Friends in Christ,
Welcome to our weekly Sunday update. This Sunday is the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost. In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus issues a warning against those who falsely don the guise of religion: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. By their fruits you shall know them” (Matthew 7:15-16). It is a warning that rings all too true in a sadly debased age when even some Catholics slander and persecute their fellow Catholics for attempting to live according to their shared Faith. “Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit” (Matthew 7:17). “Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them” (Matthew 7:20). Foremost among the good fruits are the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.
Calendar of Special Observances
Celebrations are those listed in the Roman Missal of 1962.
DAY, DATE – FEAST (CLASS)
Sunday, July 27 – Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (II)
Monday, July 28 – Ss. Nazarius and Celsus, Martyrs, Victor I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Innocent I, Pope and Confessor (III)
Tuesday, July 29 – St. Martha, Virgin (III) – Commemoration of Ss. Felix, Simplicius, Faustinus, and Beatrice, Martyrs
Wednesday, July 30 – Feria (IV) – Commemoration of Ss. Abdon and Sennen, Martyrs
Thursday, July 31 – St. Ignatius Loyola, Confessor (III)
Friday, August 1 – Sacred Heart of Jesus (III) – Holy Machabees, Martyrs (IV) – St. Peter in Chains (IV) – Feria (IV)
Saturday, August 2 – St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church (III) – Immaculate Heart of Mary (III) – Commemoration of St. Stephen I, Pope and Martyr
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
The links provided below can be used to download printable copies of the Proper Prayers for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost with English or Spanish translation, followed by commentary by Dr. Michael P. Foley.
Latin Mass Schedule: Sundays
Charlotte Area Latin Masses
11:30 a.m., Saint Thomas Aquinas
12:30 p.m., Saint Ann
Other Diocese of Charlotte Latin Masses
8:30 a.m., Saint John the Baptist (Tryon)
1:00 p.m., Church of the Epiphany (Blowing Rock)
1:30 p.m., Our Lady of Grace (Greensboro)
Diocese of Charleston Latin Masses
12:00 p.m., Prince of Peace (Taylors SC)
1:00 p.m., Our Lady of the Lake (Chapin SC)
Note: Travelers are urged to consult parish websites or offices for up-to-date information regarding possible changes in the regular schedule of Sunday Mass times.
Latin Mass Schedule: Weekdays (July 28 - August 2)
Charlotte Area Latin Masses
Saint Ann – Wednesday, 6:00 p.m.
Saint Thomas Aquinas – Thursday, 7:00 p.m.
Saint Ann – Friday, 7:00 a.m.
Saint Thomas - First Saturday, 10:00 a.m. (followed by blessing of religious objects in the narthex)
Other Diocese of Charlotte Latin Masses
Our Lady of the Mountains (Highlands) – Thursday, 9:30 a.m.
Saint John the Baptist (Tryon) – Friday, 8:30 a.m.
Church of the Epiphany (Blowing Rock) – Friday, 9:30 a.m.
Saint John the Baptist (Tryon) – First Saturday, 8:30 a.m.
Church of the Epiphany (Blowing Rock) – First Saturday, 10:00 a.m.
Diocese of Charleston Latin Masses
Prince of Peace (Taylors SC) – No daily Mass this summer
Note: The summer Mass schedule for Prince of Peace parish is in effect and no daily Latin Masses are scheduled at Prince of Peace Monday-Saturday this summer.
Travelers are advised to contact parish offices to confirm weekday and Saturday Mass times, since local schedules are sometimes subject to change without notice, especially on or around holidays, holy days of obligation and other special feast days.
Sensus Fidelium App: A Great Way to Promote Tradition and the Sacred Liturgy
Sensus Fidelium, the local online apostolate that has brought many to a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith, now has an app - SensusFidelium TV - for Apple’s iOS (iPhone, iPad) or Android. The app has an amazing collection of traditional sermons, classes, and interviews about the faith and liturgy.
They are now offering a free 2-week trial of the app. To try it out or subscribe visit: SensusFidelium.tv
Additionally, one can also help Sensus Fidelium grow and evangelize by financially supporting them, which can be done at this link.
Announcements
Holy Hour for the Latin Mass - Sunday August 3rd, 3:00 p.m. – Saint Ann will be hosting a special Holy Hour and Rosary for the Traditional Latin Mass after the 12:30 p.m. Latin Mass on Sunday August 3rd from 3:00-4:00 p.m. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed at 3:00 p.m. followed by a Rosary and concluding with Benediction at 4:00 p.m. All are welcome to join Father in praying for the Latin Mass in our diocese.
