Laudetur Iesus Christus on this the fifth day within the Octave of Christmas and the feast of St. Thomas Beckett, bishop and martyr. We post below the Latin Mass schedule for the next few days. As a reminder, St. Ann will not have a Latin Mass today at 6pm due to the priests being away.

Thursday December 30

• St. Thomas Aquinas will offer a special 10am High Mass (the normal 7pm Latin Mass is canceled)

Friday December 31 & Plenary Indulgence (see below)

• St. Ann parish: CANCELLATION: The 7am Low Mass is cancelled for this day only
• St. Mark 12:30pm Low Mass will be offered as normal

Saturday January 1 – feast of the Circumcision & Plenary Indulgence (see below)

• Our Lady of Grace, Greensboro, 12 midnight High Mass (1.5 hours north of Charlotte)
• St. John the Baptist, Tryon, NC 12 midnight Latin Mass (2 hours west of Charlotte)
• St. Ann, Charlotte – 9am Low Mass (followed by Confessions until 12 noon)
• St. Thomas Aquinas, Charlotte – 10am High Mass (followed by monthly blessing of religious objects)
• Our Lady of the Lake, Chapin, SC – 1:30pm Low Mass (2 hours south of Charlotte)

FYI: The midnight Masses of January 1 are on the late evening of December 31 and begin at midnight January 1.

Wednesday January 5 – Vigil of Epiphany

• St. Ann, Charlotte – 6:00pm Low Mass (followed by blessing of Epiphany Holy Water, a 45-minute blessing)  Note: Please only bring EMPTY water bottles/containers. The priest will bless the parish’s large water containers and laity can fill up their empty containers with the blessed water from the large fonts.

Thursday January 6 – Feast of the Epiphany

• St. Ann, Charlotte – 6pm High Mass
• St. Thomas Aquinas, Charlotte – 7pm High Mass
• Our Lady of the Lake, Chapin, SC – 6:30pm Low Mass, followed by blessing of chalk and salt (2 hours south of Charlotte), 

Plenary Indulgence for December 31 & January 1:

There is a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions offered on the last day and first day of the year when one takes part in the recitation of the Te Deum hymn (Friday December 31) and the Veni Creator (Saturday January 1) in a church or oratory. The former is recited in thanksgiving for the blessings the past year, and the latter is to ask for divine assistance for the coming new year. Learn more here: https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2012/12/plenary-indulgence-reminders-te-deum-on.html (prayers are linked here)

Defending Conscience Rights video and recap

The Carolina Family Coalition held a Defending Conscience Rights Against Vaccine Mandates event shortly before Christmas, and they have now released the video for those unable to attend. The event was organized to help support Catholic workers stand up for their conscience rights against vaccine mandates, which violate Church teaching. Readers even may see a few Latin Mass faces among the speakers.  To view the event visit: https://www.prolifecharlotte.org/defending-conscience-rights/

Feast of St. Thomas Beckett – December 29  – Patron of the Church’s Liberty

Speaking of rights and liberties, ach year we journey through the sanctoral cycle and occasionally note a certain saint’s feast day with only a passing thought or reflection on how they achieved their sanctity or its meaning to us today (much to our detriment!).  Perhaps this could be said about St. Thomas Becket, the English archbishop of Canterbury. Beckett, whose feast day occurs during the joyful octave of Christmas certainly deserves closer attention, as the Church just commemorated the 851^st anniversary of his martyrdom which occurred on December 29, 1170.

19^th century Benedictine liturgist, Dom Prosper Gueranger notes about Beckett:

This glorious Martyr did not shed his blood for the faith; he was not dragged before the tribunals of Pagans or Heretics, there to confess the Truths revealed by Christ and taught by the Church. He was slain by Christian hands; it was a Catholic King that condemned him to death; it was by the majority of his own Brethren, and they his countrymen, that he was abandoned and blamed. How, then, could he be a Martyr? How did he gain a Palm like Stephen’s? He was the Martyr for the Liberty of the Church. (Emphasis added.)

Gueranger continues:

To Kings and Rulers and, in general, to all Diplomatists and Politicians, there are few expressions so unwelcome as this of the Liberty of the Church; with them, it means a sort of conspiracy. The world talks of it as being an unfortunate scandal, originating in priestly ambition. Timid temporizing Catholics regret that it can elicit anyone’s zeal, and will endeavor to persuade us that we have no need to fear anything, so long as our Faith is not attacked. Notwithstanding all this, the Church has put upon her altars and associated with St. Stephen, St. John, and the Holy Innocents, this our Archbishop, who was slain in his Cathedral of Canterbury, in the 12th century, because he resisted a King’s infringements on the extrinsic Rights of the Church. She sanctions the noble maxim of St. Anselm, one of St. Thomas’ predecessors in the See of Canterbury: Nothing does God love so much in this world, as the Liberty of his Church; and the Apostolic See declares by the mouth of Pius the 8th, in the 19th century, the very same doctrine she would have taught by St. Gregory the 7th, in the 11th century: The Church, the spotless Spouse of Jesus Christ the immaculate Lamb is, by God’s appointment, Free, and subject to no earthly power (Litterae Apostolicae ad Episcopos Provinciae Rhenance, 1830).(Emphasis added.)

https://sensusfidelium.com/the-liturgical-year-dom-prosper-gueranger/december/december-29-st-thomas-archbishop-of-canterbury-and-martyr/ (the entire entry is worth reading)

What Gueranger is emphasizing is how much Our Lord Jesus Christ, through His Church’s liturgical calendar, values the liberty of His Catholic Church in the public realm. In fact, so much is it valued that in the Church’s wisdom, the patron saint of Church liberty is placed near St. Stephen and St. John, just days after the Nativity. That’s a pretty big emphasis – and something to contemplate as the secular world continues to encroach on the Church’s freedoms, especially under the guise of a delusional “pandemic”. May the Catholics abroad who find their churches temporarily closed this Christmas thanks to the unjust COVID-19 protocols call upon this great saint before these churches remain closed permanently.

St. Thomas Beckett, pray for us!

Laudetur Iesus Christus and Merry Christmas! Today is the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas, for this weekend’s reflection we share two reflections, first the great liturgist, Dom Prosper Gueranger’s entry for today’s Mass: https://sensusfidelium.com/the-liturgical-year-dom-prosper-gueranger/christmas/sunday-within-the-octave-of-christmas/ and Dr. Mike Foley’s: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2020/12/divine-adoption-sunday.html#.YcYa1llOmHs

Prayers for our priests: In your charity, please offer prayers for our priests who no doubt have a more difficult weekend offering a Sunday’s worth of Masses for at least 2-3 days (in future years we pray they all will be the Latin Mass).

Mass Announcements for Christmastide Week

• Monday December 27:  St. John the Baptist, Tryon (2 hours west of Charlotte): Special 11am High Mass
• Wednesday December 29: St. Ann parish: CANCELLATION: The 6pm Low Mass is cancelled for this day only.
• Thursday December 30: St. Thomas Aquinas will offer a special 10am Low Mass (the normal 7pm Latin High Mass is canceled)
• Friday December 31: St. Ann parish: The 7am Low Mass is cancelled for this day only. However, St. Mark parish’s regular 12:30pm Low Mass will be offered as normal.

Saturday January 1 – feast of the Circumcision

• Our Lady of Grace, Greensboro, 12 midnight Low Mass (1.5 hours north of Charlotte)
• St. John the Baptist, Tryon, NC 12 midnight Latin Mass (2 hours west of Charlotte)
• St. Ann, Charlotte – 9am Low Mass (followed by Confessions until 12 noon)
• St. Thomas Aquinas, Charlotte – 10am High Mass (followed by monthly blessing of religious objects)

FYI: The midnight Masses of January 1 are on the late evening of December 31 and begin at midnight January 1.

