Laudetur Iesus Christus! Sunday is the fifth Sunday after Pentecost, or, depending on the parish, the External Solemnity of the Feast of Ss. Peter & Paul. It also is the commemoration of the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which normally falls on July 2nd.  We share a commentary on the Collect for the Mass of the fifth Sunday after Pentecost: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2021/06/the-loving-collect-of-fifth-sunday.html

Latin Masses This Week

• Wednesday July 5, 6pm – St. Ann (St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria, Confessor)
• Thursday July 6, 7pm – St. Thomas Aquinas (Feria, e.g. no feast day)
• Friday July 7, 7am – St. Ann (Ss. Cyril and Methodius, Bishops and Confessors)

First Sunday Latin Mass in Salisbury – Today Sunday July 2, 4pm

Sacred Heart parish in Salisbury will offer its 1^st Sunday Latin Mass today Sunday July 2^nd at 4pm. Mass is offered by Fr. Robert Ferguson, FSSP. Afterwards a potluck will be held in the Brincefield Hall. Please bring a dish or dessert to share. For more information please contact the Salisbury Latin Mass Community at: www.salisburylmc.org

CANCELLED: 1st Sunday Potluck at St. Thomas Aquinas

Due to the holiday weekend, there will not be a potluck after today’s Sunday’s Latin Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas.

Holy Face Devotions

• St. James, Concord– Mondays 10-10:30am in the cry room in the church
• St Mark – Mondays 5pm in the church
• St. Thomas Aquinas – Tuesdays 6am in the church
• St. Ann – Tuesdays 7:30am in the main church after the Novus Ordo Mass (uses the booklet/chaplet which takes 15-20 minutes)
• St Michael the Archangel, Gastonia – Tuesdays, 9am, in the church
• Holy Spirit, Denver – Tuesdays 10-11am after the Novus Ordo Mass
• Don’t see your parish? Why not organize one?

Help Support Fr. Ripperger’s New Chapel

Many of you may recall exorcist and theologian, Fr. Chad Ripperger’s visit to St. Thomas Aquinas this past March. Several years ago, he founded an order of exorcists, the Dolorans (who offer the Traditional Mass exclusively) in Colorado, who are now trying to build a chapel for their community. If one would like to support this worthy endeavor or learn more, please view their website and watch their documentary: https://dolorans.org/chapel/

2023 Women’s Traditional Silent Retreat (July 21-23)

The Legion of Mary in Raleigh is sponsoring a traditional silent women’s retreat at the Catholic Conference Center in Hickory, northwest of Charlotte from July 21-23. The retreat will feature Fr. Sean Kopczynski of the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist, a Latin Mass order of priests in Kentucky. Masses will be offered each day. Cost is around $280 and the flyer is attached. To register or for more details please see this flyer below.

Latin Mass & Traditional News

• A Week of Peacemakers: The Saints from July 4 to 9: Dr. Mike Foley pens an excellent piece on saints that array the liturgical calendar during this week: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2023/07/a-week-of-peacemakers-saints-from-july.html#more

• Interesting Saints on July 4: To pick up on Dr. Foley’s article, Greg DiPippo has an informative article (from last year) on saints whom the Church commemorates on July 4: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2022/07/interesting-saints-on-july-4th.html#.YsUZ_oTMKHs

• The Canonization of Maria Goretti: July 6 was traditionally the octave day of Ss. Peter & Paul, but in 1950, Pope Pius XII canonized a famous Italian martyr for purity, St. Maria Goretti, and established her date of death – July 6 – as her feast day. Although it is not celebrated as a universal feast day in the Latin Mass, her feast day is actually in the 1962 Roman Missal as a local feast day in Italy. This article shows a video of that canonization Mass: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2022/07/the-canonization-of-st-maria-goretti.html

• The Legend of Simon Magus: As noted in our June 28 update, the martyrdom of Ss. Peter & Paul were connected in part by the death of their adversary, the false penitent Simon Magus (Acts 8:9-24). Greg DiPippo wrote an article last year which goes into more of the traditions surrounding Simon’s death and its link to Ss. Peter & Paul’s martyrdom: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2022/07/the-legend-of-simon-magus.html#.YsUZ84TMKHs

• Perpetual Helper: In another article by Dr. Foley, provides some background on the Marian feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help which was this past Tuesday June 27 (local feast): https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2023/06/perpetual-helper.html

Martyrdom of St. Paul (June 30)

On Wednesday we shared Dom Prosper Gueranger’s reflection on St. Peter’s martyrdom. Today, on the 4^th day of the ancient octave of Ss. Peter & Paul, we share his brief commentary on St. Paul’s martyrdom, who the Church also commemorates on June 30, the day after the feast of Ss. Peter and Paul. This feast of June 30 is also different from the feast of St. Paul’s conversion on January 25. Here is Gueranger’s entry for June 30 on St. Paul’s martyrdom:

On the twenty-ninth of June, in the year 67, whilst Peter, having crossed the Tiber by the triumphal bridge, was drawing nigh to the cross prepared for him on the Vatican plain, another martyrdom was being consummated on the left bank of the same river. Paul, as he was led along the Ostian Way, was also followed by a group of the faithful who mingled with the escort of the condemned. His sentence was that he should be beheaded at the Salvian waters. A two miles’ march brought the soldiers to a path leading eastwards, by which they led their prisoner to the place fixed upon for his martyrdom. Paul fell on his knees, addressing his last prayer to God; then having bandaged his eyes, he awaited the death-stroke. A soldier brandished his sword, and the apostle’s head, as it was severed from the trunk, made three bounds along the ground; three fountains immediately sprang up on these several spots. Such is the local tradition; and to this day three fountains are to be seen on the site of his martyrdom, over each of which an altar is raised.

https://fsspatl.com/liturgical-year/520-sanctoral-cycle/june/3190-june-30-the-commemoration-of-st-paul

I Have Given Blood to You – Feast of the Precious Blood, July 1

Continuing on his series of liturgical feast days and scripture, Fr. William Rock, FSSP, has written an insightful essay on the meaning behind the feast of the Precious Blood, which was celebrated yesterday July 1, in the Traditional Rite. To conclude today’s update, we share a few excerpts from his article:

Corpus Christi celebrates the presence of Our Lord’s Body (Corpus Christi) hidden under the appearance of Bread.  Does the Feast of the Precious Blood, then, celebrate the presence of Our Lord’s Blood under the appearance of Wine?

An examination of the texts of Corpus Christi, however, reveals that this feast, despite its name, celebrates the Eucharistic presences of both of Our Lord’s Body and His Blood.  For example, the Collect, the opening prayer, of Corpus Christi reads: “O God, under a marvelous sacrament you have left us the memorial of thy Passion; grant us, we beseech thee, so to venerate the sacred mysteries of thy Body and Blood, that we may ever perceive within us the fruit of thy Redemption.”

