through the power of that love. That's where it truly has an effect. It's because of the grace of love Which comes from god it is god That's where the power really drives back the darkness I remember the quote from the dialogues with st. Catherine of sienna and god the father Noting to her that you can never make up for even the tiniest of sins like no human being in and of themselves But through the I don't want to overly simplify it but through the magnifying reality of the grace of god Father talked about this infinite mercy, right? It can become Through him as we join it with his suffering As we join it with his will It becomes a torrent of grace poured out on the world, right? So father the the next quote in that same December 10th 1925 I'm going to have Stephanie read it for us and then let's jump into that Then our lady said Look my daughter At my heart surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce me every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude You at least try to console me And say that I promise to assist at the hour of death With all great all the graces necessary for salvation All those who on the first Saturday of five consecutive months shall confess Receive holy communion Recite five decades of the rosary and keep me company for 15 minutes While meditating on the mysteries of the rosary with the intention of making reparation To me So my question father related to this is In the totality of this first five Saturdays Is the the central motion of the heart then purely dedicated To making reparation for In essence the mistreatment of The blessed mother and the lack of concern and is that is that would that be accurate to say? Yes, absolutely Okay, so there in this statement that Stephanie just read There's a there's a handful of requirements, right that that that's what we're outlined for us to make sure we follow But before we get to that Stephanie, why don't you read the The five types of offenses and blasphemies committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary that she mentions And then father, maybe you can walk us through the requirements And so people understand that really well and I will say to folks if you want the document work were That outlines all of this you can find it on a possibly va.org in the blog section You don't have to be a member of the website apos to livae.org And you can find all of these details and what we try to do is condense it down And get past a lot of subterfusion or interpretation and just say this is exactly what was specified Okay, now now these are the words of our lord the the the following Jesus explains the five Saturdays to sister lucía right, okay, so that that's what's coming So so our lord says my daughter the reason is simple There are five types of offenses and blasphemies committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary The first is blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception, which would be a denial of or ejection or making fun of that idea Right blasphemies against her virginity Blasphemies against her divine maternity and refusing at the same time to recognize her as the mother of men Blasphemies of those who publicly seek to sow in the hearts of children indifference or scorn or even hatred of this Immaculate Mother And offenses of those who outrage her directly in her holy images Here my daughter is the reason why the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspired me to ask for this little act of reparation And ultimately because our lady Knows that in Blaspheming her we ultimately blaspheme god. Yeah, because she she's living out his will Perfectly, right? Not only that but the our lord took all of his dna all of his his human Substance from her right from her, you know not from joseph because it was that she was you know our lord Was conceived in her right by the miracle of the annunciation, right? So it's it's just it's ultimately a blaspheme against god, but it also shows his love for her What are the requirements father just to outline those with clarity? So the first requirement that this is done On five consecutive Saturdays the first Saturday of each month And did we have a we I think we have a missed Mistake in the article, so I'll go make sure we fix that it says five consecutive fridays. We'll fix that But go ahead. I'm sorry Then the second requirement is to confess within eight days before or after the first Saturday So you got to go to confession within eight days before or after the first Saturday? Okay Third requirement is obviously to receive holy communion in a state of grace And receiving holy communion Uh, so do it actually validly attend mass if you will Um, you don't need to receive holy communion, but for this you have to Which is not a problem if you go to confession before mass, right? Yep, okay Then the fourth requirement is to recite five decades of the rosary Five decades of the rosary. Okay, can it be a drive-by rosary father? You mean a high-speed rosary the ones like that they do at the nd 500 all one word Obviously whenever we pray the rosary we want to give our lord and our lady Our bass we want to give Mary that's because she is our mother so again, we don't want to just Say that rosary like we're like at mox seven without firing machine gun of hail mary's right the attentive prayerful and opening our hearts to To our to her immaculate heart. That's right and what she wants to give us through her sorrowful and immaculate heart That's all right. So what's the fifth requirement? So keep Mary company for 15 minutes while meditating on one or more of the mysteries of the rosary And then the last one And this is done with the intention of making reparation to Mary Of all these actions must be done with this intention in mind So all these actions each time in the way you can do that, right? Is you can state at the beginning of your time of Of celebrating the first five Saturdays you can say to the Lord Before the mass or at any time here. My intention is that all of these be these acts of faith be for Reparation for the sins against the blessed mother, right? Is that is that simple? Yes Okay, great And then the promises are that we'll have the salvation of our own soul The salvation of sinners and peace in the world now Before we're actually coming to the end of our time We're not even halfway done with the show with the things I wanted to cover So for those folks who are watching live stream pop out to spiritualdirection.com Facebook page and we will can we'll do a part two and maybe even a part three of the show I don't know for sure either way the law will end up on e to btn for those who are listening On e to btn, but I think we're going to have to sign off on that when for our next show We're going to talk about what if I miss the first a Saturday You know all of the different questions that people come up with can I Can the 15 minutes be also applied to how I do the rosary or during the rosy all of that So we'll join us on the next show and we'll answer all those questions Okay, so until next time may the god of peace make you perfect in holiness May he preserve you whole and entire spirit soul and body irreproachable at the coming of our lord Jesus christ amen All right, amen. See you over at spiritualdirection.com. Thank you for joining us father. Thank you