Laudetur Iesus Christus! Sunday the Church celebrates the 3rd Sunday in Advent, otherwise known as Gaudete Sunday, taken from the first words of the Introit (rejoice). The priest wears Rose colored vestments to indicate hope during this penitential time that Christ in His Incarnation is coming. We share a commentary on Sunday’s Collect: http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2020/12/the-accommodating-collect-of-third.html
Fisheaters.com – Gaudete Sunday: https://www.fisheaterscom/customsadvent13.html
December 13-15: Advent Mission with Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) Priests (St. Thomas Aquinas parish)
St. Thomas Aquinas Parish has invited priests from the Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) to offer an Advent mission this week from Tuesday evenings December 13 – Thursday December 15. The schedule will feature a mission talk as well as confessions each evening. Additionally as a bonus, each night before the mission, the priests will give a customized talk on separate nights for men, youth, and women. We can’t express enough the blessing of having these priests – who offer the Latin Mass exclusively – to give a mission and a few talks. We encourage everyone to take advantage of this wonderful event. The mission priests are Fr Joseph Portzer, FSSP, and Fr. Martin Adams, FSSP. The schedule is as follows:
Tuesday December 13
6pm – Men’s Talk
7pm – Mission (open to all)
Wednesday December 14
6pm – Youth Talk (suited for high school age youth – parents discretion)
7pm – Mission (open to all)
Thursday December 15
6pm – Women’s Talk
7pm – Latin Mass (open to all)
8pm – Mission (open to all)
Advent Embertide this week
This coming Wednesday, Friday and Saturday are the seasonal ember days – when the traditional Church sets aside 3 days each season for prayer, fasting and partial abstinence (*now voluntary) to thank God for his gifts of creation and to use them in moderation. It’s a good time to also pray for sanctity for the upcoming season. Fisheaters has more commentary here: https://www.fisheaters.com/customsadvent11.html
Ember Week Masses:
- Wednesday December 14, 6pm – St. Ann, 6pm (Low) – *Fasting/Partial Abstinence (meat at primary meal)
- Thursday December 15, 7pm – St. Thomas Aquinas, Feria (Not an Ember Day, no fasting nor abstinence)
- Friday December 16, 7am (St. Ann) & 12:30pm (St. Mark), Commemoration of St. Eusebius – *Fasting/Abstinence (no meat)
- Saturday December 17: None scheduled diocesan parishes in/near Charlotte, sadly (see Rorate schedule) – *Fasting/Partial Abstinence (meat at primary meal)
Upcoming Rorate Latin Masses
- Saturday December 17, 6am – Our Lady of Grace, Greensboro (1.5 hours north of Charlotte)
- Saturday December 17, 6:30am – Prince of Peace, Taylors, SC (2 hours southwest of Charlotte)
St. Ann Annual Blessing of Religious Objects – Sunday December 18
After the 12:30pm St. Ann parish Latin Mass on Sunday December 18, Father will bless religious objects in the Traditional Rite. These items can be, statues, holy water, salt, oil, medals, Rosaries. A table will be placed in the narthex – please place items on table prior to the 12:30pm Mass. Immediately after Mass, Father will begin blessing – new objects cannot be placed on the table after that point. Table should be up by 12 noon – 12:15pm.
Christmas Latin Mass Schedule – Feast of the Nativity Sunday December 25
Midnight Latin Masses:
- St. Thomas Aquinas parish
- St. Ann parish
- Our Lady of the Angels in Marion (1.75 hours northwest of Charlotte),
- St. Elizabeth of the Hill Country, Boone (2 hours northwest of Charlotte)
- St. John the Baptist, Tryon (2 hours west of Charlotte)
- Prince of Peace, Taylors, SC (2 hours southwest of Charlotte)
Christmas Day Latin Masses
- 11:30am – St. Thomas Aquinas (Note: There will not be a 12:30pm Latin Mass at St. Ann on Christmas Day)
- 1pm – Our Lady of Grace, Greensboro
- 1pm – Our Lady of the Lake, Chapin, SC (2 hours south of Charlotte)
- All other parishes: Please check the parish bulletin or call ahead to confirm.
Community News
- Second Fr. Ripperger Talk Added For Friday March 10: Due to the overwhelming interest in hearing exorcist and traditional theologian, Fr. Chad Ripperger, St. Thomas Aquinas parish is now hosting a second, identical talk, by Fr Ripperger on Friday March 10. Please see the parish’s note:
Due to the Saturday, March 11, 2023 event filling up so quickly, Fr. Codd asked Fr. Ripperger if he would be willing to come on Friday, March 10, 2023, to do an additional identical conference, in order to allow for more parishioners and folks from the diocese to attend. Fr. Ripperger graciously agreed, and so we will now have him speak both on Friday and Saturday. Note, these will be the same talk on both days. Saturday is already full. If you are signed up already to attend Saturday, please do not register for Friday as well, or we will delete your registration. Please register as soon as possible in order to help us with planning. As well, if you are able to help support us bringing Fr. Ripperger in for an additional talk, please use the registration form to do so, or use this link. Thank you! https://www.osvhub.com/st-thomas-aquinas-rc-church/forms/frripperger-friday
- Holy Face Devotions
- St. Mark – Mondays 2-2:45pm
- St. Thomas Aquinas – Tuesdays 6am in the main church
- St. Ann – Tuesdays 7:30am in the chapel after the Novus Ordo Mass (uses the booklet/chaplet which takes 15-20 minutes)
- St. Michael the Archangel, Gastonia – Tuesdays, 6:30-7pm, Holy Family Room
- Holy Spirit, Denver – Tuesdays 10-11am after the Novus Ordo Mass
- Don’t see your parish? Why not organize one?
