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Octave Day of the Nativity of Our Lord (1st Sunday in Salisbury)

Laudetur Iesus Christus and blessed Octave Day of Christmas. Sunday is the Octave of Christmas, and in years where this date falls outside of Sunday, it would be the feast of the Circumcision, the 8th day when Christ first shed his blood. As custom, we share a reflection on the orations for Sunday’s Latin Mass, as well as commentary by Dom Prosper Gueranger:

Please note: There will not be a potluck after the St. Thomas Aquinas Latin Mass today. It will resume in February.

Christmas Thanks: We wanted to express our thanks to our Latin Mass priests for their devotion in all the Christmas liturgies, and a special thanks to Fr. Reid for the blessing of religious objects before Christmas. Please consider offering a decade of one’s Rosary for our Latin Mass priests.

Pray for the repose of the soul of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI who passed away Saturday morning December 31 – the feast of St. Sylvester I, the Pope of Peace. Locally, if there is one Pope in recent years who has touched the daily lives of many faithful in Charlotte, it was Pope Benedict. His July 2007 motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum, gave the laity and clergy greater access to the Traditional Latin Mass. One might say Benedict XVI “saved” the Latin Mass. His policy began to reach our diocese in late 2007 when a Latin Mass training seminar was arranged for several priests.

Moreover, it was the provisions of Summorum Pontificum, and its 2011 instructions Universae Ecclesiae, that allowed the CLMC to successfully petition for the Sunday Latin Mass at St. Ann in Charlotte in 2012-2013. When St. Ann parish council said “No” to our request and when Bishop Jugis said “No” to our appeal – the CLMC, using the canonical provisions available, petitioned Rome, and just mere hours or days before Pope Benedict’s resignation in February 2013, Rome instructed the Diocese of Charlotte to implement a Sunday Latin Mass, and the rest is history. If you are attending a Latin Mass in the diocese of Charlotte today, it was certainly the result of Pope Benedict and Summorum Pontificum. You can read Fr. Reid’s 2013 announcement here: https://charlottelatinmass.files.wordpress.com/2022/03/2013-2-17-saint-ann-bulletin_pastors-letter.pdf

This Sunday, let all Latin Mass faithful pray for Benedict XVI’s happy repose and despite its limitations, give thanks to God for Summorum Pontificum. CLMC would hope that if any public commemorations are conducted in the diocese, that it would recognize this most important contribution of Pope Benedict XVI to the faithful of Charlotte: The greater access of the Traditional Latin Mass, which continues to this day in several parishes throughout the diocese. 

We close this reflection with the CLMC’s Brian Williams, who writing in 2017, aptly summed up Benedict’s legacy: https://liturgyguy.com/2017/09/12/what-benedict-accomplished-with-summorum-pontificum/

First Sunday Latin Mass – Salisbury

There will be a 4pm Latin Mass on Sunday January 1 at Sacred Heart parish in Salisbury. Fr. Joseph Wasswa will offer the Mass, and Confessions will be offered prior to Mass. A potluck will occur in Brincefield Hall after Mass – please bring a favorite Christmas dish, hors d’oeuvres or dessert to share. For more information please contact Mark Hartley with the Salisbury Latin Mass Community at: www.salisburylmc.org

Plenary Indulgence for January 1

There is a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions offered on the last day and first day of the year when one takes part in the recitation of the Te Deum hymn (December 31) and the Veni Creator (January 1) in a church or oratory. The former is recited in thanksgiving for the blessings the past year, and the latter is to ask for divine assistance for the coming new year. Learn more here: https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2012/12/plenary-indulgence-reminders-te-deum-on.html (prayers are attached)

Epiphany Week Latin Mass Schedule

Wednesday January 4, 6pm – St. Ann parish, Feria (Commemoration of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton)

Thursday January 5 – Vigil of the Epiphany

  • 6:30pm (Blessing only – No Mass), St. Ann parish, Epiphany water, chalk, and salt blessing (no Latin Mass scheduled, only a blessing)
  • 7pm Latin Mass, St. Thomas Aquinas parish, (No Epiphany blessing – Epiphany water, chalk and salt to be handed out at parish from January 6-8 while quantities last, see parish website for details)
  • 7pm, (Blessing only – No Mass), Prince of Peace, Taylors, SC – Epiphany Lessons and Carols, followed by blessing of gold, frankincense and myrrh, and Epiphany holy water

