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Third Sunday of Lent

Laudetur Iesus Christus! Sunday is the third Sunday of Lent, and as custom, we share a commentary for Sunday’s Collect prayer: http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2021/03/the-taciturn-collect-for-third-sunday.html

Daylight Savings Time: Reminder that today Sunday March 12 begins Daylight Savings Time. Please set your clocks ahead 1 hour.

CLMC Novena: Yesterday concluded our annual novena to our patron, St. Gregory the Great, whose feast day is today. We thank those who joined us in praying for full sacramental life in the Traditional Rite and for more Latin Mass priests.

On a separate but related note about Latin Mass priests, between Fr. Portzer’s Lenten mission and Fr. Ripperger’s visit this past weekend, these two back-to-back events were a source of great consolation for the Latin Mass faithful when the Latin Mass faces an uncertain future. If you haven’t already done so, please pray a decade of one’s Rosary for Fr. Codd (for hosting them), and consider thanking him when you have a chance. If missed the talks please see the below note.

Fr. Ripperger’s Talk/Supporting St. Thomas Aquinas

For the second week in a row, the CLMC is grateful for St. Thomas Aquinas parish for inviting a traditional priest to give a talk to the faithful. Fr. Ripperger’s talks and Q&A this weekend was a wonderful spiritual gift to all. For those unable to attend, the parish recorded both talks, which will be available at this website: https://www.stacharlotte.com/newpagea605b85d (select Fr. Ripperger 2023).  You may need to request a password from the parish to access the talks, if so, please contact them at: https://www.osvhub.com/st-thomas-aquinas-rc-church/forms/audio-pw-contact-us

The talks are also available here:

Supporting St. Thomas Aquinas Parish: With all the great traditional speakers the parish brought in the last weeks, please consider supporting their speakers fund so they can invite more speakers in the future. This is a great almsgiving opportunity: https://www.osvhub.com/st-thomas-aquinas-rc-church/giving/funds/guest-speaker-fees

Latin Masses This Week

  • Wednesday March 15, 6pm – St. Ann parish (Feria day, e.g. no feast day)
  • Thursday March 16, 7pm – St. Thomas Aquinas (Feria)
  • Friday March 17, 7am (St. Ann) and 12:30pm (St. Mark), (feast of St. Patrick)

Community News

Charles Fraune to Speak at Catholic Men’s Conference – Next Saturday March 18

Next Saturday March 18 is the annual Catholic Men’s Conference of the Carolinas.  Charles Fraune, Latin Mass devotee, St. Thomas Aquinas parishioner, and author of Slaying Dragons, will be one of the featured speakers. As readers may recall, he also spoke at the Fatima Center talk a few weeks ago. The conference runs from 8:30 – 3:30pm and registration is required. To learn more or purchase a ticket visit: https://www.catholicmenofthecarolinas.org/

Holy Face Devotions

  • St Mark – Monday at 5:30pm, left transept (special time for Monday March 13 only) (next week it will be March 20, 2pm)
  • 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, 9am, Main Church
  • Holy Spirit, Denver – Tuesdays 10-11am after the Novus Ordo Mass
  • Don’t see your parish? Why not organize one?

Update on Sarah Grant: Thank you for the prayers for Ryan Grant’s wife, Sarah Grant last week. Very sadly, according to his social media account, she is scheduled to receive Last Rites. The prayer that Fr. Chad Ripperger encouraged everyone to pray a few weeks ago for Sarah can be found here: https://charlottelatinmass.files.wordpress.com/2023/02/prayer-to-father-aloysius.pdf

Latin Mass & Traditional News

  • Purim and Lent – Esther and Cecilia: Last September we shared a wonderful article by Fr. William Rock, FSSP, on the connections between the Traditional Latin Mass and Old Testament feast days, particularly the connection between Autumn Ember Saturday and the Jewish feast days of Rosh Hashanah (New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). This week, Fr. Rock has released an excellent follow up article,in which he discusses the Jewish feast of Purim, which occurs this time of year to honor the intercession of Queen Esther to save the Jewish people threatened by the Persian King’s officials.  The Traditional Latin Mass readings from this past week (Wednesday of the Second  Lent) honors that ancient feast by including a reading from the Book of Esther: https://fssp.com/purim-and-lent-esther-and-cecilia/
  • Pray for the canonization of Ignatius Cardinal Kung – March 12: During the Cold War, there were two high ranking prelates imprisoned by communists on opposite ends of the earth for practicing their Catholic faith. As Archbishop Fulton Sheen remarked, in the west it was Servant of God, Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty of Hungary (who later escaped to the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, and then was later exiled to Austria until his death in 1975).  In the east, it was Cardinal Ignatius Kung, the first bishop of Shanghai who stood strong for papal authority, and for it, spent the better part of 30 years in prison (1955-1985). His Eminence was exiled to Connecticut in the 1980s where he offered the Traditional Latin Mass occasionally until his death on March 12, 2000.  Today marks the 23rd anniversary of his death, please consider offering prayers for his canonization as he could be a powerful intercessor against Chinese Communism The Cardinal Kung Foundation is also a worthy group to give alms to and allow people to request Masses be offered by underground priests in China: http://www.cardinalkungfoundation.org/

