Twenty-fourth and Last Sunday after Pentecost
Dear Friends in Christ,
Welcome to our weekly Sunday update. This Sunday (November 24, 2024) is the Twenty-Fourth and Last Sunday after Pentecost. Because the date of Easter (and thus of Pentecost) varies from one year to the next, the number of Sundays intervening between Pentecost and the First Sunday of Advent may be as many as twenty-eight but not less than twenty-four. The last Sunday before Advent is always designated the twenty-fourth after Pentecost. When there are more than twenty-four intervening, the gap in the liturgical calendar is filled by the resumption of Sundays after Epiphany. The last Sunday after Pentecost being the last of the liturgical year, it is fitting that the liturgy directs our attention to the end of days: the final triumphant consummation of God’s work with regard to His Creation. The Last Judgment calling humanity to account will be preceded by a period of “great tribulation” described by Our Lord in the Gospel reading for this last Sunday of the year: For there shall be then great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, neither shall be . . . but for the sake of the elect those days shall be shortened.
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, November 24 – Twenty-Fourth and Last Sunday after Pentecost (II)
Monday, November 25 – St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (III)
Tuesday, November 26 – St. Sylvester, Abbot (III) – Commemoration of St. Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, Martyr
Wednesday, November 27 – Feria (Special Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal).
Thursday, November 28 – Feria
Friday, November 29 – Commemoration of St. Saturninus, Martyr (III)
Saturday, November 30 – St. Andrew, Apostle (II)
Note:
The Feast of St. John of the Cross, CD, OC (III), celebrated on
November 24th in most years, is displaced this year by the Twenty-Fourth
and Last Sunday after Pentecost; as is the Commemoration of
St.Chrysogonus, Martyr.
Twenty-Fourth and Last 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 Twenty-Fourth
and Last Sunday after Pentecost with either English or Spanish
translation. (Note, however, that in the English version the Gospel
citation is incorrect and should be the same as in the Spanish: Matthew
24:15-35.) The English version includes a commentary on the development
of the liturgy for the end of the year from The Liturgical Year
by Dom Prosper Guéranger, OSB (1805-1875). Also offered below is a
link to Dr. Michael P. Foley’s essay on “The Stirring Collect for the
Last Sunday after Pentecost” from New Liturgical Movement.
Latin Mass Schedule: Twenty-Fourth and Last Sunday after Pentecost (November 24, 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)
Note:
Travelers are urged to consult parish websites or offices for
up-to-date information regarding possible changes in the regular
schedule of Sunday Mass times.
Latin Mass Schedule: Weekdays
Charlotte Area Latin Masses
Saint Ann – Wednesday, 6:00 p.m.
Saint Thomas Aquinas – Thursday November 28 - No Latin Mass due to Thanksgiving
Saint Ann – Friday November 29 - No Latin Mass due to Thanksgiving weekend
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.
Diocese of Charleston Latin Masses
Prince of Peace (Taylors SC) — Monday-Friday,12:00 p.m. (Per bulletin no Latin Mass on November 28 and Friday November 29, due to Thanksgiving)
Prince of Peace (Taylors SC) — Saturday, 8:00 a.m. (Per bulletin no Latin Mass for Saturday November 30)
Note: Travelers are urged to consult parish websites or offices for up-to-date information regarding possible changes in weekday Mass times.
Advent/Christmastide Latin Mass Schedule (As announced)
The
following schedule are the special Latin Masses as currently announced
as well as schedule changes. If additional Latin Masses or schedule
changes are announced we will post them in the weeks ahead.
All other regularly scheduled Latin Masses are presumed to be taking place unless otherwise noted.
