Christus Resurréxit! Resurréxit Vere! Blessed Paschaltide greetings on the Octave day of Easter, Low Sunday, otherwise known as Quasimodo Sunday, taken from the first words of the Introit.  As custom, we provide a commentary on the orations for Sunday’s Mass: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2021/04/the-orations-of-low-sunday.html#.YmTFGtPMKHs Additionally, to learn more about the history and customs of Low Sunday, we share these links: https://www.fisheaters.com/customseastertide4.html   

Also in Sunday’s Mass, as it has been for the past eight days, is chanting of the beautiful Victimae Paschali Laudes Easter sequence,which Dr. Mike Foley describes in helpful commentary:
http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2021/04/the-easter-sequence-victimae-paschali_01217123189.html

Latin Masses This Week

• Wednesday April 19, 6pm – St. Ann (Feria of Paschaltide, e.g. no feast day)
• Thursday April 20, 7pm – St. Thomas Aquinas (Feria of Paschaltide)
• Friday April 21, 7am – St. Ann (St. Anslem)
• Saturday April 22, 8am – St. Ann Respect Life Latin Mass (Ss. Soter and Caius, Popes and Martyrs)

NEXT SATURDAY: Holy Face Presentation with Fr. Lawrence Carney Saturday April 22, 7pm (St. Thomas Aquinas)

Fr. Lawrence Carney will be visiting St. Thomas Aquinas parish to give a special talk this Saturday April 22 at 7pm. Father is the head of the League of St. Martin, which promotes the Holy Face Devotion which has been promoted often in these update. Father offers the Latin Mass exclusively, is chaplain to the traditional Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, in Gower, Missouri, and has recently published a book with TAN Books, on the Holy Face devotion: https://tanbooks.com/products/books/tan-books/the-secret-of-the-holy-face/  To learn more about his work please visit: https://www.martinians.org/ (Please see flyer below)

Fr. Carney will also be offering and preaching the 11:30am Latin Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas on Sunday April 23. Please make all efforts to attend this important talk.

Fr. Carney’s  Holy Face Talk at St. Mark Parish – Monday April 24 (5-7pm)

St. Mark parish will also have the privilege of hosting Fr. Carney for its Holy Face devotion on Monday April 24 from 5-7pm. Father will offer a talk and lead a Holy Hour. Please see the other attached flyer. He will also be available to sign his Holy Face book afterwards. His book is, Secret of the Holy Face: The Devotion Destined to Save Society, https://tanbooks.com/products/books/tan-books/the-secret-of-the-holy-face/

Holy Face Devotions

• St Mark – Mondays at 5pm (this week led by Fr. Carney himself!)
• 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?

Latin Mass & Traditional News

• The Wooden Clapper of Holy Week: The Crotalus: Although Lent 2023 is now past, we include one final Lenten article by local writer John Sonnen, about the wooden clapper used in place of the bells during Passiontide: https://www.liturgicalartsjournal.com/2023/04/the-wooden-clapper-of-holy-week-crotalus.html

• Tradition for Tomorrow – The Wandering Oratory: The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, an order of Latin Mass priests which administer parishes in various dioceses, is building a new oratory in San Jose, California, and have produced a video about their community’s story in obtaining a church they can call home: https://institute-christ-king.org/sanjose-home/ (video: https://youtu.be/jZ5SIUzb1r0)

• The Times of Mass: Fr. William Rock, FSSP, has penned another installment on the liturgy, and answers the question, what time of the day can Mass be offered, both in diocesan parishes, as well as abbeys, for different feasts and seasons: https://fssp.com/the-times-of-mass/

• Why the Devil Hates (and Fears) Mary with Fr. Chad Ripperger: The Augustine Institute has published its fifth interview with Fr. Chad Ripperger, this time on the role of Mary in deliverance ministry. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TtOyknCRko (if you would like to see the other interviews see Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV):

• Together We Can Carry the Cross in Mexico: For Holy Week, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, a society of Latin Mass priests who operate Latin Mass parishes across the world, recently interviewed one of their priests about their mission work in Mexico: https://www.missiontradition.us/together-we-can-carry-the-cross-in-mexico/

• Missae Pro Missa – A worldwide spiritual bouquet for the preservation of the Traditional Latin Mass: There is a new Latin Mass campaign to have 1 million Masses offered by Pentecost in support of the preservation of the Traditional Latin Mass. To participate and learn more visit: https://www.missaepromissa.com

Low Sunday with Dom Prosper Gueranger

In closing, we share Dom Prosper Gueranger’s entry, from The Liturgical Year, for Low Sunday, which recounts St. Thomas the Apostle’s doubting of Our Lord’s appearances to the disciples since Easter:

To return to our Apostle — Thomas had heard Magdalene, and he despised her testimony; he had heard Peter, and he objected to his authority; he had heard the rest of his fellow-Apostles and the two disciples of Emmaus, and no, he would not give up his own opinion. How many there are among us, who are like him in this! We never think of doubting what is told us by a truthful and disinterested witness, unless the subject touch upon the supernatural; and then, we have a hundred difficulties. It is one of the sad consequences left in us by original sin. Like Thomas, we would see the thing ourselves: that alone is enough to keep us from the fullness of the truth. We comfort ourselves with the reflection that, after all, we are Disciples of Christ; as did Thomas, who kept in union with his brother-Apostles, only he shared not their happiness. He saw their happiness, but he considered it to be a weakness of mind, and was glad that he was free from it!

How like this is to our modern rationalistic Catholic! He believes, but it is because his reason almost forces him to believe; he believes with his mind, rather than from his heart. His faith is a scientific deduction, and not a generous longing after God and supernatural truth. Hence, how cold and powerless is this faith! how cramped and ashamed! how afraid of believing too much! Unlike the generous unstinted faith of the saints, it is satisfied with fragments of truth, with what the Scripture terms diminished truths. (Psalm 11:2) It seems ashamed of itself. It speaks in a whisper, lest it should be criticised; and when it does venture to make itself heard, it adopts a phraseology, which may take off the sound of the divine…

Now, it was the for the instruction of persons of this class that our Lord spoke those words to Thomas: Blessed are they who have not seen, and have believed. Thomas sinned in not having the readiness of mind to believe. Like him, we also are in danger of sinning, unless our faith have a certain expansiveness, which makes us see everything with the eye of faith, and gives our faith that progress which God recompenses with a superabundance of light and joy.

https://fsspatl.com/liturgical-year/459-temporal-cycle/paschal-tide/second-week-after-easter/3516-quasimodo-or-low-sunday

Christus Resurréxit! Resurréxit Vere! What Mass are you attending Low Sunday?