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Third Sunday After Epiphany

Laudetur Iesus Christus! Sunday is the third Sunday after Epiphany and it also happens to coincide with the ancient feast of the Espousals of Mary and Joseph.  We provide Dr. Mike Foley’s reflections for today’s Secret oration, and on espousal feast:

Petition: For the Diocese of Charlotte to Re-establish the Feast of the Espousals of Mary and Joseph

On the topic of the feast of the espousals, the St. Ann Home School Ministry has started a petition to encourage the Diocese of Charlotte to re-establish the ancient feast of the Espousals of Mary and Joseph. A diocese (via its bishop) sometimes has the authority to re-establish a feast on the local diocesan calendar, and this petition is trying to generate enough support to encourage the diocese to consider this. To sign the petition click here: https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/institute-the-feast-of-the-holy-spouses

CLMC note: With the diocese’s interest in St. Joseph (declaring it 2020 the year of Joseph), an effort like this would certainly be aligned with the spiritual outlook of the Charlotte Diocese for 2022, as it looks to encourage pious activities for its 50th anniversary year which began earlier this month. And of course, this feast would best be celebrated in the Traditional Latin Mass (we already have the Mass’ propers from older missals ready to go!).

SAVE THE DATE: Candlemas – Wednesday February 2

Candlemas is also known as the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and candles were blessed on this day as a symbol of the Blessed Mother presenting the Light of the World to God in the Temple.  As custom, St. Ann will be offering its normal 6pm Latin Mass on Wednesday February 2nd. Immediately prior to Mass, Father will bless the candles in the traditional Latin blessing.  The next day, the feast of St. Blaise (February 3), the candles blessed the day prior are used for the blessing of throats.  

Candles for February 2nd: With Candlemas coming, if one wants to order 100% pure beeswax candles, Lux Candles operated by a Catholic family in South Dakota is a good choice. One has to place orders the old fashioned way – via telephone. http://www.luxcandlecompany.com/

New & Local Catholic Tech Company Offering E-mail Service

As noted last week, we are pleased to share that a new Catholic tech company has formed, founded by a faithful parishioner at St. John the Baptist in Tryon. Fidei.email is a new service which provides private e-mail without the connections to big tech or the surveillance/ marketing industry. It also has plans to offer other tech services. Check them out at: https://fidei.email/

Latin Mass & Traditional News

  • Day of the Unborn: Dr. Mike Foley has a good article on why it’s not a good idea to place a civic event such as the Roe vs. Wade anniversary on the official liturgical calendar as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have done. It can still be be a day of prayer and penance (as it was yesterday), but it’s another thing to enshrine a secular matter in the sacred calendar: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2022/01/day-of-unborn.html#.YezrCvhOmHt
  • Ultramontanism: Its Life and Death: If there is a bad plague afflicting the Church today, it is that of ultramontanism, which is essentially the hyper worship of authority and/or obedience – where anything a Church leader says or does means it is binding and “must” be followed by all.  We saw this play out over the last two years when bizarre and even spiritually harmful COVID protocols were imposed in the name of “obedience to one’s bishop and/or state”. Sadly, may see this playout again should more strange “protocols” on the Latin Mass come from Rome or future “crises” of another kind develop. While one may rightly suspect this problem had its roots at the Vatican Council – it was actually the first Vatican council in the mid-nineteenth century where this problem of ultramontanism began to take shape (technically it may have started with Jesuits back in the sixteenth century but that’s for another day).  Thankfully, Mr. Stuart Chessman of the Society of Hugh Cluny, a Latin Mass group in Connecticut, published a lengthy but excellent history of its history: https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2022/01/ultramontanism-its-life-and-death.html?m=1#more
  • On “Hearing Mass” – by Dr. Peter Kwasniewski: A helpful reminder of the importance of interior participation at Mass, not necessarily verbal participation as is found in the Novus Ordo Mass. https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2022/01/on-hearing-mass.html
  • Photos from a Recent Traditional Betrothal Ceremony – Dr. Peter Kwasniewski: If there are any young adult members of our community that is currently courting and have plans to be engaged, one beautiful – and sadly lost – ceremony in the Traditional Rite to consider is the betrothal ceremony. Dr. Peter Kwasniewski has a quick write up on what it is, and some photos: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2022/01/photos-from-recent-traditional.html#.YezpMfhOmHt (to request it, please speak with a Latin Mass priest)