Feast of the Epiphany Schedule

Wednesday January 5 – Vigil of Epiphany: St. Ann, Charlotte – 6:00pm Low Mass (followed by blessing of Epiphany Holy Water, a 45-minute blessing)  Note: Please only bring EMPTY water bottles/containers. The priest will bless the parish’s large water containers and laity can fill up their empty containers with the blessed water.

Thursday January 6 – Feast of the Epiphany

• St. Ann, Charlotte – 6pm High Mass
• St. Thomas Aquinas, Charlotte – 7pm High Mass

Traditional Christmas Proclamation

If you attended St. Ann or St. Thomas Midnight Mass yesterday, you may have heard the beautiful chanting of the traditional Christmas proclamation in Latin. This ancient proclamation was in use for centuries until the late 1960s when it was eliminated. In the mid-1990s, Pope St. John Paul II brought back the proclamation, but modernized the text a bit. The traditional proclamation is based on Septuagint (Greek) Old Testament chronology which lists the years from creation of the world to the Nativity of Christ as 5,199 years. The modern proclamation however is instead based on sort of a modernist evolutionary version which presumes long ages of the earth (unknown ages).  While it should be noted that there are some transcribing errors with the Septuagint chronology, it does more closely aligns with the opinion of the ancient Church fathers who believed the age between creation and the Nativity was less than 10,000 years old, and likely around 4,000 years (hence the 4 weeks of Advent to represent the 4,000 years between creation and Christ). To learn more about this and how the Venerable Bede corrected this please read this great report from the Kolbe Center for Creation (whom the CLMC co-sponsored a year ago at St. Mark parish):

https://www.kolbecenter.org/kolbe-report-9-7-19/

Latin Mass & Traditional News

• Refurbished St. Edward new home to Traditional Mass community: With Latin Masses being temporarily restricted in some places, we share some uplifting and joyous news. The Archdiocese of Phoenix has now erected a 2^nd exclusively Traditional Latin Mass chapel in the city of Phoenix, to also be staffed by priests of the Fraternity of St. Peter (a society of priests offering the Latin Mass exclusively). This may indeed be the first time a diocese has two fully Latin Mass “parishes” in the same city and it shows the Latin Mass continues to grow regardless of what strangeness are occurring overseas in the Eternal City: https://www.catholicsun.org/2021/12/16/refurbished-st-edward-new-home-to-traditional-mass-community/ CLMC note: Phoenix has not only two exclusively TLM chapels, but also several Novus Ordo parishes that offer a Traditional Latin Mass, demonstrating the Archdiocese’s flexibility and openness in meeting the needs of all the Latin Mass faithful.

• BY THEIR FRUITS: The Decline of the Sacred Priesthood in the U.S. Catholic Church since 1970: A friend to the CLMC, Brian Mershon, has written an important article which asks the uncomfortable question of why there is a decline in vocations since 1970 (hint: one can guess why).  https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/headline-news-around-the-world/item/5746-the-decline-of-the-sacred-priesthood-in-the-u-s-catholic-church-since-1970

• Bishop Schneider on Latest Vatican Crackdown on Tradition: His Excellency, Bishop Athanasius Schneider (who visited us at St. Ann in 2017), has offered comments on some recent documents from Rome and encourages bishops to extend “creative charity” to the Latin Mass faithful in their diocese (one excellent way would be to follow Phoenix’s example above): Here Bishop Schneider’s hopeful remarks:

• We must keep in mind that violent acts do not last for long. The violence and injustice done to a considerable group of model sons and daughter of the Church, through the Holy See’s recent document, will have a counter-effect. The liturgical tradition will be even more loved and cherished. Some priests and faithful will be forced into a life of “Catacomb Masses.” Yet they should not become discouraged or embittered. Divine Providence has permitted this painful trial, in which we are witnessing the authorities of the Holy See persecute good Catholics who are attached to the millennium old liturgical treasure of the Roman Church. They should continue to love the Pope and their bishops and increase their prayers and acts of reparation and penance, humbly imploring God that He may open the eyes of the Pope and bishops and enkindle in them an esteem and love for the treasure of these ancient liturgical traditions. May Pope Francis and many other bishops remember the joy of the days of their childhood and youth, when they heard, or themselves spoke, these moving and ever-youthful words: “Introibo ad altare Dei, ad Deum qui laetificat iuventutem meam!,” i.e., “I will go to the altar of God: to God who gives the joy to my youth.” We firmly hope that, one day, the Roman Pontiff himself will again pronounce these words at the foot of the altar in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/articles/item/5751-exclusive-bishop-athanasius-schneider-on-vatican-crackdown-on-traditional-sacraments

• Who denies the Novus Ordo is valid? Prepare for a surprise: Often times, modernists or even conservative Catholics will accuse traditionalists (e.g. Latin Mass attendees) of denying the validity of the Novus Ordo Mass of Vatican II. However, in an insightful article long overdue, Phil Lawler, reveals the real surprise – the people who actually deny the Novus Ordo Mass are in fact the 70% of Novus Ordo attendees who themselves deny the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist at such Masses. This is really something to ponder and ask why are traditionists being singled out when the “800 pound elephant” in the room is ignored. The next time someone tries to bring up this issue, share this article with them and ask what they are doing to combat this offensive unbelief occurring in their own parish: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/who-denies-novus-ordo-is-valid-prepare-for-surprise/

Archbishop Vigano – Christmas Message to the American People

His Excellency and formal Papal Nuncio to the United States pens a special Christmas letter to the American people. Like a loving father and pastor, he exhorts the American people to rise up to their vocation and fight the new world order which is built on the culture of death:

Be proud of your identity as American patriots and of the Faith that must animate your life. Do not allow anyone to make you feel inferior just because you love your homeland, because you are honest at work, because you want to protect your family and raise your children with healthy values, because you respect the elderly, because you protect life from conception to its natural end. Do not be intimidated or seduced by those who propagate a dystopian world in which a faceless power imposes on you contempt for the Law of God, presents sin and vice as licit and desirable, despises righteousness and Morality, destroys the natural family and promotes the worst perversions, plans the death of defenseless and weak creatures, and exploits humanity for its own profit or to preserve power.

Be worthy heirs of the great Archbishop Fulton Sheen, and do not follow those of your Pastors who have betrayed the mandate they have received from Our Lord, who impose iniquitous orders on you or who remain silent before the evidence of an unheard of crime against God and humanity.

May this Holy Christmas illuminate your minds and inflame your hearts before the Infant King who lays in the manger. And just as the choirs of the Angels and the homage of the Magi united with the simple adoration of the Shepherds, so also today your commitment to the moral rebirth of the United States of America – one Nation under God – will have the blessing of Our Lord and will gather those who govern you around you. Amen.

https://guildofblessedtitus.blogspot.com/2021/12/archbishop-vigano-message-to-american.html

Don’t Stop Celebrating: After Christmas Day, Christmas continues

“Catholics ought to have a totally different conception of Christmas (from what the secular world offers).” – Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, December 24, 2019

In what is becoming an annual CLMC tradition and a rallying cry for the full restoration of the Traditional Latin Mass in Charlotte, we repost Dr. Peter Kwasniewski’s brilliant December 2019 article which reminds Latin Mass attendees of the treasure and precious gold they have in the traditional liturgical calendar, especially the traditional Christmas Season according to the 1962 Missal (and prior). If one hasn’t read this article, we can only encourage everyone to read it again, and again. While the world enters into their “post-Christmas fast” today December 26, traditional Catholics begin 40 days of festivals and feasts of the Christmas season, which runs in stages from December 25 – February 2^nd (Candlemas/Feast of the Purification)  We should be clear, this Christmas season can only be fully celebrated in the Traditional Latin Mass calendar, as sadly the Novus Ordo calendar eliminated much the Christmas season – particularly the Epiphany season: Here is an excerpt:

It is very important for us not to surrender to the secular approach that, in a way, celebrates Christmas before Christmas and not afterward. We should really make an effort — in the way our homes are decorated, the way we observe Sundays and holy days, the stories we read and the other activities we do in the house — to keep the spirit of Christmas alive, even if at a “low burn,” throughout this period from December 26 to February 2. Yes, the great feast is that big of a deal! Such observance also becomes a countercultural catechesis in one of the central mysteries of the Christian faith: the Incarnation of the Son of God. This is the pivot point of all human history and of the story of each man, woman, and child.

