Dear Friends of the Charlotte Latin Mass Community,

Laudetur Iesus Christus!

This coming Friday April 29th is the Feast of St. Peter Martyr (or St. Peter of Verona), a 13th century Dominican Friar.  A disciple of St. Dominic, Pope Gregory IX appointed St. Peter as a general inquisitor to combat the Manichean heresy, and St. Peter defended the faith across Italy through his preaching. He was martyred in 1252.

In the Extraordinary Form, there is an ancient custom to honor St. Peter by having palm leaves blessed in his honor. Tradition holds that when these blessed palm leaves are made into crosses and buried in the four corners of one’s property, they are to guard against natural disasters.

While there is no Latin Mass on his feast day, Fr. Reid has generously agreed to bless St. Peter palms for us. We will be handing out these “blessed palm kits” on Sunday May 1st before and after the 12:30pm Latin Mass at St. Ann’s. Please stop by the Latin Mass table to pick them up while quantities last.

Also if you have time to help us prepare the kits, we’ll be meeting at 11am May 1st in the upstairs conference room of the Allen Center.

We leave you with a poem St. Thomas Aquinas composed about St. Peter Martyr.

Here silent is Christ’s Herald;
Here quenched, the People’s Light;
Here lies the martyred Champion
Who fought Faith’s holy fight.

The Voice the sheep heard gladly,
The light they loved to see
He fell beneath the weapons
Of graceless Cathari.

The Saviour crowns His Soldier;
His praise the people psalm.
The Faith he kept adorns him
With martyr’s fadeless palm.

His praise new marvels utter,
New light he spreads abroad
And now the whole wide city
Knows well the path to God.

Laudetur Iesus Christus!

The Charlotte Latin Mass Community (CLMC) would again like to express its gratitude to Fr. Reid for taking the time to teach us more about the Latin Mass, its’ structure and symbolism.  We also wanted to thank members of the CLMC who helped set up and provide the meals.  We were pleasantly surprised at the large turnout of nearly 100 people to attend.  For those who did not make it, the CLMC is pleased to post both the audio and video on our website which you can view:

https://charlottelatinmass.org/resources/latin-mass-introduction-class/

The class also was featured in the Charlotte Catholic News & Herald.

We didn’t anticipate the overwhelming response to the class and likewise the requests for future classes. That said, if you have a suggestion for a future class topic, let us know.

Latin Mass Class April 13th:

Just a reminder — Fr. Reid’s Latin Mass intro class is coming up quickly. He will be teaching a Latin Mass Introduction class for all parishioners on Wednesday April 13th at 7pm in the Allen Center cafeteria.

It will be preceded by the regular Low Mass at 6pm and a light dinner will be served by the Charlotte Latin Mass Community. The class is open to newcomers and regulars alike and will cover topics such as the role of the priest during the Mass, the different parts of the Mass, and its symbolism. While the event is free, an RSVP is greatly appreciated by April 12th (click here)

Christus resurrexit! Alleluia! Happy Eastertide blessings in this Octave of Easter; we hope you and your family had a blessed Easter.  Here is what is happening over the next week and beyond:

1. First Friday Mass Tomorrow:Fr. Reid will offer a Latin Mass at 7am tomorrow April 1st.

2. Monday April 4: Latin Masses for the Feast of the Annunciation – we are very blessed to have 2 competing Latin Masses for the transferred feast of the Annunciation. Fr. Buettner will offer a high Mass at St. Michael’s in Gastonia at 7pm. However, Fr. Reid has announced that St. Ann will host a Solemn High Mass at 7pm offered by Fr. Santiago Mariani (Parochial Vicar, Our Lady of Lourdes in Monroe), with Fr. Benjamin Roberts (Pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes) as guest homilist.  With those 2 Masses occurring, the only thing missing that evening in Charlotte might be a Pontifical High Mass (St. Thomas Aquinas parish – care to offer one?) *just kidding, sort of* 🙂

3. Latin Mass Class April 13th: Don’t forget Fr. Reid’s Latin Mass class is coming up quickly. He will be teaching a Latin Mass Introduction class for all parishioners on Wednesday April 13th at 7pm in the Allen Center cafeteria. It will be preceded by the regular Low Mass at 6pm and a light dinner will be served by the Charlotte Latin Mass Community. The class is open to newcomers and regulars alike and will cover topics such as the role of the priest during the Mass, the different parts of the Mass, and its symbolism. While the event is free, an RSVP is greatly appreciated by April 12^th.

Surrexit, non est hic, ecce locus ubi posuerunt eum (He is risen, He is not here; behold the place where they laid Him)

– St. Mark 16:1-7 (from Gospel from Easter Sunday):

 Alleluia! Happy Easter!