Advent
Saturday December 7
6:00 a.m., Saint Thomas Aquinas, Rorate Mass (no 10:00 a.m. Latin Mass nor blessing of religious objects afterwards)
6:00 a.m., Our Lady of Grace (Greensboro), Rorate Mass
6:00 a.m., Saint John the Baptist (Tryon), Rorate Mass (no 8:30 a.m. Latin Mass this morning)
6:30 a.m., Prince of Peace (Taylors), Rorate Mass
10:00 a.m., Church of the Epiphany (Blowing Rock)
Sunday December 8 (Feast of the Immaculate Conception in the 1962 Missal)
Normal Sunday Latin Mass schedule
Monday December 9 (Holy Day of Obligation)
12 noon, Prince of Peace (Taylors SC)
4:30 p.m., Our Lady of Grace (Greensboro)
6:30 p.m., Church of the Epiphany (Blowing Rock)
Thursday December 12 (Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe)
7:00 p.m. Saint Thomas Aquinas (reception to follow Mass in Aquinas Hall)
Saturday December 14
6:30 a.m., Saint Ann, Rorate Mass
6:30 a.m., Prince of Peace (Taylors SC), Rorate Mass
Saturday December 21
6:30 a.m., Prince of Peace (Taylors SC), Rorate Mass
The Rorate Mass is a beautiful candlelight Mass celebrated at dawn on a Saturday during Advent to honor Our Lady and to prepare for the coming Light of the World, the Incarnate Word, at Christmas.
Christmastide
Wednesday December 25, Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord
Midnight, Saint Ann
Midnight, Saint Thomas Aquinas
Midnight, Church of the Epiphany (Blowing Rock)
Midnight, Saint John the Baptist (Tryon)
11:00 a.m., Our Lady of Grace (Greensboro)
1:00 p.m., Our Lady of the Lake (Chapin SC)
Within the Octave of Christmas (December 26-31)
Thursday December 26: Saint Thomas Aquinas Latin Mass is canceled
Thursday December 26: 11:00 a.m. High Mass, Saint John the Baptist (Tryon)
Friday December 27: Saint John the Baptist (Tryon) Latin Mass is canceled
Friday December 27: Church of the Epiphany (Blowing Rock) Latin Mass is canceled
- Saturday December 28: Saint Ann 4th Saturday Respect Life Mass is canceled
Feast of the Circumcision/Octave Day of Christmas - Wednesday January 1
Midnight, Our Lady of Grace (Greensboro)
9:00 a.m., Saint Ann (Confessions to follow until 11:30 a.m.) (6pm Latin Mass is canceled)
6:30 p.m., Saint John the Baptist (Tryon)
6:30 p.m., Our Lady of the Lake (Chapin SC)
Pray for Our Priests
During the Diocese of Charlotte Eucharistic Congress, Carolina Traditional Liturgy Society launched a "Pray for Our Priests" campaign, soliciting prayers on behalf of our diocesan priests. Please join those already engaged in this prayer initiative by pledging as many Hail Marys as your heart will allow! Our goal is to secure the recitation of 150,000 Hail Marys for the 133 diocesan priests before the end of the liturgical year on Saturday (November 30th). As we all know, spiritual warfare between angels and demons rages continually, and prayer is a powerful weapon in the battle.
During a recent talk, Living Through these Trying Times: Faith in Trials (1/5), Father Chad Ripperger (at the 13-minute mark), said that we must pray for the protection of our clergy and pray in a very specific way. He noted that we should call on Our Lady and give her our prayers for our priests and also ask her to protect and hide us and our prayers from the demons, to prevent them from undermining the effects of the prayers (click here to listen).
To participate in the “Pray for Our Priests” campaign, please visit the Carolina Traditional Liturgy Society website or use the link below, keeping in mind that you can always add Hail Mary’s once your initial pledge has been met.
Oremus! [Add Your Hail Marys Here]
Announcements
Thanksgiving Schedule Notice Thursday November 28 and Friday November 29 – Due to Thanksgiving, the Thursday 7:00 p.m. Latin Mass at Saint Thomas Aquinas and the 7:00 a.m. Latin Mass at Saint Ann is canceled this week.
“Sister Parish” Relief Program – The Diocese of Charlotte is sponsoring a program to assist in the recovery of parishes in the western part of the state affected by Hurricane Helene. The program will partner parishes that escaped the wrath of the storm with those that sustained substantial impacts. Fr. Reid has announced that St. Ann has committed to serve as a sister parish to Saint Lucien in Spruce Pine, providing financial assistance to help cover recovery costs and to make up for the loss of collection revenue resulting from the displacement of parishioners. Initial funds for the effort were derived from second collections at the Masses celebrated on November 16th and 17th. Future collections are scheduled for December 14-15, January 4-5, February 1-2, March 1-2 and April 5-6.