CLMC comment: In a materialistic post-Christian world that continues to demonstrate its perverted/inverted hunger for the authentic meaning of Christmas by feasting and impiously celebrating 4 weeks before Christmas, traditional Catholics in Charlotte have a historic opportunity to share how Christmas and the Incarnation can be fully understood and lived only through the Traditional Latin Mass, and its liturgical life that flows from it. Let us consider finding ways to share that this Christmas season.

• Don’t Stop celebrating: After Christmas Day, Christmas continues by Dr. Peter Kwasniewski: https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/dont-stop-celebrating-after-christmas-day-christmas-continues-2

A few newcomers to the Latin Mass might ask – what exactly is the difference in the Christmas season between the Traditional Latin Mass and Novus Ordo Mass? The CLMC’s Brian Williams teamed up with Dr. Kwasniewski a few years ago to briefly explain how the two calendars differ (and why the Traditional calendar is preferred):

• Just How Different are the Old and New Liturgical Calendars at Christmas and New Years?: https://liturgyguy.com/2019/12/30/just-how-different-are-the-old-and-new-liturgical-calendars-at-christmas-and-new-years/

Christmas has just begun and now begins 40 days of celebrating the Incarnation and all its mysteries. Only one Mass in the Roman Rite fully expresses and celebrates the Christmas season. What Mass are you attending on Sunday?

Laudetur Iesus Christus! As we approach the feast of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ this Saturday, we wanted to share the Christmastide Latin Mass schedule for the area, including changes or cancellations.

First today, Thursday December 23, there will be the normal St. Thomas Aquinas High Mass tonight at 7pm.

Mass Cancellations This Week

• Friday December 24 – Vigil of Christmas (ancient feast of Ss. Adam & Eve): Both the 7am at St. Ann, and the 12:30pm St. Mark Friday Latin Masses are cancelled this day.
• Fasting Note: In the1962 Missal/Calendar, Christmas Eve was traditionally a day of fasting and abstinence (though now voluntary – except the abstinence due to it being Friday).

Christmas Schedule – Saturday December 25

• St. Ann, Charlotte – Midnight Latin Mass
• St. Thomas Aquinas, Charlotte – Midnight Latin Mass
• St. John the Baptist, Tryon, NC – Midnight Latin Mass (2 hours west of Charlotte)
• Prince of Peace, Taylors, SC – Midnight Latin Mass (2 hours southwest of Charlotte)
• St. Elizabeth of the Hill Country, Boone, NC – Midnight Latin Mass (2 hours northwest of Charlotte)
• Our Lady of Grace, Greensboro – 11am High (1.5 hours north of Charlotte)

Sunday December 26 will be a normal schedule (attending Mass on Christmas does not fulfill the Sunday obligation)

Mass Changes/Cancellations Next Week

• Wednesday December 29: There will not be a 6pm Latin Mass at St. Ann parish
• Thursday December 30: St. Thomas Aquinas parish will offer a special Latin Mass at 10am (the normal 7pm Mass is canceled for this day)
• Saturday January 1: St. Ann will offer a special 9am Mass for the Feast of the Circumcision; St. Thomas will offer its regular 10am High Mass for 1^st Saturday

See the rest of the Christmastide schedule including Epiphany here: https://charlottelatinmass.org/mass-times/

Traditional Christmas Eve and Christmas Reflections

• Sermon on the Christmas Star: Around this time of year we hear often about the “Christmas Star” – but what is it exactly? This traditional sermon provides some background on the supernatural phenomenon seen by the Magi. The sermon is posted by Sensus Fidelium: https://youtu.be/IgNiEr_9yNQ

• Dr. Mike Foley’s reflection on the Christmas Eve Collect: http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2020/12/the-key-to-season-collect-for-vigil.html

• The 3 Universal “Peaces”: Dom Prosper Gueranger noted in The Liturgical Year (on the feast of St. Ambrose, December 7), that St. Bonaventure taught that tradition holds there are 3 periods of time where the world will be at peace (the 3 silences). The first was after the Noe’s flood subsided when all of humanity was wiped out (except Noe’s family); the 2^nd was during the birth of Christ (Pax Romana); and the 3^rd shall be in the last days after the defeat of the anti-Christ. To read the brief except scroll down towards the bottom of this reflection: https://sensusfidelium.us/the-liturgical-year-dom-prosper-gueranger/december/december-7-st-ambrose-bishop-and-doctor-of-the-church/

• The FSSP also provided a write up on the Universal Peace at Christ’s birth: (a friend notes Father’s dates may be slightly off): https://fssp.com/christmas-eve-prime-the-whole-world-at-peace/

• The Liturgical Year Reflections for Christmas Eve & Christmas: Dom Gueranger has some excellent reflections for Christmas Eve, the hours leading up to Midnight Mass, and for Christmas day. We link to them here:
  • Christmas Eve https://sensusfidelium.us/the-liturgical-year-dom-prosper-gueranger/december/december-24-christmas-eve/
  • The Hour before Midnight Mass: https://sensusfidelium.com/the-liturgical-year-dom-prosper-gueranger/christmas/christmas-day-the-hour-before-the-midnight-service/
  • Christmas Day (including the afternoon/evening of Christmas Eve): https://sensusfidelium.us/the-liturgical-year-dom-prosper-gueranger/christmas/

• When was Christ Born? This question occasionally arises this time of year. Some argue we don’t know the date or that its inaccurate. In this wonderful book, the Frenchman General Hugues de Nanteuil examines this question in his book, The Dates of the Birth and Death of Jesus Christ (recommended by a traditional priest). He looks at all the historical evidence, the changing of the Julian calendar to Gregorian, Herod’s death, the debates about Josephus’ accuracy, and indeed demonstrates that Christ was born on December 25, 1 B.C. according to today’s calendar. A priest (who recommended this book) once echoed this with a simple question:  Does not a mother always remember when her child was born – especially if the child was the Messiah?   To learn more about the book visit: https://www.lulu.com/shop/general-hugues-de-nanteuil/the-dates-of-the-birth-and-death-of-jesus-christ/paperback/product-2661708.html?page=1&pageSize=4

The 3 Masses of Christmas

As Christmas approaches, there are 3 Latin Masses for Christmas: Midnight, Dawn, and Day. Each represent the three-fold Nativity of Christ and the Masses are all connected to each other, becoming a sort of a triduum (like Easter) or a trilogy.  We provide some great information from Fisheaters.com and a 2016 talk given by Fr. Innocent Smith, OP of New York who based it off of St. Thomas Aquinas’ writings.  NOTE: The below summary is just a layman’s effort and not authoritative or exhaustive. The 3 Masses are:

Midnight Mass: “The Angels’” Mass, symbolizing Christ’s eternal birth, which takes place before creation, hidden from Men. Thus Mass is offered in the hidden darkness at Midnight.  According to tradition, Christ was born at Midnight.

Mass at Dawn: “The Shepherds’” Mass, symbolizing the spiritual birth of Christ into our hearts, where He, the Sun, is like “the morning star that rise in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19). Thus typically Mass is offered at dawn or early morning when daylight is breaking. The text of Mass focuses on the coming light of Christ that will shine on mankind.

