Friends in Christ,
Welcome to our weekly Sunday update. This Sunday is the Sunday after the Ascension. In the Gospel reading for this Sunday we return to the Farewell Discourse delivered by Our Lord to His disciples following the Last Supper. He speaks of the coming of the Paraclete, “the Spirit of truth who proceedeth from the Father.” The Spirit is to testify to the Truth: “And you shall give testimony, because you are with me from the beginning” (John 15:26-27). Then Jesus speaks frankly about the consequences to be expected by those who testify to the Truth:
These things have I spoken to you, that you may not be scandalized. They will put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you, will think that he doth a service to God. And these things they will do to you; because they have not known the Father, nor me (John 16:1-3).
In speaking to His disciples, Our Lord was also speaking to all who would come after them to give testimony of the Truth without regard for the potential consequences. The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, canonized as a group in 1970, were among nearly 300 victims of the English Reformation. Most were executed for celebrating or assisting at the Latin Mass, or for supporting Catholic priests who secretly offered the Roman Rite after it was declared to be illegal. Many were harangued by ministers of the new religion who told them, even as they ascended the scaffold to be hanged and butchered, that the barbaric cruelty with which they were to be dispatched was only being done in service to God.
The list of those who have given their lives for Christ over almost two thousand years is long indeed. This October the Church will remind us of this when in Savannah, Georgia, she will beatify five Spanish Franciscan missionaries who were martyred by a band of Guale natives in 1597 on the barrier islands of present-day Georgia, when it was part of Spanish territory. Today, like then, there are many lands in which it is not safe to be a Christian and we should also remain alert to the growing hostility manifested toward the followers of Christ – and especially Catholics – even in America.
**This Sunday May 17, the Chapel of the Little Flower will celebrate Mass for the External Solemnity of the Ascension. In other locations, the liturgy offered will be the Sunday after Ascension.**
Calendar of Special Observances
Celebrations are those listed in the Roman Missal of 1962.
DAY, DATE – FEAST (CLASS)
Sunday, May 17 – Sunday after the Ascension (II)
Monday, May 18 – St. Venantius, Martyr (III)
Tuesday, May 19 – St. Peter Celestine, Pope and Confessor (III) – Commemoration of St. Pudentiana, Virgin
Wednesday, May 20 – St. Bernardino of Sienna, Confessor (III)
Thursday, May 21 – Feria of Paschaltide (IV)
Friday, May 22 – Feria of Paschaltide (IV)
Saturday, May 23 – Vigil of Pentecost (I)
Sunday after the Ascension
The links provided below can be used to download printable copies of the Proper Prayers for the External Solemnity of the Ascension (Chapel of the Little Flower) and the Sunday after the Ascension (other parishes) with English or Spanish translation, followed by commentaries by Dr. Michael P. Foley.
External Solemnity of the Ascension (Chapel of the Little Flower)
Sunday after the Ascension (Other parishes)
Traditional Latin Mass Schedule
Diocese of Charlotte Sunday Masses
Chapel of the Little Flower (757 Oakridge Farm Road, Mooresville, NC)
Note: Only Sunday Latin Masses and Holy Days are offered at the Chapel. This is the only Diocese of Charlotte location which offers the Traditional Latin Mass.
Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, the Little Flower, pray for us!
Diocese of Raleigh Sunday Masses
Diocese of Charleston Sunday Masses
Diocese of Charleston Daily Traditional Latin Masses
As a reminder, travelers are urged to consult parish websites or offices for up-to-date information regarding possible changes in the schedule of Mass times.
Chapel of the Little Flower Announcements
Mass Intentions for Sunday
Sunday May 17, 10:00 a.m. - For the men being ordained deacons and priests this May
Mass Intentions Book Open on This Sunday May 17
The next registration for Mass intentions will be held on Sunday May 17 between the 10:00 a.m. and 12 noon Masses. Masses can be requested for June, July, August, and September. The stipend is $15 (cash or check). Instructions for giving by check will be posted at the Chapel. Please be prepared to choose which Mass you are requesting.
Save the Date: Sunday June 7, 12:00 p.m. – Mass of Thanksgiving by Fr. David Carter, FSSP
Deacon David Carter, FSSP, a Saint Ann parishioner, will be ordained to the priesthood for the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) on Thursday May 28 in Omaha, Nebraska. Fr. Carter will offer a Solemn High Mass of Thanksgiving at the Chapel of the Little Flower on Sunday June 7, 12 noon.
Donations for the Chapel of the Little Flower
To donate to the Chapel of the Little Flower, please make out a check to “St. Ann Catholic Church” and carefully earmark it for “Latin Mass” or “Chapel of the Little Flower”. It can be mailed to the parish (3635 Park Road, Charlotte, NC 28209). To donate online, please visit the parish’s “Chapel of the Little Flower” online donation portal at this link.
