Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost


Dear Friends in Christ,

Welcome to our weekly Sunday update. This Sunday (September 1, 2024) is the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost. The Gospel reading for this Sunday tells how Jesus recalled from death the son of the widow of Naim. As Our Lord approached the city, accompanied by “his disciples, and a great multitude . . . a dead man was carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow: and a great multitude was with her” (Luke 7:11-12). The Gospel makes it clear that what Jesus did was done in the presence of a multitude of witnesses: those following Our Lord and those accompanying the grieving mother. He revealed Himself as the Lord of life before both His followers and the people of Naim. “And there came a fear on them all: and they glorified God, saying: A great prophet is risen up among us: and, God hath visited his people” (Luke 7:16). Those present did not keep what they had seen secret but spread the word “throughout all Judea, and throughout all the country round about” (Luke 7:17). And, in time, throughout all the world, because what eyewitnesses had seen was recorded in the Gospel of Saint Luke.


Calendar of Saints and Special Observances

Celebrations are those listed in the Roman Missal of 1962.

DAY, DATE – FEAST (CLASS)

Sunday, September 1 – Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (II)

Monday, September 2 – St. Stephen, King of Hungary, Confessor (III)

Tuesday, September 3 – St. Pius X, Pope and Confessor (III)

Wednesday, September 4 – Feria (IV)

Thursday, September 5 – St. Laurence Justinian, Bishop and Confessor (III)

Friday, September 6 – Feria (IV)

Saturday, September 7 – Feria (IV)

Note: The commemoration of St. Giles, Abbott, and of the 12 Brothers, Martyrs, which usually takes place on September 1st, in accordance with the traditional Roman Calendar, is displaced this year by the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost.


Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

The links provided below can be used to download printable copies of the Proper Prayers for Mass in the Extraordinary Form for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost with either English or Spanish translation. The English version includes a brief commentary on the Gospel reading excerpted from Divine Intimacy by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, OCD (1893-1953). We also offer a link to a New Liturgical Movement article by Dr. Michael P. Foley on “The Sensational Postcommunion Prayer of the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost.”


Latin Mass Schedule: Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (September 1, 2024)

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)
  • 9:00 a.m., Our Lady of the Angels (Marion)
  • 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)


Latin Mass Schedule: Weekdays

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 Aquinas – First Saturday, 10:00 a.m. (followed by traditional blessing of religious objects in the narthex)

Other Diocese of Charlotte Latin Masses

  • Our Lady of the Mountains (Highlands) – Tuesday, 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) – Monday-Friday, 12:00 p.m.
  • Prince of Peace (Taylors SC) – Saturday, 8:00 a.m.

Note: 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.


Announcements

St. Thomas Aquinas First Sunday Food and Fellowship Rescheduled

Because the 20th Annual Diocese of Charlotte Eucharistic Congress is being held August 30-31, the First Sunday Food and Fellowship gathering at Saint Thomas Aquinas has been rescheduled for the second Sunday of the month (September 8th), following celebration of the 11:30 a.m. Traditional Latin Mass. As always, all are invited and all will be welcome: But, please, in charity, use the sign-up sheet linked below to indicate what you can bring to the table to help make this festive gathering a success. [St. Thomas Aquinas Food and Fellowship]


Meal Assistance for Families with New Arrivals

Two Latin Mass families at St. Thomas Aquinas have recently been blessed by new arrivals. Congratulations to the Shoup and Simmers families on their new babies, both boys, born on August 18th and 22nd respectively. Please consider signing up to provide a meal for either one or both of these expanding families during this period of adjustment. A Meal Train link is provided below for each.

[Meal Train for the Shoup Family] [Meal Train for the Simmers Family]


Assistance for Jacksonville Carmelite Sisters Affected by Hurricane Debby

Last winter we shared a National Catholic Register article about the traditional Carmelite sisters who moved from Buffalo, New York, to Jacksonville, Florida, in search of “silence and solitude.” Unfortunately, a few months after the Carmelites settled into their new convent, the house sustained significant damage during Hurricane Debby and will require a new roof. We share this as an opportunity to perform an act of charity on behalf of these religious sisters who depend on alms for their subsistence. During their move from New York to Florida, the Jacksonville Carmelites were hosted by Saint Ann Parish for an overnight stay in Charlotte. At the new location in Jacksonville, the Carmelite convent is probably the nearest to Charlotte of any traditional contemplative religious community. To help the sisters, please click here.