Portiuncula Indulgence – Saturday August 2nd: On Saturday August 2nd, there is a plenary indulgence called the Portiuncula Indulgence which was first offered to only those who visited the Portiuncula chapel St. Francis of Assisi rebuilt in Italy, but now it is available to everyone in the universal Church. This indulgence, the "Pardon of Assisi", can be performed at any time during the evening August 1 until midnight Saturday night August 2nd. To participate, one must go to confession (20 days before or after); receive Holy Communion at Mass on August 2nd, and enter into a parish church or Franciscan Church, and with contrition, pray the Our Father, Apostles Creed, and a prayer for the Holy Father’s intentions. To learn more visit this Catholic News Agency article.
The Feast of the Holy Maccabees will be celebrated this Friday, August 1st, at 7:00 a.m. at Saint Ann Church in accordance with the traditional liturgical calendar. (See Gregory DiPippo’s New Liturgical Movement article, "The Feast of the Holy Maccabees.") The Holy Maccabees were seven Old Testament brothers who, along with their mother, were martyred by King Antiochus Epiphanes around 150 B.C. for refusing to eat the flesh of swine in violation of the Judaic law. Saint Ann Church will offer its 7:00 a.m. Traditional Latin Mass for this rare commemoration of Old Testament saints who died defending God’s sacred laws and traditions. "But one of them, who was the eldest, said thus: What wouldst thou ask, or learn of us? We are ready to die, rather than to transgress the laws of God, received from our fathers (2 Maccabees 7:2)."
Complimentary Copies of the FSSP’s July Newsletter – This Sunday at Saint Ann parish we will have complimentary copies of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter’s (FSSP) July 2025 newsletter, Meménto, which features an interview with Deacon David Carter, FSSP, a Saint Ann parishioner who was recently ordained to the diaconate for the FSSP. The interview mentions the influence Saint Ann parish had on Deacon Carter’s vocation.
Copies are available at our table in the Saint Ann narthex. (Our thanks to the FSSP for these copies).
Daily Holy Face Chaplet for Latin Mass (perpetual novena) – For the protection of the Latin Mass, it has been recommended to all friends of the sacred liturgy in the diocese to consider continually praying the powerful Holy Face chaplet, under the banner of Our Lady of the Holy Name. To pray the chaplet, please see this link. One impactful way to pray the chaplet would be to participate in one of the Holy Face devotional groups at one of the parishes listed in the next section below.
Cardinal Burke’s Prayer for Pope Leo XIV – His Eminence Cardinal Raymond Burke has released a prayer for Pope Leo XIV. Please consider praying this daily for the Holy Father as he leads the Church.
Prayer for Pope Leo XIV: Vicar of Christ on Earth and Shepherd of the Universal Church
O Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of the Lord of Heaven and of Earth, Our Lady of Guadalupe, guide and protect the Roman Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV. Through your intercession, may he receive in abundance the grace of the Successor of Saint Peter: the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity of our Bishops and of all our brothers and sisters in the Mystical Body of your Divine Son. Unite Pope Leo’s heart to your Immaculate Heart, leading him to rest his heart ever more securely in the glorious-pierced Heart of Jesus, so that he may confirm us in the Catholic faith, in the worship of God in spirit and truth, and in a good and holy Christian life.
In the tumult of the present time, keep Pope Leo securely within the hollow of your mantle, in the crossing of your arms, protecting him from Satan, the Father of Lies, and from every evil spirit. Implore Our Lord to grant him, in particular, the wisdom and courage to be a true Shepherd of the Church throughout the world. With you, I place all my trust in Christ, the Good Shepherd, Who alone is our help and salvation. Amen.
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother, have mercy upon us!
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Queen of the Apostles, pray for us!
Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us!
Pope Saint Leo the Great, pray for us!
PDF copies can be accessed at these links: [English] [Español] [Latin]
Holy Face Devotions
Prayers of Reparation to the Holy Face of Jesus are offered each week at the following churches on the indicated days:
St. James (Concord) – Monday, 10-10:30 a.m. (in the cry room)
St. Mark – Tuesday, 10:00 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. (new schedule beginning July 29)
St. Thomas Aquinas – Tuesday, 6:00 a.m.
St. Ann – Tuesday, 7:30 a.m. (following 7:00 a.m. Novus Ordo Mass)
St. Michael the Archangel (Gastonia) – Tuesday, 8:30 a.m. (following 8:00 a.m. Novus Ordo Mass)
St. Vincent de Paul – Tuesday, 8:40 a.m.
Holy Spirit (Denver) – Tuesday, 10-11:00 a.m. (following the 9:15 a.m. Novus Ordo Mass)
Saint Elizabeth of the Hill Country (Boone) – Third Tuesday, at 6:45 p.m. after Mass in the Youth Room
St. John the Baptist (Tryon) - First Saturday, 9:30 a.m. (after 8:30 a.m Latin Mass)
Note: Days and times may be subject to change due to holidays.
“Jesus, Your ineffable image is the star which guides my steps. Ah, You know, Your sweet Face is for me Heaven on earth” (from Canticle to the Holy Face by Saint Thérèse de Lisieux, the 19th century Discalced Carmelite nun who took the name in religion, Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face).
Latin Mass and Liturgical News
“Apostle of the Apostles” - Liturgical Notes on the Feast of St Mary Magdalene by Greg DiPippo, New Liturgical Movement (July 22, 2025). [Apostle of the Apostles]
A Superb Article on Saint Mary Magdalene by Greg DiPippo, New Liturgical Movement (July 21, 2023). [A Superb Article on Saint Mary Magdalene]
Fulfilling a Dream by br. Philip Anderson, Abbot of Our Lady of Clear Creek (July 13, 2025). [Fulfilling a Dream]
Where the Action Is by Dr. Michael P. Foley, New Liturgical Movement (July 18, 2025). [Where the Action Is]
The Legend of Saint James the Greater by Greg DiPippo, New Liturgical Movement (July 25, 2024). [The Legend of Saint James the Greater]
Liturgical Travels Through France: A New Publication from Canticum Salomonis by Greg DiPippo, New Liturgical Movement (July 10, 2025). [Liturgical Travels Through France]
16 Martyrs of Compiègne Followed the Lamb to the Guillotine — and to Glory by Jennifer Sokol, National Catholic Register (May 18, 2025). [16 Martyrs of Compiègne]
Saints and Special Observances
Saint Martha, Virgin, was a central figure in one of the more moving and consequential episodes in the life of Our Lord, the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Martha first appears in the Gospel of Saint Luke complaining to Jesus that her sister Mary is not helping to serve the Honored Guest whose travels have brought Him under the roof of their home. Jesus tells her, “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42).
Later, Jesus returned to the home of Martha and Mary in Bethania under very different circumstances. The sisters had sent word that their brother Lazarus was very ill, imploring Jesus to come; but Our Lord responded, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God: that the Son of God might be glorified by it” (John 11:4). He delayed His departure for two days before telling His disciples, “Let us go into Judea again” (John 11:7).
The disciples were reluctant to go again into the country of the Jews who had previously sought to stone the Master. But Jesus loved Martha and Mary and their brother Lazarus, so He prepared to set out for their home in spite of the looming threat to His own life.
“Lazarus our friend sleepeth,” Jesus said to His disciples, “but I go that I may awake him out of sleep” (John 11:11). When they misunderstood what he meant by sleep, Our Lord told them bluntly, “Lazarus is dead. And I am glad, for your sakes, that I was not there, that you may believe: but let us go to him” (John 11:14-15). He might have had to go alone but for the Apostle Thomas who rallied the rest to go and die with Him if necessary.
Upon their arrival they found that Lazarus had already been in the grave for four days. It was Martha who, hearing Jesus had finally come, went out to meet Him while Mary remained with their guests, many of whom had come from Jerusalem to comfort the sisters. Martha began by complaining to Jesus, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” Yet unwavering in her faith, she added, “But now also I know that whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee” (John 11: 21-22). When Jesus told her Lazarus would rise again, Martha affirmed her belief that he would rise again in the resurrection at the end of time.
Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, although he be dead, shall live: And every one that liveth, and believeth in me, shall not die for ever. Believest thou this? (John 11:25-26)
Martha, who had been too busy on that earlier occasion to sit and listen like Mary at Jesus’s feet, responded, “Yea, Lord, I have believed that thou art Christ the Son of the living God, who art come into this world” (John 11:27). Here was an elegantly simple and deeply intuitive profession of faith to equal that of Saint Peter!
Martha went and told Mary that Jesus had come; and she, falling at the feet of Our Lord, wept as she echoed her sister’s words: “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother. had not died” (John 11:32). Then, seeing her weep, Jesus, who had wept at the vision of Jerusalem in ruins, truly wept for the death of his friend. The Jews who had come to mourn with Martha and Mary were struck by the depth of Jesus’s love for his friend, but some questioned why this man who could give sight to one born blind could not prevent the death of a man he loved as much as Lazarus.
Then did Jesus approach the sepulcher and order the stone that enclosed it to be rolled away. Martha objected that after four days in the tomb the corpse would stink, but Jesus said to her, “Did not I say to thee, that if thou believe, thou shalt see the glory of God?” (John 11:40). And he cried out in a loud voice for Lazarus to come forth, whereupon his friend emerged from the place in which he had been “sleeping” for four days, still bound by the cloths he had been wrapped in to prepare him for burial.
This miracle by which Jesus actually brought back to life a man who had been dead and buried naturally caused a sensation that attracted some new followers. Others used it against Him, reporting to the Pharisees what He had done, further inciting the determination of those in power to eliminate one whom they perceived to be a threat to their domination of the Jewish people.