Similarly, by examining the texts for the Feast of the Precious Blood, it becomes clear that the Feast is about celebrating, not Our Lord’s Blood under the appearance of Wine in the Holy Eucharist, but rather the Blood in Our Lord’s veins, the Blood shed in Sacrifice, the Blood hypostatically united to the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, God the Son.  For even when Our Lord’s Blood was separated from His Body on the Cross, His Blood, at least a great deal of It, was still united to Our Lord’s Divinity and worthy of divine worship.  The Feast of the Precious Blood can be paired, then, with the Feast of the Sacred Heart and its devotion rather than with the Feast of Corpus Christi…

…Blood crying out on behalf of the faithful, Blood as a source of divine life, Blood sealing a divine covenant, Blood as protection, Blood for the forgiveness of sins in sacrifice, and Blood as a means of purification.  These are the considerations which the Church invites her children to ponder in their hearts on the Feast of the Precious Blood and, by extension, during this month of July.

I Have Given Blood to You: https://fssp.com/i-have-given-blood-to-you/

Blood of Christ, poured out on the Cross, save us!  (From the Litany of the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ)

What Mass are you attending Sunday?

Laudetur Iesus Christus and blessed Vigil of Ss. Peter and Paul! Tomorrow Thursday June 29 is the feast of Ss. Peter and Paul, an important feast day commemorating the first Pope and the apostle to the Gentiles. We share an article in the New Liturgical Movement about today’s vigil of Ss. Peter & Paul, which prepares us for tomorrow’s feast day: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2022/06/the-vigil-of-ss-peter-and-paul.html#.YrvcY4TMKHs

Latin Masses This Week

• Tonight Wednesday June 28, 6pm – St. Ann parish (Vigil of Ss. Peter and Paul)
• Tomorrow Thursday June 29, 7pm – St. Thomas Aquinas (Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul)
• Friday June 30, 7am – St. Ann (Commemoration of St. Paul)

Traditions and Customs of the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul

The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) has published an informative article on the traditions and customs of this solemn feast: https://fssp.com/traditions-of-ss-peter-and-paul/

Feast of the Precious Blood – Saturday July 1

We are blessed to have two Saturday morning Latin Masses for this feast day (which is unique to the Traditional Rite), which also falls on first Saturday.

• 9am – St. Ann
• 10am – St. Thomas Aquinas (followed by blessing of religious objects in the traditional rite)

First Sunday Latin Mass in Salisbury – Sunday July 2, 4pm

Sacred Heart parish in Salisbury will offer its 1^st Sunday Latin Mass this Sunday July 2nd at 4pm. Mass is offered by Fr. Robert Ferguson, FSSP. Afterwards a potluck will be held in the Brincefield Hall. Please bring a dish or dessert to share. For more information please contact the Salisbury Latin Mass Community at: www.salisburylmc.org

CANCELLED: 1st Sunday Potluck at St. Thomas Aquinas

Due to the holiday weekend, there will not be a potluck after Sunday’s Latin Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas.

Martyrdom of St. Peter by Dom Prosper Gueranger

We conclude this update with a commentary by Dom Prosper Gueranger, on the martyrdom of the first Pope, St. Peter, and his confrontation with his nemesis, the anti-Pope, Simon the Magician, who first appeared in Acts 8:9-24, and reappears in Rome around 67 AD. St. Peter confronted and defeated this false vicar of Christ, actions which ultimately led to St. Peter’s glorious martyrdom. Gueranger notes this confrontation is reminder that “false brethren” have been present in the Church since its earliest days:

But before quitting earth, Peter must triumph over Simon the magician, his base antagonist. This heresiarch did not content himself with seducing souls by his perverse doctrines; he sought even to mimic Peter in the prodigies operated by him. He proclaimed that on a certain day he would fly in the air. The report of this novelty quickly spread through Rome, and the people were full of the prospect of such a marvelous sight. If we are to believe Dion Chrysostom, Nero entertained the magician at his court, and moreover decided to honour the spectacle with his presence. Accordingly, the royal lodge was erected upon the via sacra. Here the attempted flight was to take place. The impostor’s pride, however, was doomed to suffer. ‘Scarcely had this Icarus begun to poise his flight,’ says Suetonius, ‘than he fell close to Nero’s lodge, which was bathed in his blood.’ The Samaritan juggler had set himself up, in Rome itself, as the rival of Christ’s Vicar, and writers of Christian antiquity agree in attributing his downfall to the prayers of St Peter.

The failure of the heresiarch was in the eyes of the people a stain upon the emperor’s character, and if ill will were united to curiosity, attention would be attracted towards Peter in a way that might prove disastrous. Also there was the ‘peril of false brethren’ mentioned by St Paul. This is a danger inevitable in a society as large as that of the Christians, where the association of widely differing characters is bound to cause friction, and discontent is aroused in the minds of the less educated on account of the choice of those placed in positions of trust or special confidence. 

The filial devotedness of the Christians of Rome took alarm, and they implored St Peter to elude the danger for a while by instant flight. Although he would have much preferred to suffer, says St Ambrose,[42] Peter set out along the Appian Way. Just as he reached the Capuan gate, Christ suddenly appeared to him as if about to enter the city. ‘Lord, whither goest thou?’ cried out the apostle. ‘To Rome,’ Christ replied, ‘to be there crucified again.’ The disciple understood his Master; he at once retraced his steps, having now no thought but to await his hour of martyrdom.

https://fsspatl.com/liturgical-year/520-sanctoral-cycle/june/3189-june-29-sts-peter-and-paul-apostles

Ss. Peter and Paul, pray for us!

audetur Iesus Christus! Sunday is the fourth Sunday after Pentecost and we share a commentary on the orations for Sunday’s Latin Mass: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2020/06/rebel-wills-fourth-sunday-after.html

Latin Masses This Week

• Wednesday June 28, 6pm – St. Ann (Vigil of Ss. Peter & Paul)
• Thursday June 29, 7pm – St. Thomas Aquinas (Solemn feast of Ss. Peter & Paul)
• Friday June 30, 7am – St. Ann (Commemoration of Ss. Peter & Paul)
• Saturday July 1, 9am (Low) – St. Ann & 10am (High) St. Thomas Aquinas (Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ/First Saturday)

Vigil and Feast of Ss. Peter & Paul – June 28/29

The feast of Ss. Peter & Paul this Thursday June 29 is an important feast in the Church’s liturgical calendar, and is preceded the day prior by the Vigil of Ss. Peter & Paul on Wednesday June 28. Traditionally, the vigil ahead of a solemn feast is a separate liturgical day of preparation and penance (now voluntary) for the solemn feast the next day. To learn more about the Mass of the Vigil of Ss. Peter & Paul, please see this article by Greg DiPippo at New Liturgical Movement: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2022/06/the-vigil-of-ss-peter-and-paul.html#.YrvcY4TMKHs

Feast of the Precious Blood Saturday – July 1

As mentioned above, this Saturday July 1 is the feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and St. Ann will be offering a special Low Mass at 9am to honor this feast. Additionally, St. Thomas Aquinas will be offering its regular 1^st Saturday 10am High Mass, followed by a blessing of religious objects in the traditional rite.