Mass at Day: “The Kings’” Mass, symbolizing the temporal and bodily nativity of Christ, which He processes to us in a visible and bodily form, having put on the flesh. Thus Mass is offered in full daylight as He is now fully visible to men.  The text of Mass (at least the Introit) focuses on Christ’s humanity.  (N.B. Others like liturgist Dom Gueranger have a different order of the 3 Masses than St. Thomas)

Archbishop Vigano’s Christmas Message

Like every year, in the cycle of seasons and of history, the Holy Church celebrates the Birth according to the flesh of Our Lord Jesus Christ, eternal God and Son of the eternal Father, conceived by the work of the Holy Spirit by the Virgin Mary. With the solemn words of the liturgy, the Birth of the Redeemer imposes itself on humanity by dividing time into a “before” and an “after.” Nothing will be the same as before: from that moment the Lord incarnates himself to carry out the work of Salvation and definitively snatches man, who fell in Adam, from the slavery of Satan. This, dear brothers and sisters, is our “Great Reset,” with which divine Providence restored the order broken by the ancient Serpent with the Original Sin of our First Parents; a Reset from which apostate angels and their leader Lucifer are excluded, but which has granted all men the grace to be able to benefit from the Sacrifice of God made man, and to regain the eternal life to which they were destined since the creation of Adam.

A Message from Archbishop Viganò for Christmas 2021: https://guildofblessedtitus.blogspot.com/2021/12/a-message-from-archbishop-vigano-for.html

On behalf of the entire Charlotte Latin Mass Community, we wish our readers a Blessed Christmas!

Laudetur Iesus Christus! Sunday is the 4th Sunday of Advent, and as custom we provide a reflection on the Collect by Dr. Mike Foley: http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2020/12/the-indulgent-collect-of-fourth-sunday.html

St. Ann Annual Blessing of Religious Objects – Today Sunday December 19

Today after the 12:30pm St. Ann parish Latin Mass, Father will bless religious objects in the Traditional Rite. These items can be, statues, holy water, salt, oil, medals, Rosaries. Three tables will be set up in the north cry room (to the right when entering the church)  – please place items on the blessing tables prior to the 12:30pm Mass. Immediately after Mass, Father will begin blessing – so no new objects can be placed on the table after that point. Table should be up by 12 noon – 12:15pm.

Mass Cancellations This Week

• Friday December 24 – Vigil of Christmas: Both the 7am at St. Ann, and the 12:30pm St. Mark Friday Latin Masses are cancelled.
• Fasting Note: In the1962 Missal/Calendar, Christmas Eve was traditionally a day of fasting and abstinence (though now voluntary).

(The Wednesday December 22 6pm Low Mass at St. Ann will be a Latin Mass as regularly scheduled.)

Christmas Schedule – Saturday December 25

• St. Ann, Charlotte – Midnight Latin Mass
• St. Thomas Aquinas, Charlotte – Midnight Latin Mass
• St. John the Baptist, Tryon, NC – Midnight Latin Mass (2 hours west of Charlotte)
• Prince of Peace, Taylors, SC – Midnight Latin Mass (2 hours southwest of Charlotte)
• St. Elizabeth of the Hill Country, Boone, NC – Midnight Latin Mass (2 hours northwest of Charlotte)
• Our Lady of Grace, Greensboro – 11am High (1.5 hours north of Charlotte)

(Attending Mass on Christmas does not fulfill Sunday’s obligation on Dec. 26)

For the rest of the Christmastide schedule – including Epiphany – see our website: https://charlottelatinmass.org/mass-times/

Tomorrow Monday December 20, 7pm – Defending Conscience Rights Against Vaccine Mandates – (St. Thomas Aquinas parish)

This Christmas many Catholic employees and families are threatened with the loss of employment, income, and livelihood due to employer vaccine mandates which go against their conscience and pro-life beliefs.  To support Catholic workers and families and their conscience rights, the Carolina Family Coalition (CFC) is organizing a special Defend Your Conscience Rights event on Monday December 20 at 7pm at St. Thomas Aquinas parish – Aquinas Hall (1400 Suther Road, Charlotte). The event will feature talks by an attorney, impacted workers, and a reflection by a priest on how to suffer for Christ and His teachings.  The event is free. CFC is an organization founded in 2018 by Catholic pro-life leaders in Charlotte to defend the family against the secular culture. 

December 21 – Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle

Tuesday December 21 is the traditional feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, who often gets overlooked due to the crowded liturgical schedule of Ember Week and Christmas. Yet this saint is not the least by any means, as tradition holds that St. Thomas evangelized not only India, but Persia including baptizing the 3 Magi; and also much of the globe – including the western hemisphere.  As custom each December 21, we share with you a great sermon posted by Sensus Fidelium, on St. Thomas the Apostle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1bBepndSGY Dom Prosper Gueranger also has a reflection for this saint: https://sensusfidelium.us/the-liturgical-year-dom-prosper-gueranger/december/december-21-saint-thomas-apostle/

Traditional Christmas Proclamation

We are pleased to share that both St. Ann and St. Thomas Aquinas parishes will be chanting the traditional Christmas proclamation at Midnight Mass this Christmas (occurs a minute or two before Mass begins). This is a beautiful chant that was unfortunately lost after 1960s, only to return in a weaker modernized format in 1994. Graciously, the scholas at St. Ann and St. Thomas Aquinas will both be signing the traditional Christmas proclamation. Here are links to compare the traditional and the modern:

• Traditional 1962 (taken from a parish chanting it in in 2019): https://tlm-md.blogspot.com/2019/12/kalendas-2019-christmas-proclamation.html
• Modern (taken from USCCB website): https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year-and-calendar/christmas/christmas-proclamation

The noted differences are the more specific years of the various events in the traditional, the which the former (traditional) was taken from the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament)

Latin Mass & Traditional News

• True Obedience: A Key Consideration for Our Time – Dr. Peter Kwasniewski: In light of current events (see below section), our friend Dr. Kwasniewski announced he is writing a book on the proper understanding of true obedience in the Church, its scope and its limitations. He recently posted an excerpt of a chapter on OnePeterFive, which we also share to give our readers an understanding that we owe our ultimate obedience to God, and need to obey Him over men, when certain commands of man violate God:
  
  “If we are convinced that something essential, something decisive in the Faith is under attack from the pope or any other hierarch, we are not only permitted to refuse to do what is being asked or commanded, not only permitted to refuse to give up what is being unjustly taken away or forbidden; we are obliged to refuse, out of the love we bear to Our Lord Himself, our love for His Mystical Body, and our proper love for our own souls.
  
  Because this is true, any penalty or punishment meted out for “disobedience” to the revolutionaries would be illicit. If a punishment is given on false theological or canonical premises, it is null and void, just as the canonical trial and excommunica­tion of Joan of Arc were recognized as illegitimate twenty-five years after her execution at the hands of corrupt and politically-motivated clergy.”

True Obedience: A Key Consideration for Our Time

• Just How Different are the Old and New Liturgical Calendars at Christmas and New Years?: As we approach the Christmas season, the CLMC’s own Brian Williams and Dr. Peter Kwasniewski co-wrote a helpful article in understanding the Christmas liturgical season in the Traditional Latin Mass and how it differs from the Novus Ordo: https://liturgyguy.com/2019/12/30/just-how-different-are-the-old-and-new-liturgical-calendars-at-christmas-and-new-years/

• The Liturgical Year with Steve Cunningham: Our own Steve Cunningham (who runs the great online apostolate Sensus Fidelium) gave a great talk on Dom Prosper Gueranger’s book, The Liturgical Year (which we cite often), and Gueranger’s reflections on Advent. If you’d like to learn about how to understand and put into practice the liturgical year, especially with Advent, this would be a good “starter” video to watch. It was hosted by our friends with the Columbia (SC) Traditional Latin Mass Supporters: Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gr_KpEMsRU

• O’ Antiphons: Dom Prosper Gueranger’s reflections on the Great Antiphons which are chanted between December 17 – December 24: https://sensusfidelium.com/the-liturgical-year-dom-prosper-gueranger/december/december-17-the-commencement-of-the-great-antiphons/ (To learn more on the O Antiphons and what they are visit: https://www.fisheaters.com/customsadvent10.html)
  
• The feast of the Expectation of Mary – December 18: Gueranger writes about an overlooked feast day, celebrated in Spain, on the Blessed Mother’s expectation of her delivery within 8 days: https://sensusfidelium.com/the-liturgical-year-dom-prosper-gueranger/december/december-18-expectation-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary/