Liturgy of the Land Conference December 13-14 (Hickory, NC) – This two-day conference, sponsored by local publisher TAN Books and held at the Hickory Catholic Conference Center (an hour northwest of Charlotte) offers beginning and seasoned homesteaders an opportunity to understand the intellectual, spiritual, and practical aspects of starting and growing a local, land-based Catholic culture. It will feature talks from experienced homesteaders, farmers, and craftsmen and attendees will learn a broad range of topics relating to homesteading, localism and ordered households. Mass and Adoration will be offered, as well as opportunity for fellowship. The conference is based on the book, Liturgy of the Land: Cultivating a Catholic Homestead, which was co-authored by local dairy farmer, Jason Craig, who attends the Latin Mass in Tryon. To learn more and register click here.
Holy Face Pilgrimage November 14-25, 2025 – Fr. Lawrence Carney, the Holy Face priest, and local author Patrick O'Hearn will be leading a Holy Face Pilgrimage next November to Malta, Sicily, and Italy, which will include a visit to Rome for the Jubilee Year. The Traditional Latin Mass will be offered and both organizers will offer talks on the Holy Face devotion. For more information, click on this link.
All Souls Novena of Masses and Indulgences
– St. Ann is again offering a Novena of Masses for the Poor Souls in
Purgatory during the month of November. The names of those one wishes
to have remembered in this special way may be submitted either by
collection envelope or online. In addition, the Book of the Dead will
be available in the narthex of the church for enrollment of the names of
deceased loved ones. All those whose names are submitted will be
especially remembered in the Litany of the Dead to be offered after every daily Mass in November.
New Prayer for Government by Fr. Ripperger – Exorcist Fr. Chad Ripperger, a Latin Mass priest and founder of the Society of the Most Sorrowful Mother (the Doloran Fathers), is perhaps best known for his work as an exorcist. He has written a new special prayer consecrating those governing (and the peaceful transition of government) to Our Lady. The text of the prayer may be found at the end of this update or downloaded via this link.
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 – Tuesday, 5:30 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, 8:30 a.m. (following 8:00 a.m. Novus Ordo Mass)
- St. Vincent de Paul – Tuesday, 8:40 a.m. (NEW)
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)
“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
Votive Mass for a Happy Death, published recently in The Missive, describes the special Mass celebrated by Fr. William Rock, FSSP, at the request of a seminarian-server on a feria day during the 2024 FSSP North American Study Days in September. Gregory DiPippo, editor of New Liturgical Movement, was one of the principal speakers at the annual meeting of members of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. [Votive Mass for a Happy Death]
Novena and Consecration to Our Lady of Guadalupe is an invitation by Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke to participate in the final phase of his Nine-Month Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe on behalf of the Church and the world. The final phase will be a nine-day novena, December 3-11, followed by consecration to Our Lady of Guadalujpe on her feast day, December 12th. [Novena and Consecration to Our Lady of Guadalupe]
Liturgical Notes on the Presentation of the Virgin Mary as published by Greg DiPippo in New Liturgical Movement provides some background on the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary which the Church celebrated this past Thursday November 21. [Liturgical Notes on the Presentation of the Virgin Mary]
Forgotten Customs of Martinmas and Saint Martin’s Lent, by Matthew Plese in OnePeterFive provides history and traditional customs surrounding the Feast of Saint Martin of Tours whose feast day was celebrated on November 11th. The piece also explains the ancient fasting period known as Saint Martin’s Lent. [Forgotten Customs of Martinmas]
Cardinal Burke Receives Enthusiastic Welcome, an article by Pamela Seal for the Diocese of Lake Charles in Louisiana, reports on Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke’s recent visit highlighted by a reception in his honor at the American Legion hall in Vinton and his offering of a Pontifical Latin Mass at the Institute of Christ the King Oratory in Sulphur. [Cardinal Burke Receives Enthusiastic Welcome]
In the heart of the Church, I will be Love is the title of an e-newsletter dated November 13 from the Carmel of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Fairfield, Pennsylvania (home of the cloistered sisters who follow the ancient Carmelite Rite), conveying the following announcement: “On October 23, 2024, Bishop Gainer blessed and dedicated the new Extern Oratory at the Carmel of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Afterwards, with about 400 people in attendance, he offered the Votive Mass of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Our hearts [are] filled with joy, with gratitude, and with great love for all our friends and benefactors who continue to bring this project to fruition! May God reward you all!” We share links to the images of the occasion. [Sanctuary] [Pontifical Mass] [Blessing of the Oratory] [fairfieldcarmelites.org]
The Feast of the Prophet Obadiah, and the Vigil of the Presentation is an article by Greg DiPippo in New Liturgical Movement discusses the Byzantine Feast of the Old Testament Prophet Obadiah and how the illustrious Cardinal Baronius included this prophet in the traditional Roman Martyrology near his Eastern Rite feast day. [The Feast of the Prophet Obadiah, and the Vigil of the Presentation]
Consubstantial with the Father is Dr. Michael P. Foley’s latest installment in his Lost In Translation series in New Liturgical Movement which explains the history of the Church’s use of the word consubstantial in Latin and its theological implications. [Consubstantial with the Father]
America's First Thanksgiving Was in Florida - Seriously. It was! is a 2016 article written by Thomas Craughwell of the National Catholic Register about the history behind the first actual Thanksgiving in these United States offered by the Spanish upon settling Saint Augustine Florida on September 8, 1565. [America's First Thanksgiving Was in Florida]
Saints and Special Observances
St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr, and St. Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, Martyr, appear on the traditional liturgical calendar back-to-back, St. Catherine on November 25th and St. Peter on the 26th. As both are associated with the Egyptian city of Alexandria, one naturally wonders if they might have lived at the same time as well as in the same place. As far as they can be known, these are the facts:
Both were born in Alexandria in the latter part of the third century. Peter was highly educated and served as head of the school at Alexandria before being elected Patriarch of the city in 302. His tenure as patriarch lasted ten years, but he spent much of that time in exile due to the persecution of Christians initiated in 303. The legal rights of Christians were rescinded in that year with the adoption of laws requiring their compliance with traditional pagan religious practices. Peter continued to lead and instruct his flock by letters written from afar. He also made secret visits to the city to conduct services and to encourage and assist those imprisoned, widowed or orphaned. He remained a stout defender of orthodox Christianity throughout this time but urged leniency with regard to those who sought to save their lives by bowing to the demands exerted by the civil authority. He was captured and imprisoned in 311 and beheaded by order of the emperor. The last, most violent and widespread of persecutions came to an end two years later when the Edict of Milan restored the rights of Christians.
While there is no solid evidence regarding the date of St. Catherine’s birth, it is believed she was born around 287. She is said to have had a vision of the Child Jesus with the Virgin Mary that led her to become a Christian when she was about fifteen. Tradition holds that she was of noble birth, beautiful and devoted to learning. As her conversion likely occurred around the time Peter ascended to the patriarchate, it is conceivable that she studied under him and may have come to know him before he became patriarch of Alexandria.
Catherine is credited with winning hundreds of converts to Christianity prior to her martyrdom at the age of eighteen in the year 305. She is said to have rebuked the emperor Maxentius for the cruelty of the persecutions already underway at the time of her conversion. He responded by assembling fifty learned men to debate the young woman who dared to defy him. Some among them, swayed by her arguments, decided to become Christians; put to the sword, they became martyrs as well.
The emperor had Catherine imprisoned and subjected to cruel torture. Hundreds who came to visit her in prison were converted to Christianity, many of them suffering martyrdom. Deciding to eliminate the nuisance she posed once and for all, the emperor devised an especially terrible way in which to kill her. He had blades fixed to the outer rim of a breaking wheel in such a way that when she was rolled along on it, she would hacked to pieces. But when the soldiers began to roll the wheel, the blades flew off, sparking flashes like lightning in all directions. Rather than undertake the construction of a new wheel, the frightened soldiers beheaded their prisoner on the spot. This incident eventually gave rise to the celebration of her feast day with pyrotechnic displays featuring fireworks known by the name “Catherine’s Wheel” that, spinning around, emitted sparks in all directions.