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 – Monday, 5:00 p.m.
  • 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, 9:00 a.m.
  • Holy Spirit (Denver) – Tuesday, 10-11:00 a.m. (following the 9:15 a.m. Novus Ordo Mass)
  • St. John the Baptist (Tryon) - First Saturday, 9:30 a.m. (after 8:30 a.m Latin Mass) - NEW

“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

  • “Behold we live”: Msgr. Ronald Knox on the power of the Cross is an extended essay by Fr. Charles Fox, published by The Catholic World Report, the subject of which is a series of six sermons on the Cross of Christ delivered by the great English apologist in 1928. Msgr. Knox (1888-1957) was a prolific writer whose output included both spiritual works and mystery novels, as well as a contemporary English translation of the entire Bible. [“Behold we live”: Msgr. Ronald Knox on the power of the Cross]
  • Glimpse into the cloister: Monastic Silence is an offering by Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey that provides a look at life inside the monastery where silence is the rule. [Glimpse into the Cloister]
  • Return to Our Lady: Twelfth Reflection is the latest offering from Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke for those participating in his Nine-Month Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe on behalf of the Church and the world. Cardinal Burke provides a video presentation of his reflection, together with the text of his message, the prayer to be recited daily by participants and links to valuable background material regarding St. Juan Diego’s miraculous encounter with Our Lady in 1531. [Reflection Twelve - August 27]
  • Conference and Music Premiere in Honor of Bl. Karl of Austria, October 18-20, in Washington DC, is a notice posted by Gregory DiPippo on New Liturgical Movement, regarding the upcoming event sponsored by Catholic composer Paul Jernberg. [Conference and Music Premiere]
  • The Why and Wherefore of the Absence of Gothic Architecture in Rome addresses the question of why Gothic architecture is rarely found in Rome despite the city’s many churches dating from the Middle Ages, in an article by Shawn Tribe for the Liturgical Arts Journal. [The Why and Wherefore of the Absence of Gothic Architecture in Rome]


Saints and Special Observances

St. Pius X, Pope and Confessor, occupied the Chair of St. Peter for 11 years from August 4, 1903, until his death on August 20, 1914. Born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto on June 2, 1835, the future pope was a native of Riese in the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, then a part of the Austrian Empire. He was the second of 10 children born to Giovanni Battista Sarto, a cobbler by trade who was also the village postman, and his wife, Margherita Sanson, who worked as a seamstress. The parents were poor but understood the value of a good education. With the help of the local pastor, they were able to arrange for young Giuseppe to attend the high school at Castelfranco, a larger town two miles away from Riese.

By the time he completed his secondary studies at Castelfranco, Giuseppe had discerned a call to the priesthood. With the help once again of the local pastor in Riese, he was able to secure a scholarship to attend the seminary at Padua. After completing his studies for the priesthood, he was ordained in the cathedral at Castelfranco on September 18, 1858. Giuseppe spent the next eight years serving as the curate at Tombolo, where he dedicated himself to serving the poor and established a night school for adults. He also provided instruction for the people of the parish in Gregorian chant. The pastor at Tombolo, Fr. Constantini, predicted of his young curate, “Some day or other he will wear the mitre, of that I am sure. After that – who knows?”

Fr. Sarto was appointed pastor of the parish at Salzano in July of 1867. He spent nine years there, sharing his clothes and other belongings with the poor of the parish, while striving to instruct his parishioners in the meaning of Christian doctrine. Throughout his career, he demonstrated an abiding interest in helping those who were poor in material terms or lacking in understanding of the spiritual treasure of their Faith. When he was appointed canon of the cathedral at Treviso and named chancellor of the diocese, he was also made spiritual director of the diocesan seminary. He also organized catechetical classes on Sundays for children who attended public schools.

The see of Mantua falling vacant in 1884, Pope Leo XIII selected Canon Sarto to be the new bishop. Confronted by the hostility of the secular authorities in the region, the diocese had been undermined by indifference and accommodation within its own ranks. Bishop Sarto set about reinvigorating the local seminary and reviving the faith of the young men studying for the priesthood by teaching there himself. He also promoted the establishment of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) in every parish within the diocese as a means of providing religious instruction for children who attended public schools.

In 1893, Pope Leo XIII promoted Bishop Sarto again, making him a cardinal and appointing him Patriarch of Venice. Ten years later, the reigning Pontiff’s death on July 20, 1903, sparked the search for a worthy successor. During the conclave to elect a new Pope, the name of the Patriarch of Venice was hardly mentioned at first; but support for Sarto increased from ballot to ballot until he obtained the votes necessary to secure election. He is said to have responded by bowing his head, breaking into tears, and whispering, “Fiat voluntas tua!” Enthroned as head of the Vatican on August 19, 1903, the new pope took the name Pius X and set about “to restore all things in Christ” (Eph. 1:10).