The feast of the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ is a feast that is distinct to the Traditional Latin Mass. You can pray the litany to the Precious Blood here: https://www.fisheaters.com/litanypreciousblood.html

Holy Face Devotions

• St. James, Concord– Mondays 10-10:30am in the cry room in the church
• St Mark – Mondays 5pm in the church
• St. Thomas Aquinas – Tuesdays 6am in the church
• St. Ann – Tuesdays 7:30am in the main church after the Novus Ordo Mass (uses the booklet/chaplet which takes 15-20 minutes)
• St Michael the Archangel, Gastonia – Tuesdays, after the 8am Novus Ordo Mass, in the cry room
• Holy Spirit, Denver – Tuesdays 10-11am after the Novus Ordo Mass
• Don’t see your parish? Why not start one up?

2023 Women’s Traditional Silent Retreat (July 21-23)

The Legion of Mary in Raleigh is sponsoring a traditional silent women’s retreat at the Catholic Conference Center in Hickory, northwest of Charlotte from July 21-23. The retreat will feature Fr. Sean Kopczynski of the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist, a Latin Mass order of priests in Kentucky. Masses will be offered each day. Cost is around $280 and the flyer is attached. To register or for more details please see the below flyer.

The Octave of St. John the Baptist (June 24 – July 1)

Sunday June 25 is also traditionally the 2nd day within the ancient octave of the Nativity St. John the Baptist (whose feast yesterday was also called “Summer Christmas” – due to its connection to the Incarnation) which fittingly is placed just days away from the great feasts of Ss. Peter and Paul (Thursday June 29), and this symbolism linking these two feasts was not missed by Dom Prosper Gueranger, who notes:

John the Baptist, placed on the confines of the two Testaments, closes the prophetic age, the reign of hope, and opens the era of faith which possesses the long-expected God, though as yet without beholding him in his Divinity. Thus even before the octave is ended wherein we pay our homage to the son of Zachary, the confession of the apostles is added to the Precursor’s testimony to the Word the Light.

https://fsspatl.com/liturgical-year/520-sanctoral-cycle/june/3188-june-28-the-vigil-of-the-holy-apostles-sts-peter-and-paul

Latin Mass & Traditional News

• The Forgotten Forerunner: As we begin the octave of St. John the Baptist, Dr. Mike Foley pens an excellent article on how although St. John the Baptist’s devotion has waned in recent centuries, it’s important to reintroduce his devotion in these latter times: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2023/06/the-forgotten-forerunner.html

• St. Joseph College Seminary releases album in memory of music director Tom Savoy: It’s hard to believe that it’s been eight months since Tom Savoy’s passing (who directed music and chanted at many Latin Masses, while also teaching at the Seminary), but to honor his memory, St. Joseph College Seminary recently published a sacred music album of his final work, a tribute to Our Lady. Although released in February, this announcement was just published in the Catholic News Herald: https://catholicnewsherald.com/88-news/fp/9367-st-joseph-college-seminary-releases-album-in-memory-of-music-director-tom-savoy

• America’s Oldest Shrine: Our Lady of La Leche in St. Augustine, Florida: Local writer and St. Thomas Aquinas Latin Mass attendee, John Paul Sonnen, has written about the oldest shrine in the United States, the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche, which was the site of one of the earliest Spanish Catholic missions in Florida and the site of the first Thanksgiving in the future United States (1565). This interesting article also goes into the Catholic history of Florida and the cause of sainthood for the La Florida martyrs. If one is looking for a summer vacation destination with a Catholic history, St. Augustine, Florida and the Shrine may be worth a look, considering its only a day’s drive from Charlotte: https://www.liturgicalartsjournal.com/2023/06/americas-oldest-shrine-our-lady-of-la.html

• Relic of St. Thomas More Faces Destruction Unless Anglican Church Opens Vault: While feast of St. Thomas More is celebrated in the Traditional Rite on July 9 (in some local calendars), the Novus Ordo calendar celebrated it last week (June 22), and as such articles about the patron of statesman and politicians appear a few weeks earlier in late June. Despite the different feast dates, we share an article about the status of his relics which is housed, ironically, at an Anglican (formerly Catholic) chapel in Canterbury, England: https://www.ncregister.com/news/relic-of-st-thomas-more-faces-destruction-unless-anglican-church-opens-vault

Ss. Peter & Paul: The New Founders of Rome (Part I)

As we prepare for the great solemnity of Ss. Peter and Paul this Thursday, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP)’s newsletter posted an intriguing article comparing the original founding brothers of Rome, Romulus and Remus in 753 B.C., with the new founders of Rome, Ss. Peter and Paul, two brothers in Christ, who were martyred on June 29 around 68 A.D., and helped establish Christ’s empire (e.g. the Church) at the seat of the Gentile empire, Rome. We share a few excerpts:

According to legend, the city of Rome was founded on April 21st, 753 B.C. by a pair of twins named Romulus and Remus. When Remus made sport of Romulus’s still rudimentary defenses and leapt over them, he was killed for the slight, and so it was Romulus who gave his name to the city, became its first king, and established so many of its civic institutions, including its calendar and its religion.

…In the late stages of an increasingly decadent Roman Empire, the Christian martyrs’ courage stood in stark opposition to the conduct of the age. Even though they served a different deity, the martyrs recalled by their courage a bygone Rome, appealing to those citizens who lamented the dissolution of the old Roman pietas that was in very short supply among their contemporaries.  Thus was the mind of pagan Rome opened to the revelation of Christ. And through her most famous martyrs of all, the Eternal City would inherit a new set of founding fathers to replace the ones they lost.

The Apostles Peter and Paul–a Galilean fisherman and a scholarly Pharisee–might be thought extremely unlikely candidates to replace Romulus and Remus. They were not even brothers in flesh, although they were brothers in Christ. Yet they were very well situated for a Christian recalibration of the founding myth. As Pope St. Leo the Great said in his homily for their feast:

    “The whole world, dearly-beloved, does indeed take part in all holy anniversaries, and loyalty to the one Faith demands that whatever is recorded as done for all men’s salvation should be everywhere celebrated with common rejoicings. But, besides that reverence which today’s festival has gained from all the world, it is to be honoured with special and peculiar exultation in our city, that there may be a predominance of gladness on the day of their martyrdom in the place where the chief of the Apostles met their glorious end.

    For these are the men, through whom the light of Christ’s gospel shone on you, O Rome, and through whom you, who was the teacher of error, was made the disciple of Truth. These are your holy Fathers and true shepherds, who gave you claims to be numbered among the heavenly kingdoms, and built you under much better and happier auspices than they, by whose zeal the first foundations of your walls were laid: and of whom the one that gave you your name defiled you with his brother’s blood.

    These are they who promoted you to such glory, that being made a holy nation, a chosen people, a priestly and royal state, and the head of the world through the blessed Peter’s holy See you attained a wider sway by the worship of God than by earthly government. For although you were increased by many victories, and extended your rule on land and sea, yet what your toils in war subdued is less than what the peace of Christ has conquered.”

To read more visit: https://fssp.com/the-new-founders-of-rome-part-1-the-feast/

Ss. Peter and Paul, pray for us!

What Mass are you attending Sunday?

Laudetur Iesus Christus! Just a reminder that tomorrow Saturday June 24^th at 8am St. Ann parish will offer its 4th Saturday Respect Life Latin Mass.

After Mass there will be prayers at Planned Parenthood and a Holy Hour of Reparation in the church (for those unable to travel to the abortion facility).

Saturday also happens to be the solemnity of St. John the Baptist, and the 1 year anniversary of the Dobbs decision which overturned Roe vs. Wade, all the more reason to consider attending.

Laudetur Iesus Christus and happy Father’s Day! Sunday is the third Sunday after Pentecost and as custom we share a commentary on Sunday’s Mass: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2022/06/the-merciful-orations-of-third-sunday.html#.YrfYhezMKHt

The CLMC would like to offer our congratulations to the three new priests ordained yesterday, Fathers Christopher Brock, Chinonso Nnebe-Agumadu and Peter Rusciolelli. Please consider offering prayers for them as they begin their ministry to the Church. Separately we also thank Fr. Reid for kindly offering the Litany of the Sacred Heart after Friday’s Mass in reparation for the blasphemy occurring in Los Angeles that day.

Latin Masses This Week

• Wednesday June 21, 6pm – St. Ann (St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Confessor)
• Thursday June 22, 7pm – St. Thomas Aquinas (St. Paulinus, Bishop)
• Friday June 23, 7am – St. Ann (Vigil of St. John the Baptist)
• Saturday June 24, 8am – St. Ann (Respect Life Latin Mass/Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist)

** After the 8am Mass on Saturday June 24, there will be prayers at the local abortion facility (700 S. Torrence Road) or for those unable to travel, a Holy Hour of Reparation in the Church. The day also marks the 1-year anniversary of the overturning of Roe vs. Wade.

Holy Face Devotions

• St. James, Concord– Mondays 10-10:30am in the cry room in the church
• St Mark – Mondays 5pm in the church
• St. Thomas Aquinas – Tuesdays 6am in the church
• St. Ann – Tuesdays 7:30am in the main church after the Novus Ordo Mass (uses the booklet/chaplet which takes 15-20 minutes)
• St Michael the Archangel, Gastonia – Tuesdays, 9am, in the church
• Holy Spirit, Denver – Tuesdays 10-11am after the Novus Ordo Mass
• Don’t see your parish? Why not organize one?

2023 Women’s Traditional Silent Retreat (July 21-23)

The Legion of Mary in Raleigh is sponsoring a traditional silent women’s retreat at the Catholic Conference Center in Hickory, northwest of Charlotte from July 21-23. The retreat will feature Fr. Sean Kopczynski of the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist, a Latin Mass order of priests in Kentucky. Masses will be offered each day. Cost is around $280 and the flyer is attached. To register or for more details please flyer below.

Latin Mass & Traditional News

• The Heart-Warming Orations of the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: This past Friday was the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and Dr. Mike Foley has written a helpful commentary on the prayers for Friday’s Latin Mass: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2023/06/the-heart-warming-orations-of-feast-of.html

• A Retreat Center for the United States: Last week we were blessed to have a priest from the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest offer Latin Mass at St. Ann parish. This pontifical society of priests offers the Latin Mass exclusively in several dioceses across the US and the world. That same week, the Institute announced it has established a retreat center in southern Wisconsin (not too far from Chicago) with the blessing of Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki. Providentially named, the Sacred Heart Retreat Center (announced on Friday), it will offer traditional retreats and youth camps – which will include the Traditional Latin Mass in a chapel that sits 300. No retreats have been announced yet, but to learn more visit: https://www.institute-christ-king.org/1503-a-retreat-center-for-the-united-states

• St. Anthony’s Eucharistic Miracle: This past Tuesday was the feast of St. Anthony of Padua (or Lisbon) as well as the sixth day within the ancient octave of Corpus Christi. To commemorate this saint, Greg DiPippo has a wonderful story of a Eucharistic miracle involving St. Anthony and the conversion of a heretic: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2023/06/st-anthonys-eucharistic-miracle.html

• St. Ann Parish Bulletin Letter – Sunday June 11: On the topic of the Eucharist, last Sunday Fr. Reid wrote in the weekly bulletin about the importance of receiving Communion on the tongue and kneeling. If you haven’t read the letter, it’s worthwhile to do so and consider sharing it with friends who may not practice this devotion at other parishes/liturgies. The Traditional Latin Mass can be an efficacious way to introduce this devotion to people desiring a deeper devotion to the Eucharist for as readers know, Holy Communion is distributed on the tongue and kneeling in the Traditional Rite. https://www.stanncharlotte.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/June-11.pdf

• Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) Novena to Ss. Peter & Paul (June 20-28): The FSSP is encouraging its supporters to participate in its annual 9-day novena to its patron saint beginning this Tuesday June 20 and ending on the vigil of Ss. Peter and Paul (June 28), the day before the Solemnity. Praying a novena for traditional congregations such as the FSSP or our diocesan Latin Mass priests (current or future), is a great way to help preserve the Traditional Latin Mass during these times. To learn more see attached novena pamphlet or visit here: https://fssp.com/ss-peter-paul-2023

• As Pilgrims Flock to See Sister Wilhelmina, Abbey Becomes ‘Spiritual Haven’ for All: While the Benedictines Sisters of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, in Gower, Missouri, wait for the investigation into the case of their late foundress, Sister Wilhelmina (whose body was found incorrupt a few weeks ago), the superior, Mother Abbess Cecilia Snell, recently chatted with the National Catholic Register and gave a window into their daily life, and one of their charisms – praying for priests.  We share this excerpt as a reminder of the importance of praying for priests – including our own here in this diocese:
  
  “We continue a tradition Sister Wilhelmina faithfully practiced, that of placing an ordination card at the foot of the crucifix in our community room each day, asking Our Lady to take our prayers especially for that priest. We seem to feel the effects of this and instinctively know who needs prayers. For example, we will sometimes have days where it seems everything is going wrong. Sisters check the crucifix, and, sure enough, there will be a bishop’s card that day, and we will see it as a sign that extra prayers and sacrifices are needed. We also devote much of our work to the making of vestments, a very privileged work.”

Article: https://www.ncregister.com/features/sister-wilhelmina-s-sisters

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus: Meditation from Divine Intimacy

With the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus this past Friday, we close with an excerpt from Divine Intimacy, the spiritual classic by Fr Gabriel of St Mary Magdalene OCD:

“Other devotions to Our Lord have for their object the mysteries or special aspects of His life, as for example, the Incarnation, the hidden life, the Passion. Devotion to the Sacred Heart, on the contrary, has a more general object, the love of Jesus, which constitutes the profound, essential reason for all His mysteries, the love that is the first and only cause of all He has done for us. In this sense, devotion to the Sacred Heart touches, as it were, the mainspring of all the mysteries of the Redeemer, the essential raison d’étre of His life, His Person. It is the love which explains the Incarnation of the Word, the life of the Man-God, His Passion, His Eucharist. We cannot possibly understand the mystery by which the Son of God became Man, died on the Cross to save mankind, and then became their Food, if we do not admit this infinite love which compelled God the Creator, the Most High, to find a way to give Himself entirely for the salvation of His creatures.”

To read more visit: https://voiceofthefamily.com/devotion-to-the-most-sacred-heart-of-jesus-meditation-from-divine-intimacy-2/

What Mass are you attending Sunday?

Laudetur Iesus Christus! Tomorrow Friday June 16 is the feast of the Sacred Heart. We share some of the Latin Masses across the diocese for tomorrow:

• 7am – St. Ann, Charlotte
• 8:30am – St. John the Baptist, Tryon (2 hours west of Charlotte)
• 9:30am – St. Elizabeth of the Hill Country, Boone (2 hours northwest of Charlotte)

Prayers of Reparation After St. Ann Latin Mass – Tomorrow Friday June 16

The U.S. Bishops are inviting all the faithful to pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus tomorrow June 16, in reparation for the Los Angeles Dodgers honoring a blasphemous anti-Catholic group. After the 7am Latin Mass, Fr. Reid will be praying the Litany of the Sacred Heart for this intention. All are welcome to stay and join him.

If you are unable to attend Mass, you are welcome to pray the litany privately. The Knights of Columbus have a helpful flyer containing the litany and its purpose: https://www.kofc.org/en/resources/communications/litany-to-the-sacred-heart.pdf

Alternatively, St. Thomas Aquinas parish will be offering all day Adoration from 9am – 7pm on Friday in reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. One is welcome to stop by to pray there as well.

Visiting Priest Last Sunday

The CLMC wishes to express our thanks to Fr. Reid for his generosity in allowing Canon Luke Zignego, a priest with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP) to offer Sunday’s Latin Mass as he was visiting the area.  This may have the first time a priest with the Institute has offered Mass in the diocese of Charlotte.

The ICKSP is a traditional religious order of priests founded in a diocese in Gabon (Africa) in 1990 and elevated by Rome to a pontifical rite (order) in 2008. Its priests offer the Traditional Latin Mass exclusively across oratories and chapels across the world, and particularly in the upper Midwest here in the US.  The nearest Institute oratories to Charlotte are quite far away, in Columbus (OH) and Pittsburgh (PA).  ICKSP enjoys a longstanding friendship with Cardinal Burke who spent much of his 2021 COVID-19 recovery at one of the ICKSP oratories he established in Wisconsin many years ago. Moreover, the ICKSP is not only an order of priests, but also established a group of religious sisters in 2004 called the Sisters Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus Christ Sovereign Priest (https://adoratrices.icrss.org/EN). 

To learn more about the ICKSP visit: https://www.institute-christ-king.org/

Prayers for the Three Men to be Ordained Saturday

Lastly, please offer prayers for the three transitional deacons of our diocese who will be ordained to the priesthood this Saturday, deacons Christopher Brock, Chinonso Nnebe-Agumadu and Peter Rusciolelli. Please also keep Bishop Jugis in your prayers as he addresses some health concerns and will be unable to participate in this ordination. https://catholicnewsherald.com/90-news/local/9323-three-men-to-be-ordained-to-priesthood-june-17

Laudetur Iesus Christus! Sunday is the second Sunday after Pentecost and depending on parish, it may also be the external solemnity of Corpus Christi. As custom we provide a commentary on the propers for this Sunday’s Mass: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2022/06/heavenly-life-on-earth-secret-of-second.html#.Yq6VoezMKHt

Latin Masses This Week

• Wednesday June 14, 6pm – St. Ann (St. Basil the Great, Bishop & Doctor)
• Thursday June 15, 7pm – St. Thomas Aquinas (Feria, e.g. no feast day)
• Friday June 16, 7am – St. Ann (Solemnity of the feast of the Sacred Heart);

Holy Face Devotions

• St. James, Concord– Mondays 10-10:30am in the cry room in the church
• St Mark – Mondays 5pm in the church
• St. Thomas Aquinas – Tuesdays 6am in the church
• St. Ann – Tuesdays 7:30am in the main church after the Novus Ordo Mass (uses the booklet/chaplet which takes 15-20 minutes)
• St Michael the Archangel, Gastonia – Tuesdays, 9am, in the church
• Holy Spirit, Denver – Tuesdays 10-11am after the Novus Ordo Mass
• Don’t see your parish? Why not organize one?

2023 Women’s Traditional Silent Retreat (July 21-23)

The Legion of Mary in Raleigh is sponsoring a traditional silent women’s retreat at the Catholic Conference Center in Hickory, northwest of Charlotte from July 21-23. The retreat will feature Fr. Sean Kopczynski of the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist, a Latin Mass order of priests in Kentucky. Masses will be offered each day. Cost is around $280 and the flyer is attached. To register or for more details please see the below flyer.

Scholarship Help for FSSP Seminarians to Attend Latin Workshop in Charlotte

This summer, the Veterum Sapientia Institute, founded and operated by Fr. Barone and several others in our diocese, will be hosting its annual Latin Summer Workshop. Priests, seminarians and religious from around the country travel to Charlotte to attend this now renowned seminar.

The Institute informed us that two Priestly Fraternity of St Peter (FSSP) seminarians are attending and in need of scholarships. One of the seminarians, Rev. Mr. Brendan d’Amato, is from Charlotte and attended St. Ann parish before seminary (in fact he was in choir for Wednesday’s Latin Mass at St. Ann). The other seminarian accompanying him is Rev. Dr. Brian Hill. As our readers may recall, the FSSP priests offer the Latin Mass exclusively at parishes and chapels around the world.  

Cost: The amount needed to cover the cost of each seminarian is $750 per seminarian, or $1,500 total (for both seminarians).

The CLMC would like to invite our readers to kindly consider helping these Latin Mass seminarians with a scholarship contribution. In your charity, would you consider making a tax-deductible donation to cover some of their scholarship cost? If yes, please see donation details below.

Online: Donations can be made electronically* via this page on their website: https://veterumsapientia.org/giving/

*If you make an online donation can you e-mail Gregory DiPippo with the Institute (gdipippo(at)veterumsapientia.org), indicating your contribution amount so they can keep track of the scholarship donations?

By Mail: Donations by check for the seminarians can be sent to:

Veterum Sapientia Institute (please note FSSP scholarship in memo)

5088 Abbington Way

Belmont, NC 28012

We are sure the seminarians will be grateful and keep their benefactors in their prayers.

Latin Mass & Traditional News

• Fr. Richard Heilman interviews Fr. Chad Ripperger: A new interview with traditional theologian and exorcist Fr. Chad Ripperger was released this past week covering the crisis in the Church. To view the video visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVE-hWhrqkg

• Pope Francis elevates Las Vegas to a metropolitan archdiocese: On May 30, the Vatican upgraded diocese of Las Vegas to an archdiocese. The bishop, His Excellency George Leo Thomas (who was appointed by Pope Francis in 2018 as the Las Vegas bishop), was appointed the new archbishop: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254445/pope-francis-elevates-las-vegas-to-a-metropolitan-archdiocese
  
  CLMC note: This is an interesting development as just a few weeks earlier, then Bishop Thomas in responding to Rome’s recent restrictions on the Latin Mass, issued a letter saying how much he valued the Traditional Latin Mass in his diocese, and while he had to move the Latin Mass community from its existing parish setting, he found them a new home at the Shrine of the Most Holy Redeemer. He has also given his approval for expanded liturgical schedule in the future which includes the possibility of daily Latin Masses and even a Latin Triduum. This is welcome news and is an example of a creative solution to help preserve (and even expand) the Latin Mass. To see Archbishop Thomas’ May 2023 announcement we share a copy here: https://charlottelatinmass.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/las-vegas-latin-mass-announcement.pdf

• The Translation of St Peter Martyr: Each April 29, the CLMC commemorates the feast of St. Peter Martyr (or St. Peter of Verona), the great 13^th century Dominican inquisitor and as custom has palms blessed (by the St. Ann priests) in the traditional rite in his honor; distributing the palms to the faithful to safeguard property against natural disasters. Last Sunday, June 4, also happened to be another important day in the devotion of St. Peter Martyr, the translation of his relics to the new tomb. Greg DiPippo of the New Liturgical Movement provides an excellent history of this “second feast day” for St. Peter Martyr: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2023/06/the-translation-of-st-peter-martyr.html

• Three men to be ordained to priesthood June 17: Please keep in your prayers the three transitional deacons (Christopher Brock, Chinonso Nnebe-Agumadu and Peter Rusciolelli) in our diocese who will be ordained to the priesthood by Atlanta Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer this coming Saturday June 17. Please also continue to offer prayers for Bishop Jugis who due to his ongoing health condition, will be unable to officiate (per the Catholic News Herald).  https://catholicnewsherald.com/90-news/local/9323-three-men-to-be-ordained-to-priesthood-june-17
  
  CLMC note: Please also offer prayers for Archbishop Hartmayer who has been generous to the Latin Mass parish in Atlanta (staffed by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter/FSSP), as he recently allowed the growing community to begin plans to build a new church; and has granted his auxiliary bishop to offer Confirmations in the Traditional Rite at the parish.

• Historical Images of Corpus Christi Processions, from Sharon Kabel (Part I & II): New Liturgical Movement website has posted photos by researcher (and former St. Ann parishioner) Sharon Kabel of Corpus Christi processions from the early to mid-twentieth century from around the world. They can be viewed here: Part I – https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2023/06/historical-images-of-corpus-christ.html and Part II – https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2023/06/historical-images-of-corpus-christi.html

Joy that One is Born into the World

As we celebrated the feast of Corpus Christi last Thursday, and prepare for the feast of the Sacred Heart this Friday we wanted close this update with another excellent installment written by Fr. William Rock, FSSP. In this new article Father Rock beautifully highlights the connection the between the two feasts the Church celebrates in mid-June (Corpus Christi and Sacred Heart) with that of Holy Thursday and Good Friday. We share some excerpts below:

It seems that after the two-and-a-half-weeks of Septuagesima, the 40 fasting days of Lent, the 50 days of Easter, and then the Octave of Pentecost and Trinity Sunday, Our Holy Mother, the Church, is not yet ready to leave behind the mysteries she has been meditating upon during those times.  She, as it were, turns her gaze backwards and renews, recapitulates, some of the most profound moments of the Easter Cycle, but this time, not with Our Lord’s impending Passion and Death before her, but rather with His glorious Resurrection and Ascension behind her.

She begins this backwards gaze on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday.  A Thursday because here she recapitulates Holy Thursday.  Holy Thursday itself commemorates so many things – the Last Supper with the Washing of the Feet, the Institution of the Sacrifice and the Priesthood of the New Law, the betrayal of Judas, Our Lord’s Agony and Capture in the Garden.  It was God Himself, in a vision to St. Juliana, Who established which of the aspects of Holy Thursday was to be recapitulated.  On the Thursday of Corpus Christi, then, the Church, through the lens of the Resurrection and Ascension, places her focus on the Holy Eucharist, one of the themes of Holy Thursday, and all that It means to her… As such, when the feast of Corpus Christi was instituted in 1264, it was instituted with an octave.

This Octave having run from a Thursday to a Thursday, the Church finds herself on Friday.  How could this not bring to her mind that Friday which followed Holy Thursday, Good Friday?  But this Friday is not shrouded in sorrow as Good Friday was, but rather, now that He is Risen, it is vested in joy and celebration.  Just as with the celebration of Corpus Christi, it was God Himself Who directed what would be the focus of the devotion of this recapitulated Good Friday.  According to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Our Lord asked that a Feast of the Sacred Heart, the Heart which was pierced on Good Friday, be celebrated on the Friday following the Octave of Corpus Christi.

• Joy that One is Born into the World: https://fssp.com/joy-that-one-is-born-into-the-world/

What Mass are you attending Sunday?

Laudetur Iesus Christus! Tomorrow Thursday June 8 is the solemn feast of Corpus Christi, celebrated on the traditional day of the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. We share the Latin Mass schedule for tomorrow:

Feast of Corpus Christi – Thursday June 8

• 7pm – St. Thomas Aquinas parish
• 7pm – St. Ann parish (followed by 40 Hours devotion – see below)

40 Hours Devotion – Feast of Corpus Christi – Thursday June 8 – Saturday June 10

For the traditional feast day of Corpus Christi, St. Ann parish will be offering its annual Corpus Christi Latin Mass at 7pm, which will also commence the parish’s annual 40 Hours of Adoration devotion.  To sign up for one of the 40 hours please use this signup page: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0544a8af29a4f94-40hours2#/

 In a parish-wide e-mail Friday, Fr. Reid encouraged parishioners to fast ahead of the feast of Corpus Christi and 40 Hours devotion.

Fr. Jones’ 15^th Priestly Ordination Anniversary

As noted in Sunday’s update, Fr. Reid celebrated his 19^th anniversary as a priest early week. Today June 7, however, happens to be the 15^th anniversary of Fr. Jones’ ordination. This evening’s 6pm Latin Mass at St. Ann will be offered in thanksgiving for this intention. Please consider offering prayers for Fr. Jones today. To see photos of his ordination please see the Catholic News Herald archives: https://issuu.com/catholicnewsherald/docs/cnh_issue_06_13_08

(FYI – Fr. Codd’s 11^th anniversary as a priest was earlier this month on June 2 https://issuu.com/catholicnewsherald/docs/2012cnh6-8)

Dom Prosper Gueranger on the Feast of Corpus Christi

As the Church prepares to celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi, we close with three excerpts from Gueranger’s entry this past Monday from The Liturgical Year:

All the mysteries we have celebrated up to this time were contained in the august Sacrament, which is the memorial, and, so to say, the compendium, of the wonderful things wrought in our favour by our Redeemer.[1] It is the reality of Christ’s presence under the sacramental species that enabled us to recognize in the sacred Host, at Christmas, the Child that was born unto us, in Passiontide, the Victim who redeemed us, and at Easter, the glorious conqueror of death. We could not celebrate all those admirable mysteries without the aid of the perpetual Sacrifice; neither could that Sacrifice be offered up, without renewing and repeating them.

Putting together all the means within our reach for honouring these blessed citizens of the heavenly court, we have chanted the grand Psalms of David, and hymns, and canticles, with all the varied formulas of the liturgy; but nothing that we could do towards celebrating their praise could be compared to the holy Sacrifice offered to the divine Majesty. It is in that Sacrifice that we entered into direct communication with them, according to the energetic term used by the Church in the Canon of the Mass (communicantes).

There is a sacred element, which gives a meaning to every feast that occurs during the year, and graces it with the beauty of its own divine splendour; that sacred element, which is the most holy Eucharist, had itself a right to a solemn festival, in keeping with the dignity of its divine object.

https://fsspatl.com/liturgical-year/471-temporal-cycle/time-after-pentecost/the-first-sunday-after-pentecost/3573-monday-after-trinity-sunday

Laudetur Iesus Christus!  Sunday is the ancient octave day of Pentecost, otherwise known as the feast of the Most Holy Trinity, the beginning of the season after Pentecost.  According to Dom Prosper Lefebvre, OSB, in the St. Andrew Daily Missal, the reign of the Holy Ghost begins in this season after Pentecost, giving the faithful roughly six months of sanctoral feasts (e.g. the saints) to help deepen one’s faith and in love of God. The June feasts of the Holy Trinity (today), Corpus Christi (this Thursday June 8), the Sacred Heart (Friday June 16), and followed by Ss. Peter & Paul (June 29) help to emphasize this aspect of the calendar. As custom, we share commentary on Sunday’s collect: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2021/05/the-confessional-collect-of-trinity.html

Announcements

• CORRECTION: Deacon Jose Palma Torres will not preach at today’s St. Ann Latin Mass – Sunday June 4, 12:30pm: We apologize for the late notice, but we learned that newly ordained Deacon Jose Palma Torres will not preaching at this Sunday’s 12:30pm St. Ann Latin Mass. Please pray for all the newly ordained deacons as they begin their service to the Church.

• First Sunday Potluck at St. Thomas Aquinas: Today Sunday June 4, there will be a potluck after the 11:30am Latin Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas. Attendees are invited to bring a dish or desert to share: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f054aaea728aafb6-june#/

• 1^st Sunday Latin Mass in Salisbury – Today Sunday June 4, 4pm: Fr. Joseph Wasswa (Our Lady of Grace parish) will offer the 1^st Sunday Latin Mass at Sacred Heart parish in Salisbury today Sunday June 4 at 4pm. There will be a potluck social in Brincefield Hall afterwards. One is welcome to bring a favorite dish, hors d’oeuvres or dessert.  For more information contact the Salisbury Latin Mass Community at: www.salisburylmc.org

• Prayers for Bishop Jugis: Let us continue to pray for Bishop Jugis. As reported in the Catholic Herald, the bishop is suffering from an evolving health issue, and is unable to officiate at lengthy liturgies, including ordinations. To learn more visit: https://catholicnewsherald.com/90-news/local/9318-atlanta-archbishop-to-preside-on-behalf-of-bishop-jugis-at-upcoming-ordinations

Latin Masses This Week

• Wednesday June 7, 6pm – St. Ann (Feria – e.g. no feast on the calendar)
• Thursday June 8, 7pm St. Ann and 7pm St. Thomas Aquinas (feast of Corpus Christi – see note below about 40 Hours devotion).
• Friday June 9, 7am – St. Ann (Feria)

40 Hours Devotion – Feast of Corpus Christi – Thursday June 8: For the traditional feast day of Corpus Christi (Thursday after Trinity Sunday), St. Ann parish will be offering its annual Corpus Christi Latin Mass at 7pm, which will also commence the parish’s annual 40 Hours of Adoration devotion.  To sign up for one of the 40 hours please use this signup sheet: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0544a8af29a4f94-40hours2#/ In a parish-wide e-mail Friday, Fr. Reid encouraged parishioners to fast ahead of the feast of Corpus Christi and 40 Hours devotion.

(Separately, as noted above, St. Thomas Aquinas will also be offering its regular 7pm Latin Mass that evening as well.)

Holy Face Devotions

• St. James, Concord– Mondays 10-10:30am in the cry room in the church
• St Mark – Mondays 5pm in the church
• St. Thomas Aquinas – Tuesdays 6am in the main church
• St. Ann – Tuesdays 7:30am in the main church 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?

2023 Women’s Traditional Silent Retreat (July 21-23)

The Legion of Mary in Raleigh is sponsoring a traditional silent women’s retreat at the Catholic Conference Center in Hickory, northwest of Charlotte from July 21-23. The retreat will feature Fr. Sean Kopczynski of the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist, a Latin Mass order of priests in Kentucky. Masses will be offered each day. Cost is around $280 and the flyer is attached. To register or for more details please see below flyer.

Scholarship Help for FSSP Seminarians to Attend Latin Workshop in Charlotte

This summer, the Veterum Sapientia Institute, founded and operated by Fr. Barone and several others in our diocese, will be hosting its annual Latin Summer Workshop. Priests, seminarians and religious from around the country travel to Charlotte to attend this now renowned seminar.

The Institute informed us that two Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) seminarians are attending and in need of scholarships. One of the seminarians, Rev. Mr. Brendan d’Amato, is from Charlotte and attended St. Ann parish before seminary (in fact he was in choir for Wednesday’s Latin Mass at St. Ann). The other seminarian accompanying him is Rev. Dr. Brian Hill. As our readers may recall, the FSSP priests offer the Latin Mass exclusively at parishes and chapels around the world.  

Cost: The amount needed to cover the cost of each seminarian is $750 per seminarian, or $1,500 total (for both seminarians).

The CLMC would like to invite our readers to kindly consider helping these Latin Mass seminarians with a scholarship contribution. In your charity, would you consider making a tax-deductible donation to cover some of their scholarship cost? If yes, please see donation details below.

Online: Donations can be made electronically* via this page on their website: https://veterumsapientia.org/giving/

*If you make an online donation can you e-mail Gregory DiPippo with the Institute, indicating your contribution amount so they can keep track of the scholarship donations?

Gregory’s e-mail is: gdipippo(at)veterumsapientia.org

By Mail: Donations by check for the seminarians can be sent to:

Veterum Sapientia Institute (please note FSSP scholarship in memo)

5088 Abbington Way

Belmont, NC 28012

We are sure the seminarians will be grateful and keep their benefactors in their prayers.