• Morality, Efficacy and Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines – by Pamela Acker: We are pleased to share a link to Pamela Acker’s talk on the morality of the COVID-19 vaccines given at St. John the Baptist in Tryon on Saturday December 4.  Her talk is helpful to review as she covers important topics related to the morality, safety, and efficacy of the COVID.  Her talk also covers the efficacy the COVID-19 vaccines and their safety, and the traditional theological approach to looking at the immorality of the abortion linked vaccines. You can view the talk here: https://www.prolifecharlotte.org/morality-safety-and-efficacy-of-the-covid-19-vaccines/ (as readers may recall the CLMC co-sponsored Ms. Acker and the Kolbe Center in 2019)

• Do You Hear What I Hear?: Fr. William Rock, FSSP pens a great article on how the tones of the traditional breviary chants changes through Advent and as the Church approaches Christmas. These small tonal inflections have theological symbolism with other feasts such as the Easter season, linking the coming of Christ at Christmas, with the Resurrection at Easter, and other feasts of the year: https://fssp.com/do-you-hear-what-i-hear/

• Churches host Rorate Masses in honor of Our Lady: The Catholic News Herald posted some photos of the Rorate Masses across the diocese this month: https://catholicnewsherald.com/88-news/fp/7775-drop-down-dew-ye-heavens-from-above

Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry

Padre Pio, who repeated the words of the above header, was one of the few priests of the post-conciliar era (1960s) rumored to have been granted an indult to continue offering the Traditional Latin Mass for the rest of his priesthood after Vatican II. It’s fitting we use his quote, because of some of the statements coming from Rome may be a cause of worry to some. Yet, as CLMC readers know, this is nothing new.  Over the past few weeks we shared two important commentaries by noted exorcist and theologian, Fr. Chad Ripperger, who observed that the modernists have showed their intent to eliminate the Latin Mass. We should not be surprised by their attempts as they tried this in the past.  However, this “sixties” generation is aging out quickly and such actions are really nothing more than an act of desperation. We re-share Fr. Ripperger’s September sermon and excerpts:

• Father Ripperger: Keep Calm and Keep Attending the Traditional Latin Mass: https://youtu.be/dxEUxri3jxg?t=1052 (sermon begins at 17:32)

“Their project is failing. They’ve spent 40 years (or 50 years) on a project that has been an unmitigated disaster…There’s been a consistent decline for 40 or 50 years. The only thing that is growing is the Traditional movement and they know it. Which is a sign to them that their project didn’t work. So what do they have to do? They lost the argument intellectually…Over the last 20 years there has been sufficient theological work done, to show point in fact, that the Old Mass is better than the New… In the end, they don’t have an intellectual argument and the only thing left is force. [Describing modernists:] You have to force your position. You have to use power to maintain it. Because that’s how you keep people in check when you don’t have an intellectual argument and you can’t persuade them.

We have to be spiritually prepared for even more serious draconian documents. They not going to let this go until they are in the grave.”

More recently, we shared a few weeks ago that Fr. Ripperger also reported that in a recent exorcism, he learned that God may be taking away the power of the devil, who has no doubt caused havoc within the Church and without.  Fr. Ripperger believes this is why the demons are in a panic, causing havoc in the civil and ecclesial spheres. He also offers some hopeful thoughts, and what could happen to the Church when this happens:

• Fr. Ripperger: Satan’s Time is Running Short: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/exorcist-says-satans-time-is-running-short

What are we to do at this point? Simply put, let us be prepared, be vigilant, attend Latin Mass regularly – especially on Sundays, and pray for our priests and bishop during this challenging and confusing time (and for the Pope). If you aren’t attending the Traditional Latin Mass on Sundays, now may be a good time to consider it.

In the above sermon, Fr. Ripperger noted that the Latin Mass will last until the second coming of Christ. This week, Christ will come at Christmas. What Mass are you attending on Sunday and…Christmas?

Laudetur Iesus Christus! This Wednesday, Friday and Saturday are the seasonal Ember Days – when the traditional Church sets aside 3 days each season for prayer, fasting and partial abstinence (the later now voluntary) to thank God for his gifts of creation and to use them in moderation. It’s a good time to also pray for sanctity for the upcoming season. We may also consider offering our penances this week for our priests as they prepare to offer the Masses during Christmas, as well as the Pope, and an end to the evil which plagues our world and the Church. Dom Prosper Gueranger offers a reflection for the Wednesday Ember Day:

Today the Church begins the fast of Quatuor Tempora, or, as we call it, of Ember days: it includes also the Friday and Saturday of this same week. This observance is not peculiar to the Advent liturgy; it is one which has been fixed for each of the four seasons of the ecclesiastical year… The intentions, which the Church has in the fast of the Ember days, are the same as those of the Synagogue; namely, to consecrate to God by penance the four seasons of the year. The Ember days of Advent are known, in ecclesiastical antiquity, as the fast of the tenth month; and St Leo, in one of his sermons on this fast, of which the Church has inserted a passage in the second nocturn of the third Sunday of Advent, tells us that a special fast was fixed for this time of the year, because the fruits of the earth had then all been gathered in, and that it behoved Christians to testify their gratitude to God by a sacrifice of abstinence, thus rendering themselves more worthy to approach God, the more they were detached from the love of created things.

Dom Prosper Gueranger, OSB, The Liturgical Year: https://sensusfidelium.com/the-liturgical-year-dom-prosper-gueranger/advent/wednesday-in-ember-week/

Fisheaters has more commentary here: https://www.fisheaters.com/customsadvent11.html  

Ember Week Masses:

• Today Wednesday December 15: St. Ann, 6pm (Low)
• Friday December 17: St. Ann 7am (Low) & St. Mark, 12:30pm (Low)
• Saturday December 18: None scheduled diocesan parishes in/near Charlotte, sadly

St. Ann Annual Blessing of Religious Objects – Sunday December 19 (updated info)

After the 12:30pm St. Ann parish Latin Mass on Sunday December 19, Father will bless religious objects in the Traditional Rite. These items can be, statues, holy water, salt, oil, medals, Rosaries. Three tables will be placed in the north cry room – please place your items on table prior to the 12:30pm Mass. Immediately after Mass, Father will begin blessing – so no new objects can be placed on the table after that point. Table should be up by 12 noon – 12:15pm.

Defending Conscience Rights Against Vaccine Mandates – Monday December 20 at 7pm (St. Thomas Aquinas) Lastly, to support Catholic workers and families and their conscience rights, the Carolina Family Coalition (CFC) is organizing a special Defend Your Conscience Rights event on Monday December 20 at 7pm at St. Thomas Aquinas parish – Aquinas Hall (1400 Suther Road, Charlotte). The event will feature talks by an attorney, impacted workers, and a reflection by a priest on how to suffer for Christ and His teachings.  The event is free. CFC is an organization founded in 2018 by Catholic pro-life leaders in Charlotte to defend the family against the secular culture. 

Laudetur Iesus Christus! Sunday the Church celebrates the 3rd Sunday in Advent, otherwise known as Gaudete Sunday, taken from the first words of the Introit (rejoice). The priest wears Rose colored vestments to indicate hope during this penitential time that Christ in His Incarnation is coming. Dr. Mike Foley has a commentary on Sunday’s Collect: http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2020/12/the-accommodating-collect-of-third.html

Fisheaters.com – Gaudete Sunday: https://www.fisheaters.com/customsadvent13.html

Rorate Mass note: The CLMC expresses our thanks the priests in the diocese for offering the Rorate Masses these past few weekends. One more Rorate Mass will be offered in the mountains next Saturday December 18 at 6:30am at St. Margaret Mary parish in Swannanoa. Please consider offering prayers for our priests this Sunday and Emberweek.