Pope Pius began by pushing for reform of the seminaries, reasoning that good priests were needed to provide proper instruction for the laity. In an encyclical entitled Exhortation to the Catholic Clergy, he asserted that the restoration of “all things in Christ” could only be brought about by properly trained and well-disciplined priests. On the Teaching of Christian Doctrine conveyed his belief that the evils of the world were attributable to the prevailing lack of knowledge of God, ignorance that could only be overcome by priests conveying the truth of the Catholic faith in language that people could comprehend. A series of decrees on Holy Communion, issued in the years from 1905 to 1910, earned him the reputation of being the “Pope of the Eucharist.” One of the changes brought about by these decrees was the lowering of the age for first reception of the sacrament from twelve to seven. He also encouraged frequent reception of the Eucharist, reversing a long-standing policy of the Vatican.

Pope Pius X’s concern for the well-being of both the Church and society at large is made evident by the range of subjects he addressed in the documents he produced. On Catholic Social Action addressed the issue of workers’ rights, while the motu proprio “On the Restoration of Church Music” identified Gregorian Chant as the music most compatible with the beauty and sanctity of the Mass. At the same time, he welcomed new music of suitable quality and favored the adoption of what he considered long-overdue changes to the liturgy. Other achievements included the reform of the Breviary, establishment of the Biblical Institute for Scriptural Studies, and the development of the Code of Canon Law.

But it is not for all of these achievements that Pope Pius X is best known and most admired. He was greatly honored in his own time for rejecting pomp and embracing poverty and for the humility and charity with which he emulated Our Lord throughout his life. But the source of his lasting greatness is to be found in his unrelenting defense of orthodox Catholicism. He gave definition to the Modernist movement and pinpointed Modernism as the greatest threat to the Church in the 20th century. His thoughts on the subject found their fullest expression in Pascendi Domenici Gregis, an encyclical of more than 21,000 words in which he concluded that Modernism was the “synthesis of all heresies.” (A link to the official Vatican post of this invaluable papal document is provided below.)

With the coming of the Great War in 1914, the 79-year-old pontiff speculated that God might spare him the horror of watching the world go up in flames. On August 20, 1914, the day that Germany invaded Belgium, Pope Pius X passed away peacefully, leaving a last testament that read, in part, “I was born poor, I lived poor, I die poor.” He was entombed in St. Peter’s Basilica, and the following lines were inscribed on his tomb:

Born poor and humble of heart,

Undaunted champion of the Catholic faith,

Zealous to restore all things in Christ,

Crowned a holy life with a holy death.

A number of astonishing miracles had been credited to him during his life, although he always sought to deflect attention from himself when things that were unexplainable occurred in his presence. Additional miracles were attributed to his intercession following his death. The official inquiry into his life and virtues got underway after the First World War, and the Cause for Canonization was initiated by Pope Pius XII during the Second World War. On June 3, 1951, he was declared by the Pope to be blessed, and on May 29, 1954, he was added to the roster of saints. His feast is observed by the Church each year on September 3rd, according to the traditional Roman Calendar. [Pascendi Dominici Gregis (September 8, 1907) | PIUS X]


Closing Commentary

We offer, in closing, an excerpt from the commentary of Dom Prosper Guéranger, OSB, on the liturgy for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost. It is that portion of his commentary having to do with the Gospel reading. The full commentary is available via the link that follows this excerpt.

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

This is the second time, during the Year, holy Church offers this Gospel to our consideration; we cannot be surprised at this, for the fathers selected by her as its interpreters tell us, on both of these occasions, that the afflicted mother who follows her son to the grave is the Church herself.

The first time we saw her under this symbol of a mother mourning for her child was in the penitential season of Lent. She was then, by her fasting and prayer (united as those were with her Jesus’ sufferings), preparing the resurrection of such of our brethren as were dead in sin. Their resurrection was realized, and we had them, in all the fullness of their new life, seated side by side with us at the Paschal Table. What exquisite joy on that Feast of Feasts inundated the Mother’s heart as she thus shared in the triumphant gladness of her divine Spouse! He, her Jesus was, by his one Resurrection, twice over the conqueror of death—he rose from the grave, and he gave back the child to the Mother. The Disciples if this Risen Lord, who follow him closely by their observance of the evangelical counsels, yes, they, and the whole multitude that associated themselves with the Church, glorified Jesus for his wonderful works and sang the praises of that God who thus vouchsafed to visit his people.

