Friends in Christ,
Welcome to our weekly Sunday update. This Sunday is the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost. The Gospel reading for this Sunday begins with the revelation that Jesus wept as he approached Jerusalem and saw the city rising before his eyes: Not because of what He saw with the eyes of a man, but because of that which He foresaw with the mind of God. War with Rome lay in the not-too-distant future: Besieged for five months in 70 A.D., the city and the center of Jewish worship, the Temple, would be utterly destroyed. The cause of this destruction would be the failure of the Jewish people to recognize the presence of the Messiah in their midst: “because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation” (Luke 19:44). The Gospel reading also tells how Jesus went into the Temple and drove out those who desecrated that holy place by buying and selling in the house of God. Perhaps the time has come to weep for our own nation, as preoccupied with buying and selling as were the merchants and customers in the doomed Temple, and burdened with sins so egregious that they cry out to heaven for correction.
Calendar of Special Observances
Celebrations are those listed in the Roman Missal of 1962.
DAY, DATE – FEAST (CLASS)
Sunday, July 26 – Ninth Sunday after Pentecost (II) – Commemoration of St. Anne, Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Monday, July 27 – Feria (IV) – Commemoration of St. Pantaleon, Martyr
Tuesday, July 28 – Ss. Nazarius and Celsus, Martyrs; Victor I, Pope and Martyr; and St. Innocent I, Pope and Confessor (III)
Wednesday, July 29 – St. Martha, Virgin (III) – Commemoration of Ss. Felix, Simplicius, Faustinus, and Beatrice, Martyrs
Thursday, July 30 – Feria (IV) – Commemoration of St. Abdon and Sennen, Martyrs
Friday, July 31 – St. Ignatius Loyola, Confessor (III)
Saturday, August 1 – Immaculate Heart of Mary (III) – Holy Machabees, Martyrs (IV) – St. Peter in Chains (IV) – Our Lady on Saturday (IV)
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
The links provided below can be used to download printable copies of the Proper Prayers for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost with English or Spanish translation, followed by commentary by Dr. Michael P. Foley.
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
Note: The summer Mass schedule for Prince of Peace parish is in effect and according to the bulletin there will be no daily Latin Masses at Prince of Peace Monday-Saturday this summer.
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.
Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saturday August 15
The following are the announced Latin Masses for the Feast of the Assumption on Saturday August 15. According to the U.S. Bishops, the Assumption is not a holy day of obligation this year. If more Masses are scheduled, we will post them on our website.
The Chapel of the Little Flower will offer an External Solemnity of the Assumption on Sunday August 16.
Chapel of the Little Flower Announcements
Mass Intentions for Sunday
Sunday July 26, 12:00 p.m. – Repose of the souls of Alfred and Leona Laliberte by Daniel and Kimberly Perry
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
If one is missing a missal, book, or other item, please see the Lost and Found 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
Bishop Martin issues Pastoral Letter to the Faithful Associated with the Society of Saint Pius X – Please see the below pastoral letter and announcement published by the Diocese of Charlotte and Catholic News Herald on Friday July 17 at the links below.
Litany of the Most Precious Blood – Father Reid is inviting the faithful to pray the Litany of the Precious Blood in July for the country and protection from evil. To join in this month-long novena please click on this link.
Learning the Latin Mass (TAN Books Year of the Latin Mass Series) – Want to learn more about the Traditional Latin Mass, its symbolism and theology? Local publisher TAN Books has launched a series with Latin Mass priests reviewing and explaning some of the classic books describing this ancient liturgy. We share two videos from Fr. William Rock, FSSP along with a link to the book.
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
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.
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Other Noteworthy Saints
This past week featured the feast of Saint Mary Magdalene on July 22 and this Sunday July 26 is the patronal feast day of Saint Ann Parish, that of Saint Ann, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
These two saints also have a distant connection, as tradition holds that Saint Mary Magdalene brought the relics of Saint Ann to France when she, her brother Saint Lazarus, and sister Saint Martha (whose feast day will be this week, July 29) were exiled from the Holy Land by boat and ended up on the coast of France.