Laudetur Iesus Christus! We have now entered the most sacred week in the Church’s calendar and we pray your Lenten prayers, penances and almsgiving are bringing you closer to Our Blessed Lord in His passion.

1) Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednesday): Tomorrow St. Ann’s will have a regular 6pm Latin Mass (low).

2) Remainder of Holy Week & Easter: As noted, there is no Extraordinary Form Easter Triduum at St. Ann’s this year. Also a correction from last week: Sacred Heart parish in Dunn (near Raleigh) will be having Holy Thursday and Good Friday in in the Extraordinary Form. Saturday’s Holy Vigil will be Novus Ordo (I incorrectly said it was Extraordinary form).  If you travel to Sacred Heart, be advised it’s a small church so arrive early.  Back in Charlotte, for Easter Sunday, St. Ann’s will have High Mass as custom at 12:30pm.

3) First Friday: A reminder St. Ann’s will offer First Friday Latin Mass at 7am April 1st.

4) Monday April 4: Feast of the Annunciation transferred. Both St. Michael’s and St. Ann’s will offer a 7pm Latin Mass. I understand St. Michael’s will be a High Mass (not sure about St. Ann yet).

5) Latin Mass Class April 13th: Father Reid will be teaching a Latin Mass Introduction class for all parishioners on Wednesday April 13th at 7pm in the Allen Center cafeteria. It will be preceded by the regular Low Mass at 6pm and a light dinner will be served by the Charlotte Latin Mass Community. The class is open to newcomers and regulars alike and will cover topics such as the role of the priest during the Mass, the different parts of the Mass, and its symbolism. While the event is free, an RSVP is greatly appreciated by April 12^th (info@charlottelatinmass.org).

6) Divine Mercy Novena: As you may know, Good Friday begins the Divine Mercy novena which concludes on Divine Mercy Sunday. St. Ann’s features a statue of the Divine Mercy of Our Lord in front of the parish, honoring seminarian & parishioner Michael Kitson who passed away on Divine Mercy Sunday a few years ago.  For those who observe this devotion please consider praying for these intentions as part of your novena:

– For the suffering Christians in the Middle East

– For the end of abortion in our country

– For the reestablishment of the weekly Latin Mass at Sacred Heart parish in Salisbury

– For the regularization (resolution of the status) of the Society of St. Pius X

Lastly, we provide you an interesting talk which explains how the Passion is represented in the Mass.

Dear friends of the Charlotte Latin Mass Community (CLMC),

Laudetur Iesus Christus! We have a few updates for the next few weeks:

1. Feast of St. Joseph Saturday March 19th: St. Thomas Aquinas parish is hosting a Solemn High Mass at 8am Saturday for the Feast of St. Joseph on Saturday March 19th. It will also coincide with a special announcement regarding the new diocesan seminary.

2. Easter Triduum: Regretfully there won’t be an Easter Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday) in the Extraordinary Form this year (we did ask) – as you can expect priests have a difficult schedule next week. There will be Easter Sunday Latin Mass at St. Ann’s regular time of 12:30pm.  As you offer your penances and sacrifices during Holy Week, please do pray that in future years the faithful will have the option for the Triduum in the Extraordinary Form.  If you are eager to drive, there is an Extraordinary Form Triduum being offered at Sacred Heart parish Dunn, NC this year (40 minutes south of Raleigh).

3. April 4 – Feast of the Annunciation (transferred). Fr. Buettner will be offering a Latin Mass for the Feast of the Annunciation at St. Michael parish in Gastonia (I believe the time is 7pm but will confirm). This feast which normally occurs on March 25th is being transferred because this year it falls on Good Friday.

Dear friends of the Charlotte Latin Mass Community (CLMC),

Laudetur Iesus Christus! We’re at the halfway point in lent, and as Fr. Reid exhorted us on Sunday, keep up the penances and the fasting!

First Friday Mass: This week Father Reid will again be offering a First Friday Latin Mass at 7am this Friday March 4th. Please do try to make the sacrifice to come and make reparation against the offenses of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Holy Hour of Reparation this Friday: Also on Friday, Fr. Reid is offering a Holy Hour of Reparation at 5:50pm this Friday followed by Stations of the Cross at 7pm. Our country has committed many sins and a Holy Hour can help to appease God’s anger and justice for the offenses against Him.

Latin Mass Class April 13th: Looking ahead, please mark your calendars for Wednesday April 13th at 7pm.  We are pleased to announce that Father Reid has graciously agreed to offer a Latin Mass tutorial class to help answer some of the questions we may have about the Latin Mass. We know many have had questions over the past year, and we hope this will begin to answer some of those.