The Mother ceased to weep. But since then, the Spouse has again left her to return to his Father; she has resumed her widow’s weeds, and her sufferings are continually adding to the already well-nigh insupportable torture of her exile. And whence these sufferings? From the relapses of so many of those ungrateful children of hers to whom she had given a second birth and at the cost of such pains and tears! The countless cares she then spent over her sinners, and that new life she gave them in the presence of her dying Jesus—all this made each of the penitents, during the Great Week, as though he were the only son of that Mother. What an intense grief, says St. John Chrysostom, that so loving a Mother should see them relapsing, after the communion of such mysteries, into sin which kills them! “Spare me,”—as she may well say, in the words which the holy Doctor puts into the Apostle’s mouth—”Spare me! No other child, once born into this world, ever made his Mother suffer the pangs of childbirth over again!” To repair the relapse of a sinner costs her no less travail than the giving birth to such as had never believed.

And if we compare these times of ours with the period when sainted Pastors made her words be respected all over the world—is there a single Christian who is still faithful to the Church who does not feel impelled, by such contrast, to be more and more devoted to a Mother so abandoned as she now is? Let us listen to the eloquent words of St. Laurence Justinian on this subject. “Then,” says he in his De compuncti et planctu christianem perfectus, “all resplendent with the mystic jewels wherewith the Bridegroom had beautified her on the wedding day, she thrilled with joy at the increase of her children, both in merit and number; she urged them to ascend to ever greater heights; she offered them to God, she raised them, in her arms, up towards heaven. Obeyed by them, she was, in all truth, the mother of fair love and fear; she was beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array. She stretched out her branches as the turpentine-tree, and beneath their shadow, she sheltered them she had begotten, against the heat, and the tempest, and the rain. So long, then, as she could, she labored, feeding at her breasts all those she was able to assemble. But her zeal, great as it was, has redoubled from the time she perceived that many, yea very many, had lost their first fervor. Now for many years, she is mourning at the sight of how, each day, her Creator is offended, how great are the losses she sustains, and how so many of her children suffer death. She that was once robed in scarlet has put on mourning garments; her fragrance is no longer felt by the world; instead of a golden girdle, she has but a cord, and instead of the rich ornament of her breast, she is vested in haircloth. Her lamentations and tears are ceaseless. Ceaseless is her prayer, striving if, by some way, she may make the present as beautiful as in times past; and yet, as thou it were impossible for her to call back that lovely past, she seems wearied at such supplication. The word of the prophet has come true: They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable together; there is none that doth good, no, not one! … The manifold sins committed by the Church’s children against the divine precepts show that they who so sin are rotten members, members alien to the body of Christ. Nevertheless, the Church forgets not that she gave them birth in the laver of salvation; she forgets not the promises they then made to renounce the devil, and the pomps of the world, and all sin. Therefore does she weep over their fall, being their true mother, and never losing the hope of winning their resurrection by her tears. O what a flood of tears is thus every day shed before God! What fervent prayers does not this spotless virgin send, by the ministry of the holy Angels, up to Christ, who is the salvation of sinners! In the secret of hearts in lonely retreats, as well as in her public temples, she cries out to the divine mercy that they who are now buried in the filth of vice may be restored to life. Who shall tell the joy of her heart, when she receives back living the children she mourned over as dead? If the conversion of sinners is such a joy to heaven, what must it be to such a Mother? According to the multitude of the sorrows of her heart, so will be the consolations, giving joy to her soul.”

It is the duty of us Christians, who, by God’s mercy, have been preserved from the general decay to share in the anguish of our Mother, the Church; we should humbly but fervently cooperate with her in all her zealous endeavors to reclaim our fallen brethren. We surely can never be satisfied with not being the number of those senseless sons who are a sorrow to their Mother, and despise the labor of her that bore them. Had we not the Holy Spirit to tell us how he that honoreth his Mother is as one that layeth up to himself a treasure—the thought of what our birth cost her would force us to do everything that lies in our power to comfort her. She is the dear Bride of the Incarnate Word; and our souls, too, aspire to union with Him; let us prove that such Union is really ours by doing as the Church does—that is, by showing in our acts the one thought, the one love, which the divine Spouse always imparts to souls that enjoy holy intimacy with him, because there is nothing he Himself has so much at heart—the thought of bringing the whole world to give glory to his Eternal Father, and the love of procuring salvation for sinners.

[Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost]