Dear Friends in Christ,
Welcome to our weekly Sunday update. This Sunday (June 9, 2024) is the Third Sunday after Pentecost. It follows by two days the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus celebrated on the Friday following the Octave of Corpus Christi. That day was selected for the universal celebration of the new first-class feast by Pope Pius IX in 1856. He did so to honor a wish expressed by Jesus Himself to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the great exponent of divine love, in 1675. The bishops of the United States have authorized, as an alternative to the liturgy for the Third Sunday after Pentecost, celebration of the External Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the Sunday following the feast day. Nevertheless, it is in the Gospel reading for the Third Sunday after Pentecost that we find the perfect metaphor to convey God’s love for mankind in the parable of the lost sheep. Here, rather than the Lamb of God who offers Himself in atonement for the sin of man, is the Good Shepherd carrying home the lamb that was lost but now is found: the sinner whose repentance shall be the cause of “joy in heaven” (Luke 15:7).
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, June 9 – Third Sunday after Pentecost (II) [External Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (II)]
Monday, June 10 – St. Margaret Queen of Scotland, Widow (III)
Tuesday, June 11 – St. Barnabas, Apostle (III)
Wednesday, June 12 – St. John of St. Facundo, Confessor, Augustinian (III) [Commemoration of SS. Basilides, Cyrinus, Nabor and Nazarius, Martyrs (305)]
Thursday, June 13 – St. Anthony of Padua, OFM, Confessor & Doctor of the Church (III)
Friday, June 14 – St. Basil the Great, Bishop, Confessor & Doctor of the Church (III)
Saturday, June 15 – Feria (IV) [Commemoration of St. Vitus or Guy, Modestus & Crescentia, Martyrs] [Our Lady on Saturday (IV)]
Note: The following is displaced by the liturgical celebration of the Third Sunday after Pentecost on June 9th – Commemoration of SS. Primus and Felician, Martyrs (286).
Third Sunday after Pentecost
Links provided below can be used to download printable copies of the Proper Prayers for Mass in the Extraordinary Form for the Third Sunday after Pentecost with either English or Spanish translation. The English version includes a brief commentary on the watchfulness with which a loving God regards those who bear His banner in this world, excerpted from The Liturgical Year of Dom Prosper Guéranger, OSB (1805-1875).
In addition, there is a link that can be used to download a printable copy of the Proper Prayers for the External Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus with English translation. A commentary on the feast by Fr. Sylvester Juergens S.M. (1894-1969) is included.
We also offer a link to an essay by Dr. Michael P. Foley on “The Heart-Warming Orations of the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” from New Liturgical Movement.
Latin Mass Schedule: Third Sunday after Pentecost (June 9th)
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: The summer Mass schedule for Prince of Peace went into effect last week. Weekday Latin Masses will only be celebrated Tuesday through Thursday at 12:00 p.m. There will be no Latin Masses on Monday, Friday or Saturday until after August 17th. 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
Ordination of Diocesan Priests and Transitional Deacons: Seven transitional deacons will be ordained to the sacred priesthood for service in the Diocese of Charlotte on Saturday, June 15th, at Saint Mark in Huntersville. The seven are graduates of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Cincinnati; five attended St. Joseph College Seminary in Mount Holly before completing their studies at the major seminary in Cincinnati. The candidates include young men from six different parishes in the Diocese of Charlotte. Please keep them in your prayers as they approach the momentous day of their ordination during the next two weeks. Please pray as well for the six future priests recently ordained to the transitional diaconate. They will need our support as they go on to complete their studies for the sacred priesthood. [Seven men to be ordained priests for the Diocese of Charlotte]
Solemn High Masses on June 12 and June 13
We are pleased to share that next week two Solemn High Masses will be offered in Charlotte. Please note the time change for June 12.
Our Lady of Grace Schedule Change: Please note that Our Lady of Grace in Greensboro will offer Latin Mass at 2:00 p.m., instead of 1:00 p.m., next Sunday, June 16th.
A Note of Thanks: The Carolina Traditional Liturgy Society wishes to thank the Saint Ann and Saint Thomas Aquinas scholas and choir for their beautiful sacred music and chant for Father Kane’s Masses on Monday (a Solemn High Requiem) and Thursday; as well as for the Saint Ann choir's chanting for Wednesday’s High Mass commemorating Father Reid’s 20th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. Charlotte is blessed to have these heavenly voices give glory to God through these sublimely sung liturgies. We also thank Fathers Reid and Codd for their hospitality in allowing Fr. Kane to offer these special Masses.
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
The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus was established as an obligatory feast of the universal Church by Pope Pius IX in 1856, but the liturgical celebration had its origin in an encounter between St. Margaret Mary Alocoque and Our Lord on June 16, 1675, which was described in Dom Prosper Guéranger’s beautiful treatment of this solemnity in his work, The Liturgical Year. [Feast of the Sacred Heart]
Yet, there is more to the meaning of this feast as Father William Rock noted in an article last year, expounding on how both the Feasts of Corpus Christi and Sacred Heart are, in a way, a joyful recapitulation, or look back, at the Easter cycle. [Joy that One is Born into the World]
Closing Commentary
In closing, we return to a commentary from The Liturgical Year of Dom Prosper Guéranger, OSB, “On Holy Communion, During the Time After Pentecost.” The first part of the commentary (Before Communion) was presented in this space in our previous issue. We offer here an excerpted portion of the second part (After Communion), providing a link to the complete text below.
On Holy Communion, During the Time After Pentecost
After Communion
Act of Adoration
Thy presence within me, O Lord, is joy and sweetness to me; and yet, before indulging in the delight it brings, I feel impelled to prostrate my entire being before thy Sovereign Majesty. I must, I will, first adore thee, for thou art the great God of heaven and earth. Thou standest in no need of me, and yet thou comest down to this my nothingness. Where, then, shall I begin, if it be not in humbling myself profoundly before thee, and acknowledging that thou art Lord, the Only Begotten and Consubstantial Son of the Father; that thou art He by whom all things were made, the Eternal, the Infinite, and the supreme Judge of the living and the dead. Thy Seraphim, who see thee in thy unveiled majesty, and drink their fill of everlasting happiness from thy divine essence, those glorious Spirits, as thy Prophet tells us, cover their faces with their wings; they tremble before thee, as the Church tells us; and yet, while trembling in thy presence, their love is as ardent and as tender as though they were nothing but love. I would follow their example, O my God; I would offer thee, at this moment, the creature’s first duty to its Creator,—adoration. Thou art so nigh to me, at this happy moment, that my being feels renovated and almost lost in thine; how then can I be otherwise than overwhelmed by the weight of thy glory? Yes, I do adore thee, O Eternal, Infinite, Immense, All-powerful! before whom all created beings are as though they were not. I confess, before thee, my own nothingness; I acknowledge thine absolute dominion over me, and over everything which thy power and goodness have produced in creation. King of ages! Immortal and Invisible in thine essence! Glory be to thee! Accept this first homage of a soul to which thy love has deigned to unite thee.
Act of Thanksgiving
There is another homage which I owe thee, O my God!—it is gratitude. Thou often invitest me to partake of the divine gift, wherewith thou, before leaving this earth, didst enrich us. But, woe to me, if, because I can easily and often have it, I value so much the less its greatness! Wretched familiarity, which blunts the sentiment of gratitude, and deadens faith, and takes all ardor from love; may thy grace, O Lord, preserve me from its vile influence. For thousands of years, the human race was in expectation of the favor, which thou hast just been bestowing upon me, Abraham, the father of believers; Moses, thy much loved friend; David, the inspired chanter of thy mysteries; none of these received thee: and this Bread of Angels has come down from heaven for me! Oh! unheard of goodness of a God incorporating himself with his creature! Who is there that could measure its length and breadth, or scan its height, or fathom its depth? These expressions of thine Apostle, regarding the mystery just given to me, teach me what is the value of the wondrous gift thou hast bestowed upon mankind. With what humble and lively gratitude, then, should it not be received! Thou hast not been deterred, either by my nothingness, or the coldness of my feelings, or my infidelities; be thou blessed, then, my Lord, for that out of thy desire to give thyself to me, thou hast overstepped every limit, and removed every obstacle. I give thee thanks for this, and for every Communion thou hast hitherto so graciously given me. Deign to enlighten me more and more, as to the magnificence of thy gift; deign to cherish within me the sentiment of love; that thus my longings for thy visit may be increased; and that I may know how to honor, as I ought, thy presence within me, and that I may never dare to approach thee out of custom, or without my conscience assuring me that I am bringing with me the profound respect due to thee.