Advent Embertide this week

This Wednesday, Friday and Saturday are the seasonal ember days – when the traditional Church sets aside 3 days each season for prayer, fasting and partial abstinence (the later now voluntary) to thank God for his gifts of creation and to use them in moderation. It’s a good time to also pray for sanctity for the upcoming season. Fisheaters has more commentary here: https://www.fisheaters.com/customsadvent11.html  

Ember Week Masses:

• Wednesday December 15: St. Ann, 6pm (Low)
• Friday December 17: St. Ann 7am (Low) & St. Mark, 12:30pm (Low)
• Saturday December 18: None scheduled at diocesan parishes in/near Charlotte, sadly

St. Ann Annual Blessing of Religious Objects – Sunday December 19

After the 12:30pm St. Ann parish Latin Mass on Sunday December 19, Father will bless religious objects in the Traditional Rite. These items can be, statues, holy water, salt, oil, medals, Rosaries. A table will be placed in the narthex – please place items on table prior to the 12:30pm Mass. Table should be up by 12 noon – 12:15pm. Immediately after Mass, Father will begin blessing – so no new objects can be placed on the table after that point.

Christmas Schedule- Saturday December 25

• St. Ann, Charlotte – Midnight Latin Mass
• St. Thomas Aquinas, Charlotte – Midnight Latin Mass
• St. John the Baptist, Tryon, NC – Midnight Latin Mass (2 hours west of Charlotte)
• Prince of Peace, Taylors, SC – Midnight Latin Mass (2 hours southwest of Charlotte)
• St. Elizabeth of the Hill Country, Boone, NC – Midnight Latin Mass (2 hours northwest of Charlotte)
• Our Lady of Grace, Greensboro – 11am High (1.5 hours north of Charlotte)

(Attending Mass on Christmas does not fulfill Sunday’s obligation on Dec. 26)

Defending Conscience Rights Against Vaccine Mandates – Monday December 20 at 7pm (St. Thomas Aquinas)

This Christmas many Catholic employees and families are threatened with the loss of employment, income, and livelihood due to employer vaccine mandates which go against their conscience and pro-life beliefs.  To support Catholic workers and families and their conscience rights, the Carolina Family Coalition (CFC) is organizing a special Defend Your Conscience Rights event on Monday December 20 at 7pm at St. Thomas Aquinas parish – Aquinas Hall (1400 Suther Road, Charlotte). The event will feature talks by an attorney, impacted workers, and a reflection by a priest on how to suffer for Christ and His teachings.  The event is free. CFC is an organization founded in 2018 by Catholic pro-life leaders in Charlotte to defend the family against the secular culture. 

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Sunday is also feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness of all the Americas, when Our Lady appeared to St. Juan Diego and her apparition quickly led to the end of barbaric human sacrifices, and the conversion of 9 million people of Mexico. It gives the faithful great hope that pagan civilizations such as ours can also be converted, and in short time, with Our Lady’s aid. To learn more about this great feast day please visit Fisheaters.com:

• Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Tilma of St. Juan Diego: https://www.fisheaters.com/tilma.html
• Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe: https://www.fisheaters.com/customsadvent6.html
• NLM: Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the Byzantine Rite: https://www.newliturgicalmovementorg/2021/12/our-lady-of-guadalupe-in-byzantine-rite.html#.YbPU2VlOmHs

Cardinal Burke Offers First Public Mass Since COVID

After many prayers, many faithful are rejoicing to see the day when His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke ascended the steps of the of the sanctuary to offer his first Pontifical (Latin) Mass after his brush with death from COVID. That moment occurred yesterday December 11 and fittingly at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse Wisconsin, which he helped build when he was bishop there. The Mass offered appears to be a Rorate or votive Mass of Our Lady (without the candles). Also noteworthy is that when he convalesced for 3 months at the oratory of St. Mary’s in Wausau, which is a Traditional Latin Mass only parish run by the priests of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, a Latin Mass order of priests. In his sermon His Eminence notes Our Lady of Guadalupe watched over him in the hospital. We will note that he was also watched over in his rehabilitation by the traditional priests of the Institute. You can watch the Mass accompanied by some helpful commentary at this following link. https://guadalupeshrine.org/event/cardinal-burkes-pontifical-high-mass-december-2021

The sermon begins around the 53:00 minute mark: https://youtu.be/2Fu4-WQXX8w?t=3178

One may consider offering prayers and Mass intentions on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in thanksgiving for her intercession in the Cardinal’s recovery.

Latin Mass & Traditional News

• Conforming Our Consciences to Christ: A traditional priest in good standing with his bishop offers an instructive sermon on conforming our consciences to Christ, especially when dealing with the COVID-19 vaccines and mandates: https://odysee.com/@SensusFidelium:c/Conscience—Vaccines-Conforming-Our-Consciences-to-Christ:3  The priest also references a helpful document explaining the traditional theology on why Catholics ought to refuse the vaccine: https://www.lumenfidei.ie/documents/fr-ambrose-astor-on-conscience.pdf

• Mexican Cardinal restores rights of Traditional Latin Mass community: On this Gaudete Sunday, we can also rejoice in another possible intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe as we share the good news that the Cardinal of Guadalajara Mexico has decided to restore the Traditional Latin Mass parish in his city which is operated by the Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP – a society of Latin Mass priests). The Cardinal had previously suppressed the parish a few weeks ago and how changed course after the laity expressed their voices. The traditional faithful in Guadalajara want to share this news so that other Latin Mass faithful can have confidence to approach their bishop and have their Masses and parishes restored:  https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2021/12/mexican-cardinal-restores-rights-of.html

• The Consolation of the Latin Mass in a Foreign Land: Shortly after his visit with us in Charlotte, Dr. Kwansiewski traveled to Poland, and offered his reflections on the unity of attending a Latin Mass in a foreign country where one doesn’t understand the native language (e.g. Polish), but is unified through the Traditional Latin Mass which Poles and their American guest attend and understand simultaneously: https://onepeterfive.com/the-consolation-of-the-latin-mass-in-a-foreign-land/

Bishop Know Thy Dignity

Voice of the Family, an English Catholic pro-family organization posted an insightful piece by an anonymous priest on how powerful the office of bishop is and how much they can change the culture in their own diocese. This priest addresses his remarks not to modernist bishops, but rather to those more faithful or conservative bishops who may be trying to be faithful, but whose efforts seem to be stymied or have not yet achieved that desired spiritual conversion of the laity and culture. He suggests two remedies which we summarize and excerpt:

1. Bishops should take the lead in teaching the faith and not wait for Rome – they subject to, but are not vicars of the Pope or a bishops’ conference. They need to put on the mind of Christ.
2. For bishops to truly appreciate the authority of their office, they need to begin offering the Traditional Latin Mass regularly.

Bishops are subject to the bishop of Rome, of course. Yet they are not his vicars. That is to say, although a pope may, where necessary, appoint or even depose a bishop, as well as legislate for the universal Church, their task is not to copy his preferences or to adopt his policies in contingent matters. A bishop must put on not the mind of the pope but the mind of Christ.

I suggest that there are two special causes of the diminishment of bishops which they, but only they, can overcome. I am not thinking here of modernist bishops, but of men who have the Catholic faith in their hearts and who have a love for Jesus Christ and His people, but who are not yet teaching and governing as they might. I suspect that such bishops often feel trapped by the present ecclesial state of things, but it is not so. The door is locked and bolted, but they have the key.

What are these two causes of which I speak? The first is the habit of always looking to Rome to give the lead, in other words, of thinking of oneself, albeit unconsciously, as a vicar of the pope.

Yet I believe there is a second reason why our orthodox bishops do not wield their apostolic power as effectively as they might. They are not saying the Mass of ages, except occasionally, but the Mass of the 1960’s. It is not sufficient to say “the Mass is the Mass”, or “Christ is present whatever the rite”.