Six days before the Pasch, Jesus returned to Bethania and sat down to supper for the last time with those who were not included in the innermost circle of his followers. Martha served, and Mary anointed the head of Our Lord with precious ointment, an extravagance to which Judas Iscariot objected. Knowing Jesus was there, a great many Jews came to see the miracle-worker, not for His sake alone “but that they might see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead” (John 12:9).
But the chief priests thought to kill Lazarus also: Because many of the Jews, by reason of him, went away, and believed in Jesus (John 12:10-11).
The feast day of Saint Martha, the sister of Mary and Lazarus, is celebrated on July 29th in accordance with the traditional Roman Calendar.
Other Noteworthy Saints Celebrated in the Week Ahead:
St. Ignatius of Loyola, Confessor and Founder of the Society of Jesus, a 16th century Spanish priest who served as the first superior general of the Jesuits – July 31st
The Seven Machabees, Martyrs whose heroic defense of the one true God in the second century before Christ is described in the First and Second Book of Machabees, works retained in the Catholic canon but deleted from the Protestant Bible at the time of the Reformation – August 1st
St. Alphonsus of Liguori, Bishop, Confessor and Doctor of the Church, 18th century founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (the Redemptorists) and a prolific author whose works are still widely read today – August 2nd
Closing Commentary
In closing, we offer commentary on the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost excerpted from The Liturgical Year of Dom Prosper Guéranger, OSB, followed by a link to the full text.
Seventh Sunday After Pentecost
By rejecting the Gospel, the Jewish people have refused the light. Whilst the Sun of Justice, hailed with delight by the Gentiles, is lighting up, in all splendor, the land, that was once in the shadow of death,—a black night is covering the heretofore blessed country of the Patriarchs, and darkness is every hour thickening in Jerusalem. By the blindness which is leading her to destruction, the synagogue is verifying our Lord’s words: He that walketh in darkness, knoweth not whither he goeth.
False Prophets and false christs abound in Israel, ever since the true Messiah, whom the Prophets foretold, has been ignored, and treated by his own people as the Prophets themselves had been. His witnesses, the Apostles, have vainly tried to induce Juda to retract the fatal denial made in the pretorium. And yet, Juda knows better than all the world beside, that the times are accomplished; for, has not the scepter fallen from his hands? And Juda, who disdainfully disowns the spiritual royalty of the Savior of men, is going on with his ceaseless expectation and search of the christ of his own imagining,—a messiah who will restore to him the power he has lost. The Jewish doctors have not as yet invented the sentence of Talmud, whereby they hoped to stifle the unpleasant prophecies which give them the lie: “Cursed be he, that calculates the times of the coming of Messiah!” What, then, must be the feelings of a people, which has for ages been living in the expectation of an event the most important that could be,—now that it sees the time specified by prophecy to be fast expiring! so that they are compelled, either to disavow the past, or acknowledge, at the foot of the Cross which it has set up, its most sinful error.
A strange anxiety has seized on the nation of deicides. The spirit of madness governs her determinations. In the scare of her feverish excitement, which is the very opposite of the calm and resigned expectation of her ancient Patriarchs,—she takes every rebel for a Christ. She, that would not have the Son of David, hails every upstart as her Messiah, and follows every adventurer that sets up the cry of war against Rome, or that cheats her with the promise of making her country independent. with such materials, Judea is soon turned into a kingdom of anarchy and confusion. The very sanctuary of the Temple is made the scene of party-quarrels and bloodshed. The Daughter of Sion follows her false-christs into the desert; there organizes riot; and returns to the holy City, filling it with highway-men, or with assassins imported from the wilderness. Long before these events, Ezechiel had thus spoken: Wo to the foolish prophets that see nothing! Thy prophets, O Israel, were like foxes in the deserts! And Isaias thus prophesied: Therefore, the Lord shall have no joy in their young men; neither shall he have mercy on their ftherless and widows; for every one is a hypocrite and wicked, and every mouth hath spoken folly.
The time is close at hand: the hour is come, when they that are in Judea must flee to the mountains, as our Lord had said. The Christians of Jerusalem will, as history records, soon be leaving the doomed City, under the guidance of Simeon, their Bishop. With them, departs Sion’s last hope; God is about to avenge his Christ. Already has the signal of destruction been heard,—the whistle, as the Prophet Isaias had foretold, has been heard from beyond the seas; and, as Balaam had seen it in vision, they are coming in galleys from Italy, to lay waste to the Hebrews. The Leader, announced by Daniel, is approaching towards the once Land of Promise; the appointed desolation and ruin shall remain there even after the end of the war. [Seventh Sunday after Pentecost]