Lost and Found
The Chapel has a growing collection of items left behind after Mass. If one is missing a missal, book, or other item, please see the table in the cry room.
Father Jones’ Contact Info
If one has questions about the Chapel of the Little Flower, that are not related to one’s parish, please email Father Jones directly at: tlmchapel(at)rcdoc.org
Visiting the Chapel of the Little Flower
If you haven’t attended Mass at the Chapel of the Little Flower yet, you are welcome to join us. Seating is adequate at both Masses, and there is plenty of parking; a cry room; open space outside for the kids after Mass. Bulletins from Saint Ann and Saint Thomas Aquinas parishes are usually available.
General Announcements
Prayers for Deacons and New Priests – Please pray for those men scheduled to be ordained to the diaconate or priesthood in these weeks ahead, both within our diocese and abroad.
LiveMass.net – Want to watch a Latin Mass online? The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) has a broadcast apostolate which streams its Latin Masses across the world at various times of the day. To view visit: https://www.livemass.net/
Support Saint Ann and Saint Thomas Parishes – Our parishes remain the anchor of our spiritual and community lives and continue to promote the sacred traditions, devotions, speakers and catechesis important for the spiritual growth of ourselves and our families. They also need our continued financial support (and occasional visits!). Both parishes would appreciate our continued generosity.
Rosary for the Traditional Latin Mass – A Rosary is offered for the restoration of the Traditional Latin Mass in the church on Sundays after the 11:30 a.m. Novus Ordo Mass at Saint Thomas Aquinas Church.
Daily Holy Face Chaplet for Sacred Liturgy (perpetual novena) – For the preservation of the Traditional 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.
Cardinal Burke’s Prayer for Pope Leo XIV – His Eminence Cardinal Raymond Burke has released a prayer for Pope Leo XIV. Please see the prayer at the links below and consider praying this daily for the Holy Father as he leads the Church. 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:
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).
Traditional Latin Mass and Liturgical News
Saints and Special Observances
Saints and Special Celebrations will not be published this week but we hope to resume it for our next weekend update. In its place we direct readers to review Dom Guéranger’s captivating description below of the hours and minutes leading up to the Ascension.
Closing Commentary
We close with a commentary on “The Ascension of Our Lord” excerpted from The Liturgical Year of Dom Prosper Guéranger, OSB. Please use the link following the excerpt to access the full text of this excellent commentary.
The Ascension of Our Lord
The sun of the fortieth day has risen in all his splendor. The earth, which shook with gladness at the Birth of our Emmanuel, now thrills with a strange emotion. The divine series of the mysteries of the Man-God is about to close. Heaven has caught up the joy of earth. The Angelic Choirs are preparing to receive their promised King, and their Princes stand at the Gates, that they may open them when the signal is given of the mighty Conqueror’s approach. The holy souls that were liberated from Limbo on the morning of the Resurrection are hovering round Jerusalem, waiting for the happy moment when Heaven’s gate, closed by Adam’s sin, shall be thrown open, and they shall enter in company with their Redeemer:—a few hours more, and then to Heaven! Meanwhile, our Risen Jesus has to visit his Disciples and bid them farewell, for they are to be left, for some years longer, in this vale of tears.
They are in the Cenacle, impatiently awaiting his coming. Suddenly he appears in their midst. Of the Mother’s joy, who would dare to speak? As to the Disciples and the holy Women, they fall down and affectionately adore the Master, who has come down to take his leave of them. He deigns to sit down to table with them; he even condescends to eat with them, not, indeed, to give them proof of his Resurrection, for he knows that they have no further doubts of the mystery—but now that he is about to sit at the right hand of the Father, he would give them this endearing mark of familiarity. O admirable repast! in which Mary, for the last time in this world, is seated side by side with her Jesus, and in which the Church (represented by the Disciples and the holy Women) is honored by the visible presidency of her Head and Spouse.
What tongue could describe the respect, the recollected mien, the attention of the guests? With what love must they not have rived their eyes on the dear Master? They long to hear him speak; his parting words will be so treasured! He does not keep them long in suspense; he speaks, but his language is not what they perhaps expected it to be—all affection. He begins by reminding them of the incredulity wherewith they heard of his Resurrection. He is going to entrust his Apostles with the most sublime mission ever given to man; he would, therefore, prepare them for it by humbling them. A few days hence, and they are to be lights of the world; the world must believe what they preach, believe it on their word, believe it without having seen, believe what the Apostles alone have seen. It is by Faith that man approaches his God: they themselves were once without it, and Jesus would have them now express their sorrow for their former incredulity, and thus base their Apostolate on humility.
