Dear Friends in Christ,
Welcome to our weekly Sunday update. This Sunday (May 12, 2024) 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.
In our own time, a French priest celebrating Mass was slain by an assassin who proclaimed the greatness of God as he slit the throat of 85-year-old Jacques Hamel on the altar of a Catholic church in Normandy. According to Vatican News, over 50,000 Christians have been murdered in Nigeria alone by the adherents of a different religion who seek to exterminate the Christian population in that populous African nation while proclaiming the superiority of their own God. The list of those who have given their lives for Christ over almost two thousand years is long indeed. There are many countries today in which it is not safe to be a Christian. We should be thankful that such is not the case in our own country, but we should also remain alert to the growing hostility manifested toward the followers of Christ – and especially Catholics – even in America.
Calendar of Saints and Special Observances
Celebrations are those listed in the Roman Missal of 1962 or on the liturgical calendar of Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary.
DAY, DATE – FEAST (CLASS)
Sunday, May 12 – Sunday after the Ascension (II)
Monday, May 13 – St. Robert Bellarmine, SJ, Bishop, Confessor and Doctor of the Church (III)
Tuesday, May 14 – Feria (IV) [Commemoration of St. Boniface, Martyr (IV)]
Wednesday, May 15 – St. John Baptist de la Salle, Confessor (III)
Thursday, May 16 – St. Ubald, Bishop and Confessor (III)
Friday, May 17 – St. Pascal Baylon, OFM, Confessor (III)
Saturday, May 18 – Vigil of Pentecost (I)
Note: The third-class feasts of SS. Nereus and Achilleus, Martyrs, and SS. Flavia Domitilla and Pancras, are usually celebrated on May 12, a date occupied by the Sunday after the Ascension this year.
Sunday after the Ascension
The links provided below can be used to download printable copies of the Proper Prayers for Mass in the Extraordinary Form for the Sunday after the Ascension with either English or Spanish translation. The English version includes a commentary on “The Redeeming Sacrifice” from Theology and Sanity by Frank Sheed (1897-1981). In addition, we offer a link to an essay on “The Contextual Orations of the Sunday after Ascension” by Dr. Michael P. Foley for New Liturgical Movement.
Latin Mass Schedule: Sunday after the Ascension (May 12th)
Charlotte Area Latin Masses
Other Diocese of Charlotte Latin Masses
Diocese of Charleston Latin Masses
Latin Mass Schedule: Weekdays
Charlotte Area Latin Masses
Other Diocese of Charlotte Latin Masses
Diocese of Charleston Latin Masses
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 and holy days of obligation.
Upcoming Feast Days on which Latin Masses are to be celebrated: Special Latin Masses to be celebrated on two notable feast days during the next few weeks are listed below. Information about others will be shared when available.
Feast of Corpus Christi – Thursday, May 30th
Feast of the Sacred Heart – Friday, June 7th
Spiritual Bouquet for Bishop Emeritus Jugis
As announced earlier last week, the Carolina Traditional Liturgy Society is organizing a spiritual bouquet for presentation to Bishop Emeritus Peter J. Jugis as an expression of gratitude for his leadership and service in faithfully shepherding his flock in the Diocese of Charlotte for the past 20 years. We invite our readers to participate.
The ever-increasing devotion to the traditional Mass and appreciation of sacred liturgy in the diocese would not have happened without his leadership and the care he has shown for all his flock, including the Latin Mass faithful.
Please send us your contributions by tomorrow Sunday May 12.
To learn more and to submit your prayers please click on this link: https://www.carolinaliturgy.org/spiritual-bouquet
We will also be organizing a spiritual bouquet for Bishop-elect Martin around his ordination – so stay tuned and save up your prayers for him too!
Announcements
Fatima Processions – Monday, May 13th:
No first Saturday Latin Mass on June 1: There will not be a First Saturday Latin Mass at Saint Thomas Aquinas or Saint John the Baptist parishes on Saturday, June 1st, due to diaconate ordinations that day.
Father Matthew Kane, FSSP to offer first Masses in Charlotte on June 3rd and June 6th: Deacon Matthew Kane, FSSP, a North Carolina native, will be ordained to the priesthood for the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) later this month in Nebraska. Father Kane will visit North Carolina and offer some of his first Latin Masses in Charlotte on Monday, June 3rd at 6:00 p.m. in Saint Ann Church; and on Thursday June 6th at 7:00 p.m. in Saint Thomas Aquinas Church. The FSSP (Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Petri) is a congregation of priests, canonically erected by Pope Saint John Paul II in 1988, whose members celebrate the Latin Mass and other traditional sacraments according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. FSSP seminarians will serve the newly ordained Father Kane in the Masses he is to offer here. Please pray for Deacon Kane as the date of his ordination to the priesthood approaches.
Note: The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter has posted a video of the deacons at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, who will be ordained to the sacred priesthood on May 29th, singing the Litany of Loreto (available here: OLGS deacons singing the Litany of Loreto).
Prayers for Diocese of Charlotte Candidates for Ordination: There are several seminarians in the Diocese of Charlotte who are to be ordained to the transitional diaconate or priesthood next month. Please keep these men in your prayers.
Prayers and Invitation to Sister Maria Theresa of Merciful Love’s First Vows on Saturday June 8: The Carter family, formerly Saint Thomas Aquinas parishioners and now living out west, extends an invitation to our community to the first profession of their daughter Sister Maria Theresa of Merciful Love, O.C.D. (Jyllian Carter), who is with the Discalced Carmelite Nuns in Traverse City, Michigan. The ceremony will take place Saturday June 8 with a Solemn High Mass of Thanksgiving at 8:00 a.m. Afterwards Sister will receive visitors on June 8th, 9th, and 10th, from 2:40 - 4:40 p.m. The address is: Carmelite Monastery of the Infant of Prague, 3501 Silver Lake Road, Traverse City, MI 49684. If one is unable to attend, the family would appreciate prayers for Sister on this important day.
Traditional Sung Vespers, Friday, May 31st:
Our Lady of Grace in Greensboro will again offer Traditional Vespers
according to the 1934 “Antiphonale Monasticum” of the Benedictine Abbey
at Solesmes in France on the last day of this month at 7:00 p.m. The
Abbey of Saint-Pierre de Solesmes was founded by Dom Prosper Guéranger
who, in addition to the composition of his monumental opus, The Liturgical Year, was responsible for revitalizing the use of Gregorian Chant in the liturgy.
Holy Face Devotions
Prayers of Reparation to the Holy Face of Jesus are offered each week at the following churches on the indicated days:
Latin Mass and Liturgical News
Saints and Special Observances
Saint Robert Bellarmine was born Roberto Bellarmino at Montepulciano, Italy, on October 4, 1542, a quarter-century after Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses ignited the so-called Protestant Reformation. The Council of Trent, meeting in three sessions from 1545 to 1563, adopted the framework for the Counter-Reformation that Robert Bellarmine was to champion throughout his illustrious career.
Bellarmine was the third of ten children born to Vincenzo Bellarmino and Cinzia Cervini. His mother had a brother named Marcello who, after a distinguished career in service to the Church, was anointed Pope Marcellus II on April 10, 1555, only to die 22 days later. Inspired perhaps by his uncle’s example, Roberto discerned a religious vocation and expressed a desire to become a member of the Society of Jesus, a relatively new order founded by Ignatius of Loyola and his companions in 1540. Vincenzo Bellarmino, being opposed either to his son’s choice of vocation or to his desire to become a Jesuit, elicited from him a promise to wait one year. One year later, Roberto was still determined to pursue the course he had chosen, and the superior general of the Society was so impressed by the young man’s obvious potential that he counted the year of waiting as his novitiate and allowed him to make his profession of vows without further delay.
After studying philosophy for three years at the Roman College (now known as the Pontifical Gregorian University), Bellarmine studied theology at Padua, before going on to complete his studies at Louvain. Ordained at Louvain in 1570, he became the first Jesuit professor of theology there, teaching courses focused on the Catholic response to Martin Luther, John Calvin and the other leaders of the Protestant Reformation. Returning to the Roman College in 1576, he established a reputation over the next 11 years as one of the principal defenders of the Catholic Church and was called on by the Pope to serve on commissions charged with revising the Vulgate Bible and preparing a new edition of the Septuagint, for which he wrote the preface. The lectures he delivered while holding the chair of controversial theology at the Roman College led to the publication in 1586 of the first of three volumes of his Controversies, considered his most important work.
Called on by the Pope to assume diplomatic duties, Bellarmine proved to be an uncompromising defender of the interests of the Church, alienating powerful princes who blocked any chance that he would be considered papabile at a future date. Appointed rector of the Roman College in 1592, he was named provincial superior of the Jesuit Province of Naples in 1594, only to be summoned by Pope Clement VIII to serve as his theological advisor two years later. Contrary to his own wishes, the pope made him a cardinal on March 3, 1599; then, to his surprise, Clement appointed him Archbishop of Capua in 1602. When Paul V succeeded to the papacy in 1605, he asked Bellarmine to remain in Rome where he made use of him as a member of several Vatican commissions.
Ever adhering to the spiritual life prescribed by the Society of Jesus, Cardinal Bellarmine would make use of the 30-day retreats each year to write his works on spirituality. In 1597 and 1598 he published a Catechism in two versions that would be translated into 60 languages and serve as the official teaching of the Catholic Church for centuries. His later works written for the spiritual benefit of the faithful included, among others, The Mind’s Ascent to God by the Ladder of Created Things, The Art of Dying Well and The Seven Words on the Cross.
Cardinal Bellarmine’s request that he be allowed to retire was refused by both Paul V and his successor, Gregory XV. The latter subsequently relented, allowing the future saint to retire to the Jesuit novitiate of Sant’Andrea just days before his death on September 17, 1621, at the age of 78. The cause for his canonization was initiated in 1627 but did not reach its successful conclusion for three hundred years due to political considerations that included both the opposition of secular authorities and Bellarmine’s involvement in the ecclesiastical cases of the heretical apostate, Giordano Bruno, and the astronomer Galileo Galilei. Canonized on June 29, 1930, by Pope Pius XI, who proclaimed him to be one of the foremost figures in the history of the Church, Saint Robert Bellarmine was named a Doctor of the Universal Church the following year. His remains remain on display in his cardinal’s red robes in the Church of St. Ignatius, the chapel of the Roman College. His feast day is listed on the traditional Roman Calendar as the 13th of May.
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]
We wish all mothers a happy Mother's Day!