But the Mass as a sacrifice is not only the act of Christ, but also the act of the Church. As the act of the Church, this sacrifice will be more or less pleasing to God in function of the holiness of the rite, and in this way, it will bring down more or less grace and mercy upon each local church. Can it really be pleasing to God if His bishops use a rite that has been partly Protestantized, in comparison to the immemorial Mass? By contrast, if our bishops resolve to honour Him by offering Mass in the most perfect manner that they can, graces that He is now withholding from their dioceses will be unlocked, and places that are now like deserts will begin to flower anew.

• Bishop Know Thy Dignity: https://voiceofthefamily.com/bishop-know-thy-dignity/

Can one imagine the abundance of graces that would pour down upon a diocese if a bishop regularly offered the Traditional Latin Mass daily? Please consider praying for our bishop to offer the Mass of Ages regularly.

Today is Gaudete Sunday – a time of hope amidst the violet penitential season of Advent and temporal darkness. If the Traditional Latin Mass – the Mass of Ages – is that hope and that key for a bishop to invite more graces down upon a diocese to restore the faith and culture, what Mass are you attending on Sunday?

Laudetur Iesus Christus! Just a reminder we have several Rorate Masses in the region tomorrow morning including at St. Ann and St. Mark parishes tomorrow. Here is the schedule:

Rorate Masses Tomorrow Saturday December 11

A Rorate Mass is a beautiful candlelight Latin Mass at dawn on a Saturday in Advent to herald the Light of the World and honor Our Lady. These Masses will either be High or Solemn High Masses.

• Saturday December 11 – St. Mark, Huntersville – 6:00am (Solemn High)
• Saturday December 11 – Our Lady of Grace, Greensboro – 6:00am (High) (1.5 hours north of Charlotte)
• Saturday December 11 – St. Ann, Charlotte – 6:30am (High or Solemn High)
• Saturday December 11 – Prince of Peace, Taylors SC – 6:30am (2 hours southwest of Charlotte)
• Saturday December 11 – St. Elizabeth, Boone – 6:30am (2 hours northwest of Charlotte)

Fr. Reid also had a helpful description from today’s St. Ann parish Friday Five e-mail:

Our Rorate Mass will be tomorrow, December 11th at 6:30 a.m. This votive Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary takes its name from the first words of the Introit: “Rorate coeli, désuper et nubes pluant justum,” which is translated: “Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down the Just.” What is special about this Mass is that it is celebrated early in the morning using only candlelight, a reminder that the world was in darkness before the coming of the True Light of the World, Jesus Christ. As the Mass is offered, and the dawn begins to break, the Church – through the prayers of this Mass – expresses her deep longing for the coming of the Messiah in the darkness of our fallen world. It is thus a Mass that is so wonderfully suited to the Advent theme of hopeful expectation of the coming of the Christ Child.

For the complete list of Advent and Christmastide Masses please see our webpage: https://charlottelatinmass.org/mass-times/

Lastly, Dr. Mike Foley has posted a helpful article on this past Wednesday’s feast of the Immaculate Conception:

• The Illuminating Orations of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2021/12/the-illuminating-orations-of-feast-of.html#.YbPUuFlOmHs

Laudetur Iesus Christus! Tomorrow Wednesday December 8th is one of the most important Marian feast days in the Church, and of course our nation’s patronal feast day, the Immaculate Conception. It is a holy day of obligation and below are the Latin Masses listed. The main one will be St. Ann with a Solemn High  Mass.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception – Wednesday December 8

Wednesday is the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the patronal feast day for the United States since 1846. If the U.S. were a Catholic country (which we pray it will be someday), December 8 would be essentially our primary national holiday (not July 4).  Our national shrine in Washington is named after this title of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception and sits at the highest elevation in U.S. capital city. For more on this splendid feast day visit: https://www.fisheaters.com/customsadvent5.html  

• Our Lady of Grace, Greensboro – 12:15 pm Low Mass (1.5 hours north of Charlotte)
• Prince of Peace, Taylors, SC – 12 noon Low Mass (2 hours southwest of Charlotte)
• St. Ann, Charlotte – 6:00 pm, Solemn High Mass
• St. Elizabeth of the Hill Country, Boone – 6:00pm (Low or High) (2 hours northwest of Charlotte)
• St. John the Baptist, Tryon – 6:30pm, High Mass (1.5 hours west of Charlotte)

Rorate Masses this Saturday

Looking ahead, this weekend will see several Rorate Masses.

A Rorate Mass is a beautiful candlelight Latin Mass at dawn on a Saturday in Advent to herald the Light of the World and honor Our Lady. These Masses will either be High or Solemn High Masses.

    Saturday December 11 – St. Mark, Huntersville – 6:00am (Solemn High)

    Saturday December 11 – Our Lady of Grace, Greensboro – 6:00am (High) (1.5 hours north of Charlotte)

    Saturday December 11 – St. Ann, Charlotte – 6:30am

    Saturday December 11 – Prince of Peace, Taylors SC – 6:30am (2 hours southwest of Charlotte)

    Saturday December 11 – St. Elizabeth, Boone – 6:30am (2 hours northwest of Charlotte)

For the complete list of Advent and Christmastide Masses please see our webpage: https://charlottelatinmass.org/mass-times/

Laudetur Iesus Christus! Sunday is the 2^nd Sunday of Advent, and as custom we include Dr. Mike Foley’s commentary on Sunday’s collect: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2020/12/the-heartfelt-collect-for-second-sunday.html#.YaxSaLpOmHs

Here are some of the upcoming Masses:

1^st Sunday Mass in Salisbury (special time of 4pm)

The 1^st Sunday Latin Mass at Sacred Heart parish in Salisbury will be at a special time of 4pm on Sunday December 5.  Fr. Putnam will be offering the Mass.  A social after Mass will be held in Brincefield Hall (to the right as you exit the church).  Feel free to bring a favorite dish or dessert to share.  Due to confessions being heard after Mass one is welcome to ‘drop in’ as time allows. For questions please contact the Salisbury Latin Mass Community http://salisburylmc.org/

Feast of the Immaculate Conception – Wednesday December 8

• Prince of Peace, Taylors, SC – 12 noon Low Mass (2 hours southwest of Charlotte)
• Our Lady of Grace, Greensboro – 12 noon Low Mass (1.5 hours north of Charlotte)
• St. Ann, Charlotte – 6:00 pm, Solemn High Mass
• St. John the Baptist, Tryon, NC – 6:30pm – High Mass (1.5 hours west of Charlotte)

Rorate Masses Saturday December 11

• Saturday December 11 – St. Mark, Huntersville – 6:00am (Solemn High)
• Saturday December 11 – Our Lady of Grace, Greensboro – 6:00am (High) (1.5 hours north of Charlotte)
• Saturday December 11 – St. Ann, Charlotte – 6:30am (High or Solemn High)
• Saturday December 11 – Prince of Peace, Taylors, SC – 6:30am (High) (2 hours southwest of Charlotte)

Advent/Christmas Schedule

The Advent/Christmastide Latin Mass schedule can be found here: https://charlottelatinmass.org/mass-times/

St. Ann Annual Blessing of Religious Objects – Sunday December 19

After the 12:30pm St. Ann parish Latin Mass on Sunday December 19, Father will bless religious objects in the Traditional Rite. More details coming in the week ahead.

