Friends in Christ,
Welcome to our weekly Sunday update. This Sunday is Holy Trinity Sunday. One week after celebrating the descent of the Third Person of the Trinity at Pentecost, we celebrate our triune God: Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The Gospel reading for this Sunday, taking brevity to the extreme, presents in just three verses three foundational truths of the Church conveyed by Christ in the Great Commission: (1) Christ the King is the ruler of the universe: Coming to His apostles in Galilee, the resurrected Jesus tells them, “All power is given to me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). (2) The unity of the triune God is made manifest in the Trinity of three Persons: Jesus commissions His disciples to go forth and teach all nations, “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). (3) Jesus is the Word of God, Truth itself, the ultimate and enduring source of authority: Our Lord instructs His followers to go forth, “Teaching them to observe whatsoever things I have commanded you; and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world” (Matthew 28:20).
Calendar of Special Observances
Celebrations are those listed in the Roman Missal of 1962.
DAY, DATE – FEAST (CLASS)
Sunday, May 31 – Holy Trinity Sunday (I)
Monday, June 1 – St. Angela Merici, Virgin (III)
Tuesday, June 2 – Feria (IV) – Commemoration of Ss. Marcellinus, Peter, and Erasmus, Martyrs
Wednesday, June 3 – Feria (IV)
Thursday, June 4 – Corpus Christi (I)
Friday, June 5 – St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr (III) – Sacred Heart of Jesus (III)
Saturday, June 6 – St. Norbert, Bishop and Confessor (III) – Immaculate Heart of Mary (III)
Trinity Sunday
The links provided below can be used to download printable copies of the Proper Prayers for Trinity Sunday with English or Spanish translation, followed by commentaries 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 Monday June 1st and according to the bulletin there will be no daily Latin Masses at Prince of Peace during Monday-Saturday this summer. The exception will be this Thursday June 4 at 12 noon for the Feast of Corpus Christi.
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 Corpus Christi - Thursday June 4
The Chapel of the Little Flower will celebrate the External Solemnity of Corpus Christi on Sunday June 7.
Chapel of the Little Flower Announcements
Mass Intentions for Sunday
Sunday May 31, 10:00 a.m. – Intentions of Mark and Sharon Hoidas
Next Sunday June 7, 12:00 p.m. – Mass of Thanksgiving by Fr. David Carter, FSSP
Father David Carter, FSSP, a Saint Ann parishioner, ordained to the priesthood for the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) this past Thursday May 28, will offer a Solemn High Mass of Thanksgiving at the Chapel of the Little Flower on Sunday June 7, 12 noon. Please keep Fr. Carter in your prayers as he begins his priestly ministry.
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
Novena for Priests Begins Sunday May 31 - Monday June 8 – Father Reid is inviting all parishioners and friends of Saint Ann parish to join him in praying a novena for the newly ordained Saint Ann priests. It begins Sunday May 31 and concludes Monday June 8. The novena is below or can be downloaded as a PDF this link
Jesus, Good Shepherd, You sent us the Holy Spirit to guide Your Church and lead her faithful to You through the ministry of Your priests. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, grant to Your priests Robbie Bauman, David Carter, and Peter Townsend wisdom in leading, faithfulness in teaching, and holiness in guarding Your sacred Mysteries.
As they cry out with all the faithful, 'Abba, Father!' may Your priests be ever more closely identified with You in Your divine Sonship and offer their own lives with You, the one saving Victim.
Make them helpful brothers of one another, and understanding fathers of all Your people.
Renew in Your priests deeper faith, greater trust in You, childlike reliance on our Mother Mary, and unwavering fidelity to the Holy Father and his bishops.
Holy Mary, intercede for your priests.
St. Joseph, protect them.
St. Michael, defend them.
St. John Vianney, pray for them.
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
St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr, was an English Benedictine monk who came to be known as the Apostle of the Germans. a well-deserved title earned over the course of 36 years devoted to the conversion of pagans in central Germany. The ever-dangerous mission to the Germanic tribes ended in martyrdom when Boniface and 50-plus companions were slaughtered in Frisia on June 5, 754.
Boniface was born around 680 into a Christian family numbered among the nobility of Devonshire. Given the name Winfrid at baptism, he resolved at an early age to pursue a religious vocation. His early education was provided by the monks of the abbey at Exeter. He completed his studies at the abbey of Bursling in the Diocese of Winchester. His academic achievements there were such that upon graduation he was appointed head of the school.
Ordained to the sacred priesthood at the age of 30, Winfrid felt drawn to missionary work in foreign lands. He made an abortive trip to Friesland with two companions, only to find that war was raging in that country between the forces of two powerful dukes opposed to one another on the question of religion. Beating a retreat to Bursling, Winfrid stifled an effort to make him abbot and set off for Rome to seek papal authorization for the missionary work he still hoped to undertake.
Pope Gregory II welcomed Winfrid to Rome and kept him there until spring before sending him forth with a new name, Boniface, and a general commission to convert the heathen peoples of Europe. His missionary journey took Boniface across the Alps into Bavaria and on to Hesse before he settled in Friesland for three years under the protection of two powerful chieftains who had been baptized but left uninstructed in the Faith. His success during that period was so notable that the Pope recalled him to Rome for the purpose of making him a bishop.
