Laudetur Iesus Christus! This coming Saturday is the Solemnity of St. Joseph, which honors the foster father of our Blessed Lord.

Latin Masses for the Feast of St. Joseph (Saturday March 19)

Regretfully, there will not be any diocesan Latin Masses in the Charlotte area on Saturday. The nearest Latin Masses will be at these parishes:

• 8am – Prince of Peace parish, Taylors, SC (2 hours southwest of Charlotte)

• 9am – St. Margaret Mary parish, Swannanoa, NC (2 hours northwest of Charlotte) – this will be a High Mass

• 10am – Our Lady of the Lake parish, Chapin, SC (1.75 hours south of Charlotte) (Home of our friends with the Columbia Traditional Latin Mass Supporters)
  
• 2pm – St. Elizabeth of the Hill Country, Boone, NC (2 hours northwest of Charlotte)

On occasion of this first class solemnity, as Fr. Reid noted in the St. Ann bulletin, Lenten penances are relaxed on this day. To learn about the feast day visit these links:  

• St. Joseph Feast Day and Customs: https://www.fisheaters.com/customslent5.html
• The Life and Glories of St. Joseph: https://tanbooks.com/saints/saint-biography-books/the-life-and-glories-of-saint-joseph/
• St. Joseph by Dom Prosper Gueranger, OSB: https://sensusfidelium.com/the-liturgical-year-dom-prosper-gueranger/march/march-19-st-joseph-spouse-of-the-blessed-virgin/

Novena for the Consecration of Russia (begins today March 16 – 24)

As many have heard, Pope Francis has agreed to consecrate Russia (and Ukraine) to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at 12 noon Eastern on Friday March 25, the feast of the Annunciation.  This came at the request of the Ukrainian bishops who requested it be done as Our Lady of Fatima requested.  Understandably, there may be spiritual obstacles thrown up to prevent the Holy Father in offering the consecration, and properly.  Bishop Athanasius Schneider (whom visited the CLMC and St. Ann in 2017), penned a daily prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, imploring her to assist in obtaining the graces for Pope Francis to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. If we may suggest, readers may consider praying this prayer for 9 days, beginning today Wednesday  March 16, and concluding Thursday March 24, the feast of St. Gabriel, the day prior to the Annunciation.  The prayer is as followed:

Prayer for the Holy Father to Consecrate Russia

O Immaculate Heart of Mary, you are the holy Mother of God and our tender Mother. Look upon the distress in which the Church and the whole of humanity are living because of the spread of materialism and the persecution of the Church. In Fatima, you warned against these errors, as you spoke about the errors of Russia. You are the Mediatrix of all graces. Implore your Divine Son to grant this special grace for the Pope: that he might consecrate Russia to your Immaculate Heart, so that Russia will be converted, a period of peace will be granted to the world, and your Immaculate Heart will triumph, through an authentic renewal of the Church in the splendor of the purity of the Catholic Faith, of the sacredness of Divine worship and of the holiness of the Christian life. O Queen of the Holy Rosary and our sweet Mother, turn your merciful eyes to us and graciously hear this our trusting prayer. Amen.

+ Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of the archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana

One can also find it on Bishop Schneider’s Confraternity of Fatima website (which we encourage all to join in): https://www.livefatima.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/PrayerCard_09.pdf

This sermon posted by Sensus Fidelium has many reasons why the consecration needs to happen now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDhvQuHRISU