Laudetur Iesus Christus and Happy New Year!  Here are some updates for this week:

Vigil of Epiphany Mass (Saturday – January 5)

As custom, Fr. Barone will generously offer a special Solemn High Mass for Vigil of Epiphany, Saturday January 5 at 5:30 PM, with blessing of Epiphany water beforehand. Please see details below:

5:00 PM* – blessing of Epiphany Holy Water, chalk and salt (please bring any water, chalk and salt to the chapel no later than 4:45 PM). *The blessing will begin at 5pm prompt. Large containers of water are fine to bring.

5:30 PM – Solemn High Mass

Location: Charlotte Catholic High School chapel, 7702 Pineville-Matthews Road, Charlotte, NC 28226

FYI – Epiphany Water is a powerful sacramental and the blessing prayer contains an exorcism and the litany of the saints.  Epiphany chalk is a tradition where the head of household can mark the mantle of the door as part of the Epiphany home blessing. For more information please visit: https://www.fisheaters.com/customschristmas8.html

Feast of the Epiphany – Sunday January 6

• 12:30 PM High Mass – St. Ann parish (Epiphany celebration to follow in plaza)
• 4pm High Mass – Sacred Heart parish, Salisbury (Reception/lecture with Father in Brincefield Hall after). Confessions 20 minutes prior.

Reminder: Mass cancellations for this week

• Tonight Wednesday January 2^nd: 6pm Latin Mass at St. Ann is cancelled (along with preceding Holy Hour)
• Friday January 4^th: 7am Latin Mass at St. Ann is cancelled

All other regular Latin Masses at other parishes are still scheduled as far as we know. Other updates will be posted online at: https://charlottelatinmass.org/mass-times/

Laudetur Iesus Christus!  Blessed Christmas greetings on this the 7^th day within the Octave of Christmas and the last of 2018. As a reminder, tomorrow January 1^st is the Feast of the Circumcision, a Holy Day of Obligation. Here is the latest updates:

Latin Masses on January 1^st

Charlotte: 9am Low Mass, St. Ann parish (Confessions from 10am – 11:30 am)

Greensboro: Midnight Latin Mass on January 1 (later tonight technically), Our Lady of Grace parish, Greensboro (1.5 hours north of Charlotte)

Schedule changes/cancellations for this week

Wednesday January 2^nd: 6pm Latin Mass at St. Ann is cancelled (along with preceding Holy Hour)

Friday January 4^th: 7am Latin Mass at St. Ann is cancelled

All other regular Latin Masses at other times/parishes are still scheduled as far as we know. Other updates will be posted at our Mass times page at: https://charlottelatinmass.org/mass-times/

Epiphany Festivities

There will be a Solemn High Mass for the Vigil of Epiphany at Charlotte Catholic High School at 5:30 PM Saturday January 5, preceded by the blessing of a new organ. A blessing of Epiphany Water, salt and chalk will take place at 5:00 PM. Please bring any water, chalk or salt to be blessed by no later than 4:45 PM. There will be tape/pens so people can mark their containers.

For the latest list of Latin Masses for Christmas, and the rest of Christmas week, please visit our Mass listings website:

https://charlottelatinmass.org/mass-times/

Please note many daily Latin Masses are canceled due to priest vacations.

Merry Christmas!

Laudetur Iesus Christus! Thanks to everyone who attended Saturday’s Rorate Masses. We hope you found it edifying and a good preparation for focusing on the coming of Christ at His Nativity next week.

This week we have a few things to note:

This week is Advent Ember Week

The Ember Days are when the Church traditionally devoted three days (Wednesday, Friday & Saturday) a season to prayer and fasting (now optional) to give thanks to God for His creation and for graces in the season ahead.  The Traditional Latin Mass calendar has many feasts and customs devoted to the land, agriculture and creation which are worth exploring sometime. As custom, we post an excellent summary by Fisheaters.com: https://www.fisheaters.com/customsadvent11.html

Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle

Friday December 21^st is the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, a feast day which often seems buried in the preparations for Christmas. However, as the late historian Dr. Warren Carroll (founder of Christendom college) noted in one of his books, St. Thomas’ apostolic work is one of the greatest untold stories in the Catholic Church. Not only did he evangelize India, but tradition holds he baptized the three Magi near Persia, and also evangelized the new world – taking Christ’s command to preach the gospel to the four corners of the earth. He covered more geography than any other apostle.  Latin Masses on this day are:

7:00 AM – St. Ann

8:30 AM – St. John the Baptist, Tryon (2 hours west of Charlotte)

12:30 PM – St. Mark, Huntersville

New Friday Latin Masses in Tryon

For those of our readers near the mountains, effective immediately, St. John the Baptist in Tryon will begin offer an 8:30 AM Latin Mass each Friday.  If you live nearby or passing through town, please consider attending to support the newest outpost for the Traditional Latin Mass. Our thanks to Fr. Christian for making this option available.

Lastly, please see our Mass schedule for Christmas and New Year Mass schedules: Lastly, we have a few updates for the Christmas week schedule here: https://charlottelatinmass.org/mass-times/

Laudetur Iesus Christus! Blessed Advent greetings on this 2^nd week of Advent. We have the following updates to share:

Wednesday (tomorrow Dec. 12) Mass cancellations

St. Ann: The 7am Wednesday Latin Mass (offered by Seminary priests) is on hiatus until mid-January since the seminary is on Christmas break. We’ll let you know when it restarts.

St. Thomas Aquinas: The 7pm Wednesday Latin Mass will be canceled for tomorrow Wednesday December 12 due to Our Lady of Guadalupe celebrations.

Rorate Mass this Saturday December 15

Below are the special Rorate Masses being offered this Saturday December 15.

• 5:30 AM – Rorate Mass (Candlelight, Solemn High Mass) – John the Baptist, Tryon, NC (2 hours west of Charlotte)
• 6:30 AM – Annual Rorate Mass (Candlelight, Solemn High Mass) – St. Ann

What is a Rorate Mass? If you’re new to Latin Mass and wondering – what is a Rorate Mass? Simply put, it’s a beautiful and ancient candlelight Latin Mass honoring Our Lady at dawn; it’s name taken from the first words of the Introit of the Mass which comes from the words of Isaiah 45:8 (Rorate, caeli…). As is custom each year, we provide you a great article on it, written by local traditional blogger, Brian Williams at this website: https://onepeterfive.com/rorate-caeli-mass-advent-tradition-honoring-lady/

Christmas Octave schedule

For a listing of the Masses (and cancellations when available) for Christmas and beyond, click here: https://charlottelatinmass.org/mass-times/

Laudetur Iesus Christus! We’ve now entered the season of Advent, which as Fr. Reid noted in Sunday’s sermon a time when we prepare for Christ, both in his coming in the Incarnation, but also his second coming at the end of the world.

For this preparation, the Church provides us 4 weeks of Advent, which symbolize the 4,000 years from Adam until the Incarnation.  As custom during special seasons, we provide a link to some of the great traditions of Advent, from Fisheaters.com: https://www.fisheaters.com/customsadvent1.html

We also have several updates to share about the Mass schedule. Most notable is there will now be an 8am Low Mass at St. Ann this Saturday December 8:

Feast of the Immaculate Conception – December 8

• 6:00 AM – Annual Rorate Mass (Candlelight, Solemn High Mass with polyphany) – St. Thomas Aquinas
• 8:00 AM – Low Mass – St. Ann
• 12:00 PM – Low Mass – John the Baptist parish, Tryon, NC (2 hours west of Charlotte)

Wednesday December 12 – Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

• Cancellation: The St. Thomas 7pm Latin Mass will not be offered

Saturday December 15

• 5:30 AM – Rorate Mass (Candlelight, Solemn High Mass) – John the Baptist, Tryon, NC (2 hours west of Charlotte)
• 6:30 AM – Annual Rorate Mass (Candlelight, Solemn High Mass) – St. Ann

Feast of the Nativity – Tuesday December 25

• 12:00 Midnight Mass – Christmas (Solemn High Mass) – St. Ann
• 12:00 Midnight Mass – Christmas (High Mass) – John the Baptist, Tryon, NC

Feast of the Circumcision – Tuesday January 1

• 9:00 AM Low Mass – St. Ann

Laudetur Iesus Christus!  We just wanted to send a last minute update that tomorrow, Sunday December 2^nd, there will be a 4pm Latin Mass at Sacred Heart parish in Salisbury. They offer it the first Sunday each month.  Below is information from the Salisbury Latin Mass Community:

Just a reminder of the 4:00 p.m. Traditional Latin Mass this coming Sunday, December 2nd, at Sacred Heart in Salisbury.