  • The Second Semi-Annual DC Latin Mass Pilgrimage on Saturday March 25: On the feast of the Annunciation, Saturday March 25, the second DC Latin Mass pilgrimage will occur in our nation’s capital. The goal is to march from the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington, Virginia to the Cathedral of St. Matthew in Washington, DC – all to pray and generate support for the Traditional Latin Mass. If you wish to travel please see the website for specific details: https://www.tlmpilgrimage.com/ To learn more about the purpose of the pilgrimage please visit this website: https://onepeterfive.com/the-second-semi-annual-dc-pilgrimage-on-march-25/ or view an informative interview with the organizer: https://savethelatinmass.org/2023/03/03/onepeterfive-the-national-summorum-pontificum-pilgrimage/
  • Fairfield Carmelite Nuns Complete Their Refectory: If one is looking for more signs of hope for the future of the Traditional Latin Mass and the Church, look no further than the Fairfield Traditional Carmelite Nuns, who follow the traditional Carmelite Rite (like the nearby Carmelite Hermits). They are building a monastery according to the traditional principles outlined by St. Theresa of Avila, the great Carmelite reformer. In another installment, the Nuns have just posted a video about the completion of their refectory which was blessed by their local bishop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROoMlHZ8Jj4

    The nuns, who rely solely on donations (donate here), are also in need of some items for their daily needs, which one can purchase for them here: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3FBH6PNCDVJTB?ref=cm_go_nav_hz

    CLMC note: As Dr. John Senior noted in his book Restoration of Christian Culture, monasteries are the building blocks of Catholic civilization and culture. Our country is quite blessed to have such an modest edifice rising to heaven. Despite these uncertain times, this gives us great hope for the future.

The Apostle of the Liturgy: St. Gregory the Great – March 12 by Dom Prosper Gueranger

The patron saint of the CLMC is St. Gregory the Great, whose feast day is today Sunday March 12. It is fitting to close with some of Dom Prosper Gueranger’s reflections from his book, The Liturgical Year:

Among all the Pastors whom our Lord Jesus Christ has placed as his Vice-regents over the universal Church, there is not one whose merits and renown have surpassed those of the holy Pope whose feast we keep today. His name is Gregory, which signifies watchfulness; his surname is the Great, and he was in possession of that title when God sent the Seventh Gregory, the glorious Hildebrand, to govern his Church.

In recounting the glorious of this illustrious Pontiff, it is but natural we should begin with his zeal for the Services of the Church. The Roman Liturgy, which owes to him some of its finest Hymns, may be considered as his work, at least in this sense, that it was he who collected together and classified the prayers and rites drawn up by his predecessors, and reduced to the form in which we now have them. He collected also the ancient chants of the Church and arranged them in accordance with the rules and requirements of the Divine Service. Hence it is that our sacred music is called the Gregorian Chant, which gives such solemnity to the Liturgy and inspires the soul with respect and devotion during the celebration of the great Mysteries of our Faith.

He is, then, the Apostle of the Liturgy, and this alone would have immortalized his name; but we must look for far greater things from such a Pontiff as Gregory. His name was added to the three who had hitherto been honored as the great Doctors of the Latin Church. These three were Ambrose, Augustine, and Jerome; who else could be the fourth but Gregory? The Church found in his Writings such evidence of his having been guided by the Holy Ghost—such a knowledge of the Sacred Scriptures, such a clear appreciation of the Mysteries of Faith, and such unction and authority in his teachings that she gladly welcomed him as a new guide for her children.

The Traditional Latin Mass and the Gregorian Chant that accompanies it was safeguarded and codified by St. Gregory the Great, and despite these uncertain times, it will be offered until the end of time, and thus gives us great hope. What Mass are you attending Sunday?

St. Gregory the Great, pray for us!