If there is interest, we may offer pizza or dinner depending on interest. Low Mass of course will be offered at 6pm.  Stay tuned for more details.

Laudetur Iesus Christus! We have entered into the 2nd full week of Lent and we have a few events to share.

1) Important Action Item: As noted at today’s Mass, tomorrow, Monday, there is a rally to protest the Charlotte City Council’s attempt to pass legislation that would permit men to use women’s restrooms.  As Fr. Barone noted in his outstanding sermon today (sorry if you missed it!), we Catholics must stand up in the public sphere to defend faith, otherwise they will force the churches (like St. Ann’s) to comply. Thus if you live in Charlotte, please consider signing the petition and showing up at the rally.

All faithful are encouraged to attend the rally at Char-Meck Government Center from 5-6pm tomorrow (Feb 22) to oppose this legislation. The address is: 600 E 4th St Charlotte, NC 28202. Free parking available**  To learn more and to sign the petition please visit this website. It is organized by the NC Values Coalition and the Susan B. Anthony List.

http://dontdoitcharlotte.com/

2) Latin Mass tomorrow at St. Michael’s: After the rally, you still may have time to attend a special High Mass (Latin) at 7pm for the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter at St. Michael’s in Gastonia. Mass will be offered by Fr. Buettner.

3)Latin Lenten Devotion: Our friends at the Carolina Catholic Chorale will sing the beautiful Lenten devotional Adoramus te, Christe Friday, February 26th at 7:30pm at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 375 Lumen Christi Lane, Salisbury, NC.  The text of Adoramus te, Christe is taken from an antiphon from Good Friday: Adoramus te, Christe,  et benedicimus tibi: quia per sanctam crucem  tuam redemisti mundum

We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee: because by thy holy cross thou hast redeemed the world. For more info please visit the Chorale’s website listed above.

4) Young Adult Latin Mass lunch next Sunday: On February 28th, after 12:30pm Latin Mass at St. Ann’s some of the young adults (20s & 30s) who attend the Latin Mass will go out to eat for fellowship. Meet in narthex around 2pm.

Dear friends of the Charlotte Latin Mass Community (CLMC),

Laudetur Iesus Christus! As we head into Lent, here are some updates:

1. THANK YOU to everybody who attended the First Friday Latin Mass last week. It was heartening to see so many faithful attending the first Mass, at such an early time. As Father Reid noted in his sermon (to paraphrase from memory), we will not regret making this sacrifice to honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

2. Ash Wednesday (Feb 10): Latin Mass will be in the morning at 7am. The evening Mass will be Novus Ordo at 7pm.

3. Coffee Fellowship on Sunday February 14th after 12:30pm Mass. We may need some help organizing it this week – I may send a follow up e-mail this week if we do.

4. Latin Masses at Mission: The St. Ann Lenten mission is February 14-17 at 7pm each night with Confessions afterwards Sunday-Tuesday night. The mission priest, Fr. Wolfgang Seitze will offer the Sunday 12:30pm Latin Mass and the Wednesday evening 6pm Latin Mass (talk begins at 7). Please consider plans to attend.
5. Liturgy & Lager: Due to the parish mission we won’t have Liturgy and Lager in February. Most likely we will hold off until after Easter.
6. February 22nd – Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. Please mark your calendars: Monday February 22nd 7pm, Fr. Matthew Buettner, pastor of St. Michael’s in Gastonia will offer a High Mass for the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. The Mass will take place at St. Michael’s.

Latin Mass Anniversary this week

Lastly, you may not recall but St. Ann’s marks a special anniversary this week — the establishment of the Sunday Latin Mass in 2013. What many newcomers may not know is the story of how it happened…

In short, before 2013, there was no Sunday Latin Mass at St. Ann’s and the CLMC, with Fr. Reid’s and Bishop Jugis’ encouragement, petitioned the Vatican to request the Charlotte faithful be provided with a regular Sunday Latin Mass at St. Ann’s.  By God’s grace, the Holy See responded and asked Bishop Jugis to provide this request.  Fr. Reid followed Rome’s lead and made the announcement on Sunday February 10, 2013, the day before Pope Benedict’s resignation announcement. Attached are the Vatican acknowledgement letter in 2012 and Fr. Reid’s bulletin announcement.

Fr. Reid began offering the first Sunday Latin Mass beginning in March 2013 and he has taken great effort to ensure the faithful always have a Sunday Latin Mass – even when he is traveling.  It’s easy to take our regular Sunday Latin Mass for granted today, but it wasn’t always around prior to 3 years ago. As we head into Lent, please take time to offer some prayers and sacrifices for Fr. Reid who takes tremendous effort to care for our souls.

St. Gregory the Great, ora pro nobis!