Laudetur Iesus Christus! As noted prior, today August 1^st commemorated the Holy Maccabee martyrs who restored right worship to the Temple in Jerusalem less than 200 years before the birth of Christ. Tomorrow, Sunday August 2^nd, the 9^th Sunday after Pentecost, is when the Church commemorates, through its readings, an opposite story: the Temple’s destruction and the fall of Jerusalem under the Roman legions of Titus (~August 4, A.D. 70). Below are the two main Latin Masses in the city of Charlotte for tomorrow.

Sunday Latin Masses

• St. Thomas Aquinas, 11:30am – as of Saturday evening, there are still some inside seats available if you sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0445a4af29a6f94-thefeast (they also have outdoor slots – all will have opportunity to receive Holy Communion)
• St. Ann, 12:30pm – St. Ann will offer its normal Sunday Latin Mass, under the usual constraints.
• Sacred Heart in Salisbury – FYI: 1^st Sunday Mass still on hiatus

The Fall of Jerusalem

This fateful event, commemorated Sunday and prophesized by Our Blessed Lord (Luke 19:41-48), was one of the more horrific sieges in history.  Dom Prosper Gueranger noted that the Temple of Jerusalem flowed with blood, most of its inhabitants killed, not just by Roman soldiers from without, but by lawless, unspeakable violence committed by Jewish Zealots (upon their own people) from within inside the city walls. Further north, the sea of Galilee turned red as bodies piled up after that Jewish revolt was crushed by the Romans. Jewish historian Josephus had reported that years prior to the siege, residents of Jerusalem would see signs in the sky including a flaming sword and chariots foretelling the pending doom (Luke 21:11). The Catholics, seeing the signs, were spared the terror as they remembered Christ’s prophecy (Luke 21:21, Matthew 11:21-24), and escaped to safe harbor.

As Dr. Mike Foley notes in his article below: “The destruction of the Temple is a stern reminder of divine chastisement and the need for our repentance and conversion. As St Paul teaches in the day’s Epistle (1 Cor. 10, 6-13), we must never think we stand on our own, lest we fall.”. For a fuller account of the siege please see these articles:

• Dr. Mike Foley – Weeping Over Jerusalem: http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2020/07/weeping-over-jerusalem-ninth-sunday.html#.XyYDO357nwc
• Dom Prosper Gueranger: https://sensusfidelium.us/the-liturgical-year-dom-prosper-gueranger/the-time-after-pentecost/ninth-sunday-after-pentecost/
• Storm Clouds on the Horizon: A 2014 sermon, from a pious priest in another diocese, on the fall of Jerusalem and how it relates to today’s culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YID9w2ae9pc

On an aside, Gueranger noted that an act of Divine Providence protected the holy site of the Ascension near the Mt. of Olives from the Roman soldiers, chariots and horses as they prepared to lay siege to the city (Friday after the Octave of Ascension):

These venerable authorities tell us that when the Roman army, under Titus, was encamped on Mount Olivet while besieging Jerusalem, divine Providence protected these holy marks, the farewell memorial left by our Lord to His blessed Mother, to His disciples, and to us: it is here that He stood when last seen on earth, it is here that we shall again see Him when He comes to judge mankind. Neither the rude tramp of the soldiers, nor the ponderous chariots, nor the horses’ hoofs, were permitted to efface or injure the sacred footprints. Yes, it was on this very mount, forty years after the Ascension, that the Roman banner was first unfurled, when the time of God’s vengeance came upon the city of deicide.

Other Latin Mass and traditional news

• Latin Mass expands to Vietnam: Some hopeful news as the FSSP reports on their private new apostolate growing in this communist country: https://fssp.com/they-watch-over-it-still/

• Are Pews in Churches a Problem—and, If So, How Much of a Problem?: Kwasniewski writes about the pros and cons on pews (which historically was introduced by Protestants in the 16^th century and later were introduced into Catholic churches). http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2020/07/are-pews-in-churches-problemand-if-so.html#.XyYmM357nwc

• Francis of Assisi & the Virtue of Manliness w/ Friar Anthony: Steve Cunningham with Sensus Fidelium interviews Friar Anthony on masculinity: https://youtu.be/uFa5vkwIRNY

• The Centenary of the Last Integral Editio Typica of the Missale Romanum: Dr. Kwasniewski writes about the 100^th anniversary of the Roman Missal before it was altered from modern liturgical reforms. Examines pros/cons of which edition is best: http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2020/07/the-centenary-of-last-integral-editio.html#.XyYpLX57nwd

Lastly, Sunday August 2^nd is also the feast of St. Alphonsus Liguori the great moral doctor of the Church (suppressed to the 9^th Sunday after Pentecost). Much can be written about him, but suffice to say, if you haven’t read any of his books you are missing out: https://www.tanbooks.com/index.php/author-st-alphonsus-liguori-1.html