Novena for the Latin Mass Community

Dear Friends of the Charlotte Latin Mass Community,

Laudetur Iesus Christus! The CLMC is pleased to announce we now have a patron saint — St. Gregory the Great; and next Wednesday May 4th we will take advantage of his patronage with a special rosary novena to him for our future spiritual needs. We invite you to join us in praying this novena.

St. Gregory makes a wonderful patron for our apostolate as he was a 6th century Benedictine abbot who is most noted for his reform of the Roman Liturgy (i.e. the Latin Mass and the chant, which bears his name). Thanks to Father’s suggestion, we are pleased to have him as our patron — and St. Ann’s has his relics!

Back to the CLMC, we are starting this novena because many of us Latin Mass faithful desire to grow in holiness further through full sacramental life (parish life) in the Extraordinary Form. This means daily Latin Mass and Confessions, Confirmation in the Extraordinary Form, Extreme Unction, First Friday and Saturday devotions, Easter Triduum, Christmas midnight Mass, Divine Office recitation — all according to the 1962 liturgical books.

In short, we would like to live out this extraordinary faith everyday. Right now, however, the priest shortage in the diocese makes it difficult to fulfill these needs (N.B. Father is aware of our needs and continues to generously meet them as he can–Deo Gratias!).

Therefore, beginning May 4th and ending on May 12, the Vigil of the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, we will be offering a Rosary Novena to St. Gregory, asking for his intercession (and Our Lady of Fatima) for our spiritual needs and to send more priests to assist the Latin Mass faithful.  The novena consists of praying 1 Rosary daily for 9 days, and at the end of each daily Rosary, offering this attached prayer to St. Gregory.

Might you consider joining us? Children are especially encouraged to join as the prayers of children are most efficacious to God (Matthew 18:3-4).

 

Rosary Novena Prayer to St. Gregory the Great

 

  1. Pray a Rosary each day beginning May 4 and ending May 12.
  2. At the end of each Rosary, add this prayer:

St. Gregory, you are known for your zeal for the Catholic faith, love of liturgy, and compassion and mercy toward those in need.  Please help and guide us so that we may share in these virtues and thereby bring Jesus into the hearts of our families and all we encounter.  We especially ask for blessings on our parish family, our priests and our deacons.

I also ask that you graciously intercede for me before God so that I might be granted the special assistance and graces that I seek (full sacramental life in the Extraordinary Form for the Charlotte faithful and that Our Lord will send more Latin Mass priests to our diocese). 

 

Help me to live as a faithful child of God and to attain the eternal happiness of heaven.  

St. Gregory the Great pray for us.   Amen

 

St. Peter Martyr Palms – Sunday May 1st

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.

Latin Mass Class update

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 13

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)

 

Eastertide Update

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.
  1. 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* 🙂
  1. 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 12th.

Happy Easter

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!

 

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Holy Week update

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 12th (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.

Feast of St. Joseph

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.
  1. 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).
  1. 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.

3rd Week of Lent

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.

2nd week of Lent

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.