Latin Mass & Traditional News

• Father Reid’s Ordination Anniversary Tomorrow: Monday June 5 marks the 19^th anniversary of the ordination of Fr. Reid by Bishop Jugis on June 5, 2004. Please consider offering prayers for him and for the dedication in being the first parish priest to host the Latin Mass in Charlotte only a few years after his ordination. To see photos of the event please see the Catholic News Herald archive at: https://issuu.com/catholicnewsherald/docs/cnh_issue_06_11_04

• The Rare Collect of the First Sunday after Pentecost: Dr Mike Foley provides a rare look into the collect of the first Sunday after Pentecost, before it was replaced by the feast of the Holy Trinity centuries ago: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2022/06/the-rare-collect-of-first-sunday-after.html#.YqQYnOzMKHs

• Bishop James Johnston’s May 26 Statement on Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster: Last week we shared news about the discovery of the apparently incorrupt remains of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, the foundress of the traditional Benedictine sisters in Gower, Missouri (Benedictines of Mary Queen of the Apostles). Thousands flocked to see her; however, being prudent, the bishop of the diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph (Missouri), where her remains are located, issued a statement explaining the next step and requests the faithful to avoid treating Sister’s remains as relics during this time of evaluation: https://kcsjcatholic.org/2023/05/bishops-may-26-statement-regarding-sister-wilhelmina-lancaster/

• Book Recommendation: Dies Irae – by Msgr. Nicholas Gihr: The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter’s bookstore, Fraternity Publications, is recommending a new reprint of Dies Irae by Msgr. Nicholas Gihr. This book examines the famous and hauntingly beautiful sequence from the traditional Requiem Mass (or All Souls Day Mass), entitled Dies Irae (Day of Wrath). Msgr. Gihr explains the spiritual meaning of this sequence of the Mass of the Dead and offers meditations on the its verses and how they can be applied in one’s own spiritual life. To learn more visit: https://fraternitypublications.com/product/dies-irae/

Trinity Sunday Reflection – Dom Prosper Gueranger, OSB

After the solemnities of Ascension, and Pentecost, the importance of today’s feast day is often overlooked but the great liturgist Dom Prosper Gueranger, in The Liturgical Year, gives some excellent reasons on why the feast of the Most Holy Trinity is quite foundational for the Church and her faithful. We provide an excerpt and a link to read further:

On the day of Pentecost the holy apostles received, as we have seen, the grace of the Holy Ghost. In accordance with the injunction of their divine Master,[1] they will soon start on their mission of teaching all nations, and baptizing men in the name of the holy Trinity. It was but right, then, that the solemnity which is intended to honour the mystery of one God in three Persons should immediately follow that of Pentecost, with which it has a mysterious connection. And yet, it was not until after many centuries that it was inserted in the cycle of the liturgical year, whose completion is the work of successive ages.

Every homage paid to God by the Church’s liturgy has the holy Trinity as its object. Time, as well as eternity, belongs to the Trinity. The Trinity is the scope of all religion. Every day, every hour, belongs to It. The feasts instituted in memory of the mysteries of our redemption centre in It. The feasts of the blessed Virgin and the saints are but so many means for leading us to the praise of the God who is One in essence, and Three in Persons. The Sunday’s Office, in a very special way, gives us, each week, a most explicit expression of adoration and worship of this mystery, which is the foundation of all others, and the source of all grace.

This explains to us how it is that the Church was so long in instituting a special feast in honour of the holy Trinity. The ordinary motive for the institution of feasts did not exist in this instance. A feast is the memorial of some fact which took place at a certain time, and of which it is well to perpetuate the remembrance and the influence. How could this be applied to the mystery of the Trinity? From all eternity, before any created being existed, God liveth and reigneth, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. If a feast in honour of that mystery were to be instituted, it could only be by fixing some one day in the year, whereon the faithful would assemble for offering a more than usually solemn tribute of worship to the mystery of Unity and Trinity in the one same divine Nature.

Trinity Sunday: https://fsspatl.com/liturgical-year/471-temporal-cycle/time-after-pentecost/the-first-sunday-after-pentecost/3572-feast-of-the-most-holy-trinity

What Mass are you attending Sunday?

Laudetur Iesus Christus! As we approach first Saturday and Sunday, we have a few announcements to share.

• Cancellation: No First Saturday Latin Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas for Saturday June 3: Due to the transitional diaconate ordinations occurring this Saturday June 3 at St. Mark parish, the 1^st Saturday Latin Mass and blessing of objects at St. Thomas Aquinas is canceled this Saturday. Father and the other Latin Mass priests will be attending the ordination.

• First Sunday Potluck at St. Thomas Aquinas: On Sunday, there will be a potluck after the 11:30am Latin Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas. Attendees are invited to bring a dish or desert to share: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f054aaea728aafb6-june#/

• Deacon Jose Palma Torres to preach at St. Ann Latin Mass – Sunday June 4, 12:30pm: On the topic of new deacons, the day after the diaconate ordinations, Trinity Sunday, newly ordained Deacon Jose Palma Torres will preach during the 12:30pm St. Ann Latin Mass.

• 1^st Sunday Latin Mass in Salisbury – Sunday June 4, 4pm: Also on Sunday, Fr. Joseph Wasswa (Our Lady of Grace parish) will offer the 1^st Sunday Latin Mass at Sacred Heart parish in Salisbury on June 4 at 4pm. There will be a potluck social in Brincefield Hall afterwards. One is welcome to bring a favorite dish, hors d’oeuvres or dessert.  For more information contact the Salisbury Latin Mass Community at: www.salisburylmc.org

Scholarship Help for FSSP Seminarians to Attend Latin Workshop in Charlotte

This summer, the Veterum Sapientia Institute, founded and operated by Fr. Barone and several others in our diocese, will be hosting its annual Latin Summer Workshop at the end of July. Priests, seminarians and religious from around the country travel to Charlotte to attend this now renowned seminar.

The Institute informs us that two attendees, Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) seminarians, are in need of scholarships to attend. One of the seminarians, Rev. Mr. Brendan d’Amato, is from Charlotte and attended St. Ann parish before seminary (in fact he was in choir for yesterday’s Latin Mass at St. Ann). The other seminarian accompanying him is Rev. Dr. Brian Hill. As our readers may recall, the FSSP priests offer the Latin Mass exclusively at parishes and chapels around the world.  

Cost: The amount needed to cover the cost of each seminarian is $750 per seminarian, or $1,500 total (for both seminarians).

Being supportive of traditional formation and continuing good relations with the FSSP, the CLMC would like to invite our readers to kindly consider helping these seminarians with a scholarship contribution so they can both attend. In your charity, would you consider making a tax-deductible donation to cover some of their scholarship costs? If yes, please see donation details below.

Online: Donations can be made electronically* via this page on their website: https://veterumsapientia.org/giving/

*If you make an online donation can you e-mail Gregory DiPippo with the Institute, indicating the amount of your gift so they can keep track of the scholarship amount? Gregory’s e-mail is: gdipippo(at)veterumsapientia.org

By Mail: Donations by check for the seminarians can be sent to:

Veterum Sapientia Institute (please note FSSP scholarship in memo)

5088 Abbington Way

Belmont, NC 28012

We are sure the seminarians will be grateful and keep their benefactors in their prayers.

Lastly, lest we forget about our own seminarians here in the diocese, please consider praying and offering your Ember Friday and Saturday penances for the seven men who will be ordained to the diaconate this weekend, including many who have a special love for the Traditional Latin Mass.