January 18 – the Ancient feast of the Chair of St. Peter in Rome

Last Tuesday January 18 was listed as a feria day (no feast day), but in earlier eras, it was actually the feast of the Chair of St. Peter in Rome. This may cause a little confusion to some as February 22 is currently listed as the Chair of St. Peter, but in prior years, this latter feast was to celebrate St. Peter’s first bishopric in Antioch (modern day Turkey). On January 18 however was celebrated the feast of St. Peter’s Chair in Rome – his Pontifical See.

With so much turmoil and problems in Rome today, it may be helpful (and edifying) to learn about Rome’s vocation as envisioned by God, for the Catholic Church, and how God used the infrastructure of Roman Empire to help establish his Church and evangelize the faith – once the mighty pagan empire, the whore of Babylon, was conquered (Apocalypse 18 & 19). Here is Dom Prosper Gueranger’s OSB reflection (in The Liturgical Year), who quotes a speech from St. Leo the Great:

“When Peter enters Rome, therefore, he comes to realize and explain the destinies of this Queen of Cities; he comes to promise her an Empire even greater than the one she possesses. This new Empire is not to be founded by the sword, as was the first. Rome has been hitherto the proud mistress of nations; henceforth she is to be the Mother of the world by Charity; and though all peaceful, yet her Empire shall last to the end of time. Let us listen to St Leo the Great, describing to us in one of the finest of his Sermons, and in his own magnificent style, the humble yet all-eventful entrance of the Fisherman of Genesareth into the Capital of the Pagan world.

‘The good and just and omnipotent God, who never refused his mercy to the human race, and instructed all men in general in the knowledge of himself by his superabundant benefits, took pity, by a more hidden counsel and a deeper love, on the voluntary blindness of them that had gone astray, and on the wickedness which was growing in its proneness to evil; and sent therefore into the world his co-equal and co-eternal Word. The which Word being made Flesh did so unite the divine to the human nature, as that the deep debasement of the one was the highest uplifting of the other.

But that the effect of this unspeakable gift might be diffused throughout the entire world, the providence of God had been preparing the Roman Empire, which had so far extended its limits as to embrace in itself all the nations of the earth. For nothing could be better suited to the divine plan than the confederation of various kingdoms under one and the same Empire; and the preaching of the Gospel to the whole world would the more rapidly be effected by having the several nations united under the government of one common City.

But this City, ignoring the author of this her promotion, whilst mistress of almost every nation under the sun, was the slave of every nation’s errors; and prided herself on having a grand religion, because she had admitted every false doctrine. So that the faster the devil’s hold of her, the more admirable her deliverance by Christ.

For when the twelve Apostles, after receiving by the Holy Ghost the gift of tongues, divided among themselves the world they had to evangelize, the most blessed Peter, the Prince of the Apostolic order, was sent to the Capital of the Roman Empire, in order that the light of truth, which had been revealed for the salvation of all nations, might the more effectively flow from the head itself into the whole body of the world.

The fact was that there were in this City people belonging to every nation, and the rest of the world soon learnt whatever was taught at Rome. Here, therefore, were to be refuted the opinions of philosophy; here the follies of human wisdom to be exploded; here the worship of devils to be convicted of blasphemy; here the impiety of all the sacrifices to be first abolished; for it was here that an official superstition had systematized into one great whole the fragmentary errors of every other portion of the earth.’”

We may consider including in our Latin Mass intentions to pray that Rome is restored to her vocation of spreading the Light of Truth to the whole world.

It’s Sunday – what Mass are you attending today?