Then assuming a tone of authority, such as none but a God could take, he says to them: Go ye into the whole world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved: but he that believeth not, shall be condemned. And how shall they accomplish this mission of preaching the Gospel to the whole world? how shall they persuade men to believe their word? By Miracles. And these signs, continues Jesus, shall follow them that believe: in my name, they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they shall recover. He would have Miracles to be the foundation of his Church, just as he had made them the argument of his own divine mission. The suspension of the laws of nature proves to us that it is God who speaks; we must receive the word, and humbly believe it.
Here, then, we have men unknown to the world and devoid of every human means, and yet commissioned to conquer the earth and make it acknowledge Jesus as its King! The world ignores their very existence. Tiberius, who sits on the imperial throne, trembling at every shadow of conspiracy, little suspects that there is being prepared an expedition which is to conquer the Roman Empire. But these warriors must have their armor, and the armor must be of heaven’s own tempering. Jesus tells them that they are to receive it a few days hence. Stay, says he, in the city, till ye be endued with power from on high. But what is this armor? Jesus explains it to them. He reminds them of the Father’s promise, that promise, says he, which he have heard by my mouth: for John, indeed, baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
But the hour of separation is Come. Jesus rises: his blessed Mother, and the hundred and twenty persons assembled there, prepare to follow him. The Cenacle is situated on Mount Sion, which is one of the two hills within the walls of Jerusalem. The holy group traverses the city, making for the eastern Gate, which opens on the Valley of Josaphat. It is the last time that Jesus walks through the faithless City. He is invincible to the eyes of the people who denied him, but visible to his Disciples, and goes before them as, heretofore, the pillar of fire led on the Israelites. How beautiful and imposing a sight!—Mary, the Disciples, and the holy Women, accompanying Jesus in his Heavenward journey, which is to lead him to the right hand of his Eternal Father! It was commemorated in the Middle Ages by a solemn Procession before the Mass of Ascension Day. What happy times were those, when Christians took delight in honoring every action of our Redeemer! They could not be satisfied, as we are, with a few vague notions, which can produce nothing but an equally vague devotion.
They reflected on the thoughts which Mary must have had during these last moments of her Son’s presence. They used to ask themselves, which of the two sentiments were uppermost in her maternal heart—sadness, that she was to see her Jesus no more? or joy, that he was now going to enter into the glory he so infinitely deserved? The answer was soon found: had not Jesus said to his Disciples: If ye loved me, ye would indeed be glad, because I go to the Father? Now, who loved Jesus as Mary did? The Mother’s heart, then, was full of joy at parting with him. How was she to think of herself, when there was question of the triumph of her Son and her God? Could she that he witnessed the scene of Calvary do less than desire to see Him glorified, whom she knew to be the Sovereign Lord of all things—Him whom, but a short time ago, she had seen rejected by his people, blasphemed, and dying the most ignominious and cruel of deaths?
The holy group has traversed the Valley of Josaphat; it has crossed the brook Cedron, and is moving onwards to Mount Olivet. What recollections would crowd on the mind! This torrent, of which Jesus had drunk on the day of his humiliation, is now the path he takes to triumph and glory. The Royal Prophet had foretold it. On their left are the Garden and Cave, where he suffered his Agony and accepted the bitter Chalice of his Passion. After having come as far as what St. Luke calls the distance of the journey allowed to the Jews on a sabbath day, they are close to Bethania, that favored village, where Jesus used to accept hospitality at the hands of Lazarus and his two Sisters. This part of Mount Olivet commands a view of Jerusalem. The sight of its Temple and Palaces makes the Disciples proud of their earthly city: they have forgotten the curse uttered against her; they seem to have forgotten, too, that Jesus has just made them citizens and conquerors of the whole world. They begin to dream of the earthly grandeur of Jerusalem and, turning to their Divine Master, they venture to ask him this question: Lord, wilt thou, at this time, restore again the kingdom to Israel?
Jesus answers them with a tone of severity: It is not for you to know the times or moments which the Father hath put in his own power. These words do not destroy the hope that Jerusalem is to be restored by the Christian Israel; but as this is not to happen till the world is drawing towards its end, there is nothing that requires our Savior’s revealing the secret. What ought to be uppermost in the mind of the Disciples is the conversion of the pagan world—the establishing the Church. Jesus reminds them of the mission he has just given to them: Ye shall receive, says he, the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth.
According to a tradition, which has been handed down from the earliest ages of Christianity, it is mid-day—the same hour that he had been raised up, when nailed to his Cross. Giving his Blessed Mother a look of filial affection, and another of fond farewell to the rest of the group that stand around him, Jesus raises up his hands and blesses them all. While thus blessing them, he is raised up from the ground whereon he stands, and ascends into heaven. Their eyes follow him, until a cloud comes and receives him out of their sight. [The Ascension of Our Lord]