** Please note the blessing of Epiphany water can take up to 45 minutes as it contains exorcism prayers and litany of the saints

Friday January 6 – Feast of the Epiphany

  • Normal schedule unless otherwise announced (7am Latin Mass – St. Ann & 12:30pm Latin Mass – St. Mark)
  • 3:30pm, Our Lady of the Lake, Chapin, SC (2 hours south of Charlotte)
  • 6:00pm, Church of the Epiphany*, 163 Galax Lane, Blowing Rock, NC (operated by St. Elizabeth of the Hill Country in Boone, 2 hours northwest of Charlotte)
  • 6:30pm, St. John the Baptist, Tryon, (2 hours west of Charlotte)
  • 7pm – Our Lady of Grace, Greensboro (1.5 hours north of Charlotte)
  • 7pm – Prince of Peace, Taylors, SC (2 hours southwest of Charlotte)

Saturday January 7, 10am – St. Thomas Aquinas, Feria or First Saturday (Blessing of religious objects after Mass in the narthex)

Holy Face Devotions

  • St Mark – Mondays 2-2:45pm
  • St. Thomas Aquinas – Tuesdays 6am in the main church
  • St. Ann – Tuesdays 7:30am in the chapel after the Novus Ordo Mass (uses the booklet/chaplet which takes 15-20 minutes)
  • St. Michael the Archangel, Gastonia – Tuesdays, 9am, Main Church (**NEW TIME & LOCATION**)
  • Holy Spirit, Denver – Tuesdays 10-11am after the Novus Ordo Mass
  • Don’t see your parish? Why not organize one?

March for Life Charlotte – Latin Mass

The annual March for Life Charlotte will be on Friday, January 13, 2023. Attendees can gather at the parking lot across from the diocese’s pastoral center (1123 South Church Street) beginning at 11am. The march begins at 12 noon, and a rally will occur at the corner of Trade and Tryon Streets. The evening prior, on Thursday January 12, the normal 7pm Latin Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas part will be offered for the unborn, as part of the event. For questions visit: https://www.marchforlifecharlotte.com/

Christmas on a Sunday – Dom Prosper Gueranger

As we close out the Christmas Octave, we wanted to share something unique to this year’s Advent and Christmas. Advent this year was one of the longest in recent years as occurred for a full four weeks (symbolizing the 4,000 years between Adam and Christ). Christmas Day 2022 itself fell on a Sunday, which according to the Benedictine liturgist Dom Prosper Gueranger, has a special meaning:

[T]here is the venerable tradition which tells us that the Incarnation of the Son of God having been accomplished on a Friday (March 25), the Birth of Jesus, the Light of the world, must have taken place on December 25, a Sunday. This gives a peculiar sacredness to Christmas Day when it falls on a Sunday, as it was on that day of the week that God began the Creation, and said: Let there be Light! and on the same, also, did our Lord rise from the tomb.

Latin Mass & Traditional News

  • Prayers and Support Needed for a Growing Order of Benedictine Nuns: An inspiring video about the growth of the traditional Benedictine Nuns in Missouri (who attend the Latin Mass exclusively) and their need for help in building a new, second Abbey under the patronage of St. Joseph and will also feature a St. Joseph shrine to fathers: https://vimeo.com/766262621
  • Six Thousand Years of Human History Before the Antichrist: The Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation (whom the CLMC co-sponsored their 2019 visit) posted an interesting article before Christmas exploring the traditional Catholic view held by those such as St. Irenaeus that the world would last for six thousand years before the rise of the Antichrist, and how modern genealogy is confirming this possibility as the human race’s genetics continue to deteriorate: https://www.kolbecenter.org/kolbe-report-12-17-22/
  • Why 1962 Must Eventually Perish: The Case of St. John: Dr. Peter Kwasniewski (whom the CLMC hosted last September) writes a brief but compelling thesis that the Missal of 1962 must eventually perish. Why? Because although it is the current missal for the Traditional Latin Mass offered at most parishes, the 1962 missal was already compromised by the progressive revolutionary “reforms” that the Church would later see in its competition after Vatican II. Case in point is that prior to 1962, the feasts immediately following Christmas (St. Stephen, St. John, Holy Innocents) would not be suppressed if they fell on a Sunday – recognizing how important these feasts are to the Christmas season. Sadly these feasts are now suppressed if they fall on a Sunday. Kwasniewski argues that the “gold standard” for a Traditional Latin Mass missal would be to return to the 1920 missal. https://www.newliturgicalmovementorg/2022/12/why-1962-must-eventually-perish-case-of.html#.Y6np3BXMKHs
  • Games People Play with the Holy Spirit: Is the Vatican II Council Relevant? What about the Council of Vienne? What was the spirit of Lateran IV? These are but a few of the questions Dr. Kwasniewski answers in his reply to an individual who has been told by his conservative Catholic friends that the solution to the crisis in the Church is to just offer the Novus Ordo properly as intended by the Vatican II documents (Latin, with chant, ad orientum), and thus there is no need for the Traditional Latin Mass. Of course, Dr. Kwasniewski counters with an excellent reply which examines the problematic or failed councils of the past and their legacies: https://onepeterfive.com/games-holy-spirit/
  • IT’S THE MASS THAT MATTERS: A Study in Faithful Resistance: Imagine if three priests in the Diocese of Charlotte went to Bishop Jugis years ago and said they were called to only offer the Traditional Latin Mass, and to this day they still offer the Latin Mass exclusively to this very day. Would that not be an interesting and inspiring story? Well it didn’t happen in Charlotte, but it did occur in the diocese of Novara, in northern Italy, in 2008, and these priests have survived and still offer the Latin Mass exclusively in their diocese, even after Traditionis Custodes. As author Hilary White explains:  