On the feast of St. Andrew, November 30th in the year 722, Boniface was consecrated bishop with jurisdiction over “the races in the parts of Germany and east of the Rhine who live in error, in the shadow of death.” Pope Gregory II also gave him a letter commending him to the care and protection of Charles Martel. Buttressed by the support of both the Pope in Rome and the ruler of the Franks, Boniface decided to launch a frontal assault on the pagan customs of the Hessian people. Taking an axe to the sacred oak of Thor, he managed to fell the mighty tree with the assistance of one or two companions. When Thor failed to exact immediate retribution, the people turned away from the pagan god and accepted the God of Christianity.
Boniface built a chapel on the site of his triumph over Thor and added a second monastery to the one he had established on his first foray into Hesse. Monks and nuns flocked to the Continent from England to support his work. In 731 Pope Gregory III made him archbishop and named him metropolitan of all Germany beyond the Rhine with authority to create new bishops within that country.
After a third trip to Rome, Boniface created a number of new dioceses in Germany, installing an English monk as bishop in each. In 741 the great Benedictine abbey at Fulda was founded to serve as the center of monastic culture among the Germanic peoples. Charles Martel passed away in the same year, and Boniface convinced his successors to convoke a synod for the purpose of addressing errors and abuses in the Frankish churches that had taken root during the reign of the late king. Presiding over that synod and several that followed in the next five years, Boniface succeeded in bringing about substantial reforms that restored the Church in Gaul to its former state of solid faith and fidelity to Rome.
Having been appointed apostolic legate, as well as primate of Germany, it was Boniface who crowned Pepin king at Soissons in 751. Now more than 70 years old, but still driven by missionary zeal, he sailed down the Rhine with 50 companions to revisit the scene of his first conversions to Christianity in Friesland. Having won new converts among tribes located northeast of Utrecht, Boniface planned a special confirmation ceremony on Whitsun Eve. He was reading in his tent, awaiting the arrival of the new converts, when a band of armed pagans suddenly appeared in the missionary encampment. Boniface ordered his companions not to resist; and all were speedily deprived of their lives in this world, winning that higher life which is the martyr’s reward.
St. Boniface’s body was retrieved for burial at Fulda where it remains to this day. His extensive literary output includes a copious collection of letters valued for the light they shine on the history of the Church in Europe and the development of dogma during the eighth century.
Closing Commentary
We close with a commentary on “The History of the Time After Pentecost” excerpted from The Liturgical Year of Dom Prosper Guéranger, OSB. The link provides access to the full text of the commentary.
The History of the Time After Pentecost
The Solemnity of Pentecost and its Octave are over, and the progress of the Liturgical Year introduces us into a new period, which is altogether different from those we have hitherto spent. From the very beginning of Advent, which is the prelude to the Christmas festival, right up to the anniversary of the descent of the Holy Ghost, we have witnessed the entire series of the Mysteries of our Redemption; all have been unfolded to us.
The sequel of Seasons and Feasts made up a sublime drama, which absorbed our very existence; we have but just come from the final celebration, which was the consummation of the whole. And yet, we have got through but one half of the year. This does not imply that the period we have still to live is devoid of its own special mysteries; but, instead of keeping up our attention by the ceaseless interest of one plan hurrying on its completion, the sacred Liturgy is about to put before us an almost unbroken succession of varied episodes, of which some are brilliant with glory, and others exquisite in loveliness, but each one of them bringing its special tribute towards either the development of the dogmas of faith, or the furtherance of the Christian life. That year’s Cycle will thus be filled up; it will disappear; a new one will take its place, bringing before us the same divine facts, and pouring forth the same graces on Christ’s mystical body.
This section of the Liturgical Year, which comprises a little more or a little less than six months, according as Easter is early or late, has always had the character it holds at present. But, although it only admits detached solemnities and Feasts, the influence of the moveable portion of the Cycle is still observable. It may have as many as twenty-eight, or as few as twenty-three weeks. This variation depends not only upon the Easter Feast, which may occur on any of the days between the 22nd of March and 25th of April, inclusively; but, also, on the date of the first Sunday of Advent, the opening of a new Ecclesiastical Year, and which is always the Sunday nearest the Kalends of December.
In the Roman Liturgy, the Sundays of this series go under the name of Sundays after Pentecost. As we shall show in the next Chapter, that title is the most suitable that could have been given, and is found in the oldest Sacramentaries and Antiphonaries; but it was not universally adopted by even all those Churches which followed the Roman Rite; in progress of time, however, that title was the general one. To mention some of the previous early names:—in the Comes of Alcuin, which takes us back to the 8th Century, we find the first section of these Sundays called Sundays after Pentecost; the second is named Weeks after the Feast of the Apostles (post Natale Apostolorum); the third goes under the title of Weeks after Saint Laurence (post Sancti Laurentii); the fourth has the appellation of Weeks of the Seventh Month (September); and, lastly, the fifth is termed Weeks after Saint Michael (post Sancti Angeli), and lasts till Advent.
As
late as the 16th Century, many Missals of the Western Churches gave us
these several sections of the Time after Pentecost, but some of the
titles varied according to the special Saints honored in the respective
dioceses, and which were taken as the date-marks of this period of the
Year. The Roman Missal, published by order of Saint Pius the Fifth, has
gradually been adopted in all our Latin Churches, and has restored the
ancient denomination to the Ecclesiastical Season we have just entered
upon; so that the only name under which it is now known amongst us is,
The Time after Pentecost (post Pentecosten). [History of the Time-After Pentecost]