Latin Mass & Traditional News
- Devotion to St. Nicholas among the Dominicans and in the Life of St. Thomas Aquinas: This past Tuesday was the feast of St. Nicholas, the great bishop of Myra. Dr. Peter Kwasniewski (who visited us last September), has written an article on the influence St. Nicholas had upon St. Thomas Aquinas and his writings: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2022/12/devotion-to-st-nicholas-among.html#.Y5LLmX3MKHt
- “Innumerable miracles”, reduced to none: Saint Nicholas in the Traditional and Modern Roman Missals: St. Nicholas has had many miracles attributed to him during his lifetime, however sadly in recent decades there were changes to the liturgical texts that minimized this important fact. Liturgical writer Matthew Hazell has examined the difference in prayers from the Traditional Rite and the Novus Ordo Missals: https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2022/12/innumerable-miracles-reduced-to-none.html
- A Boy-Bishop for the Feast of St Nicholas: As this is the third article related to St. Nicholas in this update, one can surmise how influential this saint is in the church. Greg DiPippo with the New Liturgical Movement writes of an interesting custom in Europe where on St. Nicholas Day, a boy is appointed bishop for a day, based on the ancient English custom. To learn more visit: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2022/12/a-boy-bishop-for-feast-of-st-nicholas.html#.Y5DL8H3MKHs
- Follow Matthew Hazell’s Work on Facebook: Matthew Hazell (whom we featured above) has setup a Facebook page where he provides more analysis of the differences between the liturgical texts of 1962 (Traditional Latin Mass) and 1969/2011 (Novus Ordo Mass). To learn more visit this brief article explaining his work: https://www.newliturgicalmovementorg/2022/12/follow-matthew-hazells-work-on-facebook.html#.Y5Im-n3MKHs
- Feast of the Translation of the House of Loretto (Our Lady of Loretto): Yesterday December 10 was an ancient local feast (mainly in Italy) of the Holy House of Loretto, Italy, the home where Our Lady received the message of the Incarnation from St. Gabriel the Archangel. This house was miraculously transported from Palestine to Italy in the 13th century, and December 10 is the day of commemoration. Interestingly in 2019 Pope Francis elevated this as an optional feast in the universal Roman calendar. We share Dom Prosper Gueranger’s reflection on this important but overlooked feast, nestled between the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe. https://fsspatl.com/liturgical-year/505-sanctoral-cycle/december/3018-december-10-translation-of-the-house-of-loretto
- Four Thousand Years Between Adam and Christ: The Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation (whom the CLMC co-sponsored their 2019 seminar), had an article last week mentioning the various times Dom Prosper Gueranger restated the traditional belief that the time between creation and the birth of Christ was 4,000 years old, and how the four weeks of Advent symbolize this traditional chronology (not millions or billions of years as some suggest): https://www.kolbecenter.org/kolbe-report-12-3-22/
Gaudete Sunday – Dom Prosper Gueranger
We close this update with a reflection by the great Benedictine liturgist, Servant of God Dom Prosper Gueranger, who reminds us that the coming of the Savior is approaching on this Gaudete Sunday.
Today, again, the Church is full of joy, and the joy is greater than it was. It is true that her Lord has not come; but she feels that He is nearer than before, and therefore she thinks it just to lessen somewhat the austerity of this penitential season by the innocent cheerfulness of her sacred rites. And first, this Sunday has had the name of Gaudete given to it, from the first word of the Introit; it also is honoured with those impressive exceptions which belong to the fourth Sunday of Lent, called Lœtare. The organ is played at the Mass; the vestments are rose-colour; the deacon resumes the dalmatic, and the subdeacon the tunic; and in cathedral churches the bishop assists with the precious mitre. How touching are all these usages, and how admirable this condescension of the Church, wherewith she so beautifully blends together the unalterable strictness of the dogmas of faith and the graceful poetry of the formulæ of her liturgy! Let us enter into her spirit, and be glad on this third Sunday of her Advent, because our Lord is now so near unto us. To-morrow we will resume our attitude of servants mourning for the absence of their Lord and waiting for Him; for every delay, however short, is painful and makes love sad…
…Nothing is more just than that we rejoice in the Lord. Both the prophet and the apostle excite us to desire the Saviour, both of them promise us peace. Therefore, let us not be solicitous: the Lord is nigh; nigh to His Church, and nigh to each of our souls. Who can be near so burning a fire, and yet be cold? Do we not feel that He is coming to us, in spite of all obstacles? He will let nothing be a barrier between Himself and us, neither His own infinite high majesty, nor our exceeding lowliness, nor our many sins. Yet a little while, and He will be with us. Let us go out to meet Him by these prayers and supplications, and thanksgiving which the apostle recommends to us. Let our zeal to unite ourselves with our holy mother the Church become more than ever fervent: now every day her prayers will increase in intense earnestness, and her longings after Him, who is her light and her love, will grow more ardent.
Today is Gaudete Sunday and the coming of the Lord is nigh. What Mass are you attending Sunday?
Charlotte Latin Mass Community 