Some years ago, I heard an extraordinary story from a friend who lived for a time in the extreme northern end of the country, in a remote and beautiful valley of the Alps, the Val d’Ossola. In brief, three priests one day told their bishop that they would no longer celebrate the Mass in the new rite, and adopted the traditional Mass when Summorum Pontificum was published. And despite immense pressure and months of struggle, they never did again.

The story has thus far had a happy ending; the priests continue celebrating the traditional Mass exclusively, and preaching and teaching the holy and ancient Faith while remaining in good standing in their diocese, even well into the Bergoglian period.

They simply announced that, within their rights as priests, they would celebrate only the Mass of the Ages, and that was that.

You can read the rest of the article here: https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/articles/item/6312-it-s-the-mass-that-matters-a-study-in-faithful-resistance

Don’t Stop Celebrating: After Christmas Day, Christmas continues

“Catholics ought to have a totally different conception of Christmas (from what the secular world offers).” – Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, December 24, 2019

In what is becoming an annual CLMC tradition and a rallying cry for the full restoration of the Traditional Latin Mass in Charlotte, we repost Dr. Peter Kwasniewski’s brilliant December 2019 article which reminds Latin Mass attendees of the treasure and precious gold they have in the traditional liturgical calendar, especially the traditional Christmas Season according to the 1962 Missal (and prior). If one hasn’t read this article, we can only encourage everyone to read it again, and again. While the world enters into their “post-Christmas fast”, traditional Catholics begin 40 days of festivals and feasts of the Christmas season, which runs in stages from December 25 – February 2nd (Candlemas/Feast of the Purification)  We should be clear, this Christmas season can only be fully celebrated in the Traditional Latin Mass calendar, as sadly the Novus Ordo calendar eliminated much the Christmas season – particularly the Epiphany season. Here is an excerpt:

It is very important for us not to surrender to the secular approach that, in a way, celebrates Christmas before Christmas and not afterward. We should really make an effort — in the way our homes are decorated, the way we observe Sundays and holy days, the stories we read and the other activities we do in the house — to keep the spirit of Christmas alive, even if at a “low burn,” throughout this period from December 26 to February 2. Yes, the great feast is that big of a deal! Such observance also becomes a countercultural catechesis in one of the central mysteries of the Christian faith: the Incarnation of the Son of God. This is the pivot point of all human history and of the story of each man, woman, and child.

A few newcomers to the Latin Mass might ask – what exactly is the difference in the Christmas season between the Traditional Latin Mass and Novus Ordo Mass? The CLMC’s Brian Williams teamed up with Dr. Kwasniewski a few years ago to briefly explain how the two calendars differ (and why the Traditional calendar is preferred):

Christmas has just begun and so continues 32 more days of celebrating the Incarnation and all its mysteries.

As we bring this update to a close, we share Pope Benedict XVI’s famous quote from Summorum Pontificum:

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful.”

What Mass are you attending on Sunday?

Blessed New Year and God Bless,

~ Charlotte Latin Mass Community

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