We share additional commentary on these two saints:
This coming week there are also several noteworthy Feast celebrations in the 1962 Liturgical Calendar.
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
Closing Commentary
In closing, we offer commentary on the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost excerpted from The Liturgical Year of Dom Prosper Guéranger, OSB, followed by a link to the full text. This week’s commentary focuses on the fall of Jerusalem prophesied by Jesus and the destruction of the Temple in the terrible siege conducted by the Roman military in 70 A.D.
Ninth Sunday After Pentecost
The lamentation over Jerusalem’s woes is, in the Western Church, the subject of today’s Gospel; and it gave its name to this ninth Sunday after Pentecost, at least among the Latins. We have already observed that it is easy to find, even in the Liturgy as it now stands, traces of how the early Church was all attention to the approaching fulfillment of the prophecies against Jerusalem, that ungrateful City, upon which our Jesus heaped his earliest favors. The last limit put by mercy upon justice has, at length, been passed. Our Lord, speaking of the ruin of Sion and its Temple, had foretold that the generation that was listening to his words should not pass until what he announced should be be fulfilled. The almost forty years accorded to Juda, that he might avert the divine wrath, have had no other effect than to harden the people of deicides in their determination of not accepting Christ as the Messiah. As a torrent which, having been long pent back, rushes all along the fiercer when the embankment breaks, vengeance at length burst on the ancient Israel; it was in the year 70 that was executed the sentence himself had passed, when delivering up his King and God to the Gentiles, he cried out: His blood be upon us and upon our children!
Even as early as the year 67, Rome irritated by the senseless insolence of the Jews, had deputed Flavius Vespasian to avenge the insult. The fact of this new General being scarcely known was, in reality, the strongest reason for Nero’s approving of his nomination: but to the hitherto obscure family of this soldier, God reserved the empire, as a reward for the service done to divine justice by this Flavius and his son Titus. Later on, Titus will see and acknowledge it—that it is not Rome, but God himself, who conducts the war and commands the legions. Moses, ages before, had seen the nation, whose tongue Israel could not understand, rushing, like an eagle, upon his chosen people and punishing them for their sins. But no sooner has the Roman eagle reached the land where he is to work the vengeance, than he finds himself visibly checked by a superior power; and his spirit of rapine is held back, or urged on, just precisely as the prophets of the Lord of hosts had spoken it was to be. The piercing eye of that eagle, as eager to obey as it was to fight, almost seemed to be scrutinizing the Scriptures. It was actually there that he found the order of the day for the terrible years of the campaign.
As an illustration of this, we may mention what happened in the year 66. The army of Syria, under the leadership of Cestius Gallus, had encamped under the walls of Jerusalem. Our Lord intended this to be nothing more, in His plan, than a warning to his faithful ones, which he had promised them when foretelling the events that were to happen. He had said: When ye shall hear of wars, and seditions, and rumors of wars, be not terrified; these things must first come to pass; but the end is not yet presently. But, when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed about with an army, then know, that the desolation thereof is at hand. The Jews had been, for years, angering Rome by their revolts; but she bore with it all, if not patiently, contemptuously; but when, in one of these seditions, Roman blood had been spilled, then she was provoked, and sent her legions. Her army, however, had first of all to furnish Jesus’ disciples with a sign; he had promised them that this sign should consist in her compassing of Jerusalem, then withdrawing for a time; this would give the Christians an opportunity of quitting the accursed city. The Roman proconsul had his troops stationed so near to Jerusalem that it seemed as though he had but to give the word of command, and the war would be over; instead of that, he gave the strange order to retreat, and throw up the victory which he might have for the wishing it. Cestius Gallus seemed to men to have lost his senses; but no, he was following, without being aware of it, the commands of heaven: Jesus had promised an escape to his loved ones; he fulfilled his promise by this unwitting instrument. [Ninth Sunday after Pentecost]