Dear Friends of the Charlotte Latin Mass Community,

Laudetur Iesus Christus!  … and a special thanks to Mike FitzGerald for keeping us updated.  I wanted to send out a quick note regarding one important item.

1. Mass Attendance Commitment:  In keeping with the recent stewardship commitment drive at St. Ann Catholic Church in Charlotte, I wanted to give a quick report on Mass attendance for the Sunday Traditional Latin Mass at St. Ann. … and also to make a sincere request of you and your families.

Our Mass attendance numbers have increased and stabilized to an average of about 200 individuals each Sunday.  While this is a somewhat comfortable number, it is quite low relative to the 415 families who have signed up on the CLMC email list.  Statistically, these 415 families account for about 1,600 people including children.  So our average attendance accounts for only about 13% of those who have said that they want the Latin Mass to be provided by the Diocese.

I know several families who are somewhat fond of the Latin Mass but do not attend due to some legitimate difficulty.  For some the afternoon Mass time is not friendly to families with young children, for others it may be the distance.  Believe me, I understand and share these difficulties.

Our request is for each of you who are not attending the Sunday Latin Mass to make an extra effort to commit to attend at least one Sunday per month if at all possible.  Consider this a matter of justice — If, generally speaking, you want the option of attending a Sunday Latin Mass, but you are not attending the only Sunday Latin Mass provided by the diocese in Charlotte, that that can be a form of injustice.

Consider that if the 87% (1,400 people) who do not currently attend were to commit to attending only once per month, our average weekly attendance would jump from 200 to 550! … making the Latin Mass the highest attended Mass at St. Ann’s.

Please talk this over with your families and prayerfully consider if you are able to make this sacrifice.  Remember, the higher the liturgy and more God is glorified and the more Graces are bestowed thereby.  God will reward you with extra graces for your efforts in this regard!

N.B. … Last night there were over 400 people present for the Solemn High Mass for Ascension Thursday!