by

Second Week of Advent update

Laudetur Iesus Christus!  Greetings as we approach the end of the first week of Advent.  This season in the traditional calendar is so rich with amazing feast days spanning the glorification of Holy Saints, Martyrs, Apostles, & Marion feasts — bringing such a dazzling flurry of liturgical colors.  Be sure to thank your priests, servers, and all those in the choir loft every time you see them, as this time of year demands so much from them.

We have a fair amount of updates and reminders for the coming week:

  1. St. Ann Latin Mass Attendance: I am happy to report that our average weekly attendance at St. Ann’s is growing … albeit slowly.  There has been some variability over the holidays, however, the weekly averages are positive.  Last week, at 256 souls, we had one of our largest attendances of the year.  Please continue to pray for our continued growth.  We have been told that the greater our Sunday Latin Mass attendance, the more of our requests and spiritual needs can be met.

 

  1. Traditional Liturgical Calendars:  For those who attend the Latin Mass … or even those who follow Traditional Catholic spiritually in their devotional life, now is the time to order 2017 wall calendars.  Only a limited number are printed, and once they sell out it is difficult to find them.  I am sure there are a few different publishers who make a wall calendar, but the two sellers that I know the best are made by the Fraternity of St. Peter and the Transalpine Redemptorists of Papa Stronsay.

 

  1. Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Holy Day of Obligation):  Next Thursday (December 8th) is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.  This is a Holy Day of Obligation.  The Charlotte area will have two Latin Masses offered on this Feast Day:

— St. Ann will be offering a Latin Mass at 7:00 pm.  This will be a sung Mass that will be further sanctified by the voices of the Cantate Domino Latin Choir.  This choir is amazing.

— St. Michael the Archangel in Gastonia will also offer a 8:15 am Latin Mass as per their normal schedule.

Note: If you can not make one of these two Mass times, the Mass obligation can also be satisfied by attending one of the regularly scheduled Wednesday evening Mass times at either St. Ann at 6pm or at St. Thomas Aquinas at 7pm.

 

  1. Rorate Masses: A RorateMass is a Votive Mass of Our Lady celebrated in Advent traditionally just before dawn and where the church is lit entirely by candlelight.  The RorateMass takes its name from the first word of its Introit: “Rorate, caeli, desuper, et nubes pluant iustum,” or “Drop down dew, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness.”

    This year there will be three Rorate Latin Masses in the Charlotte area:

— St. Thomas Aquinas in Charlotte at 6:00am on Saturday, December 10th.

— St. Michael in Gastonia will also host a Rorate Low Mass (its first) at 6:30am on Saturday December 10th.

— St. Ann in Charlotte at 6:30 am on Saturday, December 17th.

More information on the Rorate Mass can be found in this great article written by our very own Brian Williams who is a contributer at OnePeterFive.

 

  1. Hot Coffee & Hot Cocoa after Mass:  As you may have noticed, on a trial basis, we have been offering hot coffee after the 12:30 Latin Mass at St. Ann.  This has been a great hit and we plan to continue doing so on a best effort basis.  We are even planning on adding hot cocoa to the lineup if possible.  Please hang around after Mass if you are able.  We hope to see you there.