Prayers for the repose of the soul of Andrea Horn (nee Milis): As a follow up to last Sunday’s e-mail, we sadly pass along that Andrea Horn, a former member of our community and the Daughters of the Virgin Mother passed away soon after Fr. Kauth administered last rites. Please pray for the repose of her soul: https://www.verkuilenfh.com/obituary/Andrea-Horn

Latin Mass & Traditional News

• The Collects of Advent: Who is Being Addressed, and What Difference Does It Make?: Dr. Kwasniewski’s latest article on the Advent collects: https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2021/11/the-collects-of-advent-who-is-being.html

• Feast of St. Barbara: Yesterday, Saturday December 4 was the ancient feast of St. Barbara, virgin and martyr. Sadly her feast day was suppressed in recent years, but is still celebrated in a few ways in the Traditional Latin Mass calendar and she remains one of the 14 Holy Helpers. We post Greg Dipippo’s article about her feast day followed by the great 18^th century Benedictine liturgist, Dom Prosper Gueranger’s commentary and reflection on her feast day:
  • https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2021/12/the-feast-of-st-barbara.html#.YaxRAbpOmHs
  • https://fsspatl.com/liturgical-year/505-sanctoral-cycle/december/3010-december-4-the-same-day

• Re-education Decrees for “Second Class Catholics”: The Effects of Traditionis Custodes in France: Dr. Kwasniewski posts some reports about the Latin Mass restrictions in France. Will this come to the Carolinas? That remains to be seen: https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2021/12/re-education-decrees-for-second-class.html

• Fr. Ripperger: Satan’s Time is Running Short: To end the news segment on a hopeful note, traditional priest and exorcist Fr. Chad Ripperger recently explained how during an exorcism, the devil admitted God is about to take his power away. Fr. Ripperger believes this is why the demons are in a panic, causing havoc in the civil and ecclesial spheres. He also offers some hopeful thoughts, and what could happen to the Church when this happens: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/exorcist-says-satans-time-is-running-short

Advent Reflections by Dom Prosper Gueranger, OSB

Lastly, we close with a few Advent reflections by the great Benedictine liturgist, Dom Prosper Gueranger in his book, The Liturgical Year, from this past week to better place ourselves in the context of Advent and preparing for Christ’s coming at Christmas. We especially draw your attention to the December 3rd reflection which eerily parallels our times:

• December 1: Four thousand years of expectation preceded that coming, and they are expressed by the four weeks of Advent, which we must spend before we come to the glorious festivity of our Lord’s Nativity. Let us reflect upon the holy impatience of the saints of the old Testament, and how they handed down, from age to age, the grand hope, which was to be but hope to them, since they were not to see it realized.

• December 2 (Feast of St. Bibiana): We will today consider the state of nature at this season of the year. The earth is stripped of her wonted verdure, the flowers are gone, the fruits are fallen, the leaves are torn from the trees and scattered by the wind, and every living thing stiffens with the cold. It seems as though the hand of death had touched creation. We see the sun rise after the long night of his absence; and scarcely have we felt his warmth at noon, than he sets again, and leaves us in the chilly darkness. Each day he shortens his visit. Is the world to become sunless, and are men to live out the rest of life in gloom? The old pagans, who witnessed this struggle between light and darkness, and feared the sun was going to leave them, dedicated the twenty-fifth day of December, the winter solstice, to the worship of the sun. After this day their hopes revived on seeing the glorious luminary again mounting up in the sky, and gradually regaining his triumphant position.
  
  We Christians can have no such feelings as these; our light is the true faith, which tells us that there is a Sun to be sought for which never sets, and is never eclipsed. Having Him, we care little for the absence of any other brightness; nay, all other light, without Him, can only lead us astray.

• December 3 (Feast of St. Francis Xavier): Let us consider the wretched condition of the human race, at the time of Christ’s coming into the world. The diminution of truths is emphatically expressed by the little light which the earth enjoys at this season of the year. The ancient traditions are gradually becoming extinct; the Creator is not acknowledged, even in the very work of His hands; everything has been made God, except the God who made all things. This frightful pantheism produces the vilest immorality, both in society at large, and in individuals. There are no rights acknowledged, save that of might. Lust, avarice, and theft, are honoured by men in the gods of their altars. There is no such thing as family, for divorce and infanticide are legalized; mankind is degraded by a general system of slavery; nations are being exterminated by endless wars. The human race is in the last extreme of misery; and unless the hand that created it reform it, it must needs sink a prey to crime and bloodshed.
  
  There are indeed some few just men still left upon the earth, and they struggle against the torrent of universal degradation; but they cannot save the world; the world despises them, and God will not accept their merits as a palliation of the hideous leprosy which covers the earth. All flesh has corrupted its way, and is more guilty than even in the days of the deluge: and yet, a second destruction of the universe would but manifest anew the justice of God; it is time that a deluge of His divine mercy should flood the universe, and that He who made man, should come down and heal him. Come then, O eternal Son of God! give life again to this dead body; heal all its wounds; purify it; let grace superabound, where sin before abounded; and having converted the world to Thy holy law, Thou wilt have proved to all ages that Thou, who camest, wast in very truth the Word of the Father; for as none but a God could create the world, so none but the same omnipotent God could save it from satan and sin, and restore it to justice and holiness.

December is the darkest time of the year and yet the time when the Light of the World comes at Christmas. In December 2021, the Church finds herself in one of the darkest times of her history, yet the Latin Mass remains, and is also the future – a sign of hope of the restoration that is to come with the triumph of the Immaculate Heart. 

What Mass are you attending on Sunday?

Laudetur Iesus Christus!  Tomorrow is first Saturday, and its also a Saturday in Advent, which is traditionally when Rorate Masses, a special candlelight Mass at dawn is held to honor Our Lady and the coming of Christ, the Light of the World at Christmas. Here is a list of the Rorate Masses this weekend.

Rorate Masses Saturday December 4

• Saturday December 4 – St. Thomas Aquinas, Charlotte – 6:00am* (note: the regular 10am Latin Mass is canceled for this day only)
• Saturday December 4 – St. John the Baptist, Tryon, NC – 6:00am (2 hours west of Charlotte)

*Blessing of Religious Objects: Immediately after the St. Thomas Aquinas parish Rorate Mass, around 7:30am, Fr. Codd will bless any religious objects in the Traditional Rite.

What is a Rorate Mass exactly? Here is a helpful article written by the CLMC’s own Brian Williams, explaining its background: https://onepeterfive.com/rorate-caeli-mass-advent-tradition-honoring-lady/

Rorate/Advent/Christmas Schedule

For the full list of next week’s Rorate Masses, and the rest of the December Latin Mass Advent/Christmas schedule, please visit: https://charlottelatinmass.org/mass-times/

1^st Sunday Mass in Salisbury (special time of 4pm)

The 1^st Sunday Latin Mass at Sacred Heart parish in Salisbury will be at a special time of 4pm on Sunday December 5.  Fr. Putnam will be offering the Mass.  A social after Mass will be held in Brincefield Hall (to the right as you exit the church).  Feel free to bring a favorite dish or dessert to share.  Due to confessions being heard after Mass one is welcome to ‘drop in’ as time allows. For questions please contact Mark Hartley with the Salisbury Latin Mass Community, info@salisburylmc.org or visit: http://salisburylmc.org/

Feast of the Immaculate Conception – Wednesday December 8

• Prince of Peace, Taylors, SC – 12 noon Low Mass (2 hours southwest of Charlotte)
• Our Lady of Grace, Greensboro – 12 noon Low Mass (1.5 hours north of Charlotte)
• St. Ann, Charlotte – 6:00 pm, Solemn High Mass

St. Ann Annual Blessing of Religious Objects – Sunday December 19

After the 12:30pm St. Ann parish Latin Mass on Sunday December 19, Father will bless religious objects in the Traditional Rite.

TOMORROW – Saturday December 4 (8am – 3pm): Kolbe Center & Pamela Acker Presentation at St. John the Baptist, Tryon

Lastly, St. John the Baptist parish in Tryon (2 hours west of Charlotte) will be hosting the Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation, which advocates for the traditional doctrine of creation, presents a Catholic perspective on origins, and examines the problems with the theory of evolution, and why it is incompatible with the teachings of the Church and early Church fathers.  Evolutionism in its current form of modernism has had a terrible effect on the faith, and particularly the liturgy. Hugh Owen and Pamela Acker will be giving presentations. Additionally, as a bonus, Ms. Acker will also be giving a talk on her book Vaccination: A Catholic Perspective and vaccines.  The day begins with an optional 6:00am Rorate Latin Mass, followed by a breakfast, and presentations from 8am – 3pm. There is no cost, but a freewill offering may be taken. To learn more see the link. (The CLMC co-sponsored the Kolbe Center in 2019)