We will have our usual social after Mass in Brincefield Hall (to the right as you exit the church). Please bring a favorite light hors d’oeuvres to share if you are able to attend.  Coffee, tea, water and paper products will be provided.

Father John Putnam, pastor of St. Mark in Huntersville will be celebrant.

Please Pray For Our Priests
Link: Priestly Vocations, Diocese of Charlotte

Prayer for Priests
Eternal God, please bless our priests, who represent You on this earth.  Make them more greatly aware of the grace that You pour out through them when they minister the sacraments, and help them to fall more deeply in love with You after each and every Mass that they celebrate.  Please strengthen our priests, who shepherd Your flock, when they are in doubt of their faith, that they may be examples of Your Truth and guide us always on the path to You.

We ask these things of You our Eternal Priest. Amen.
Source: St. Thomas Aquinas, Charlotte, website (https://www.stacharlotte.com/94)

Blessings,
Mark Hartley

Lastly, we have updated our Mass listings for December 8, 15, and Christmas/January 1. There will be a 8am Low Mass at St. Ann next Saturday December 8. We’ll send more information this coming week, but you can see them here:

https://charlottelatinmass.org/2018/11/25/special-latin-mass-at-st-michael-tomorrow-monday-nov-26/

Laudetur Iesus Christus! We just wanted to send out a quick update on a special High Mass offered tomorrow Monday November 26 at St. Michael in Gastonia.

Monday November 26 (Feast of St. Sylvester)

Missa Cantata – 6:30 PM (I think offered by Fr. Matthew Bean)

St. Michael Catholic Church in Gastonia

http://stmichaelsgastonia.org

Also looking ahead here are some future Latin Masses for December:

Feast of the Immaculate Conception – December 8

6:00 AM Annual Rorate Mass (Candlelight) – St. Thomas Aquinas

8:00 AM – Low Mass – St. Ann

12:00 PM – Low Mass – St. John the Baptist parish, Tryon, NC (2 hours west of Charlotte)

Saturday December 15

5:30 AM – Rorate Mass (Candlelight, Solemn High Mass) – St. John the Baptist, Tryon, NC (2 hours west of Charlotte)

6:30 AM Annual Rorate Mass (Candlelight) – St. Ann

Feast of the Nativity – December 25

12:00 Midnight Mass – Christmas (Solemn High Mass) – St. Ann

12:00 Midnight Mass – Christmas (High Mass) – St. John the Baptist, Tryon, NC

Feast of the Circumcision – Tuesday January 1

9:00 AM Low Mass – St. Ann

Laudetur Iesus Christus! As we approach the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, we wanted to share some schedule changes that were announced:

Wednesday November 21: The 7am Seminary Latin Mass (at St. Ann) is canceled as well as the 7pm Latin Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish.  However, the 6pm Latin Mass at St. Ann is still scheduled (*see note below).

Thursday November 22 (Thanksgiving): The 7am Latin Mass at St. Michael parish in Gastonia is cancelled. Evening confessions at St. Ann are also canceled.

Friday November 23: The 7am Latin Mass at St. Ann is canceled. There will be a 12:30pm Latin Mass at St. Mark in Huntersville.

*Liturgy and Fraternity this Wednesday: November 21 is the 3^rd Wednesday, and as custom, Chris is organizing the normal L&F gathering after 6pm St. Ann Latin Mass. All men are invited to join the group after Mass at Sir Edmond Halley’s pub for a drink or dinner. “Inconveniently” located in the back of the Park Road Shopping Center, 4151 Park Rd A, Charlotte, NC 28209. The website is: http://www.siredspub.com/.

Thanksgiving History: Catholic Origins

Lastly, while the American Thanksgiving holiday is protestant in origin, the first true Thanksgiving was actually Catholic in origin, and held 50 years earlier in newly discovered San Augustine, Florida in 1565 by Spanish explorers. Their priest offered Mass (TLM of course) – the first on American soil, and then held a feast. Here are a few articles that explain the origins:

https://taylormarshall.com/2009/11/catholic-origins-of-first-thanksgiving.html

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/americas-first-thanksgiving-was-in-florida-seriously.-it-was

Happy Thanksgiving and God Bless

Laudetur Iesus Christus! We just wanted to pass along information that St. Michael parish in Gastonia has restored the weekly 7am Thursday Latin Mass beginning tomorrow, Thursday November 8.  Thanks to everyone who prayed for Father as he learned to offer the Latin Mass. Please be sure to thank him if you see him and make every effort to attend the Mass as schedules permits.