St. Catherine is considered one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers whose intercession in heaven is thought to be especially efficacious when invoked by the prayers of the faithful. Joan or Arc identified her as one of the saints who appeared to her to offer encouragement and counsel. A flight of angels is said to have recovered Catherine’s body when she died and carried it to Mount Sinai for burial. There is a monastery there named in her honor.
The feast of St. Catherine was actually removed from the liturgical calendar when the General Roman Calendar was revised in 1969. It was restored as an optional memorial in 2002. The feast of this great saint remains, of course, on the traditional liturgical calendar of 1962.
Closing Commentary
We offer, in closing, an excerpt from Dom Prosper Guéranger’s commentary on the Gospel for “The Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost” from The Liturgical Year. A link to the full text of the commentary on the liturgy for the day follows. The commentary is followed by Fr. Chad Ripperger’s “Consecration of those Governing to the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
The Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost: Gospel
Several times, during Advent, we meditated on the circumstances which are to accompany the Last Coming of Christ our Lord; and in a few days, the same great teachings will be again brought before us, filling our souls with a salutary fear. May we, then, be permitted, on this last Sunday of our Liturgical Year, to address ourselves in a prayer of desire and praise to our adorable Lord and King, the solemn honor whose Judgment is to be the consummation of his work, and the signal of his triumph.
Oh Jesus! who then art to come to deliver thy Church and avenge that God who has so long borne every sort of insult from his creature man, that day of thy coming will indeed be terrible to the sinner! He will then understand how the Lord hath made all things for himself, all, even the ungodly who, on the evil day, is to show forth the divine justice. The whole world, fighting on his side against the wicked shall then, at last, be avenged for that slavery of sin, which had been forced upon it. Vainly will the wicked cry out to the rocks to fall upon them and hide them from the face of him who then be seated on his throne: the abyss will refuse to engulf them: in obedience to him who holds the keys of death and hell, it will give forth, to a man, its wretched victims and set them at the foot of the dread tribunal. O Jesus, how magnificent will not thy power then appear! The heavenly hosts will also be standing around thee, forming thy brilliant court and assembling thy elect from the four quarters of the earth.
For we also, we thy redeemed, who had become thy members by becoming the members of thy beloved Church—we are to be there on that day, and our place, O ineffable mystery! is to be the one thou hast reserved for thy Bride, it is to be thy own throne, where seated, we shall judge the very angels. Even now, all those blessed of the Father, all those elect, whose youth, like that of the eagle, has been so often renewed by their receiving thy precious Blood—have they not had their eyes fitted to gaze, and without being dazzled, on the Sun of Justice, when he shall appear in the heavens? The tediousness of their long exile has given such keenness to their hunger that nothing will have power to stay their flight, once the sacred prey of thy divine Body shall be shown them! What hindrance could be strong enough to check the impetuosity of the love which will bring them all together to the banquet of the eternal Pasch? The trumpet of the Archangel, which will ring through the graves of the just, is to be a summons calling them not to death, but to life—to the sight of the old enemy’s destruction—to a redemption, which is to include their very bodies—to the unimpeded passover to the true Land of promise—in a word, to the Pasch, and this tie, quite real, and for all, and forever. What will not be the joy of that true Day of the Lord!—what joy for them that have, by faith, lived in Christ and loved him without seeing him! Identifying themselves with thee, O Jesus, notwithstanding the weakness of the flesh, they have continued here below thy life of suffering and humiliation: what a triumph when, delivered forever from sin and vested in their immortal bodies, they shall be borne aloft before thy face, that they may forever be with thee!
CONSECRATION OF THOSE GOVERNING TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Mary Immaculate, living tabernacle of the Divinity, where the eternal Wisdom lies hidden to be adored and served by angels and men, Queen of heaven and of earth, beneath whose sway are subject all things that are lower than God, Patroness of the United States of America, sorrowful and mindful of our own sinfulness and the sins of our nation, we come to thee, our refuge and hope.
Immaculate Mary, Patroness of the United States of America, Queen of Heaven and of Earth, beneath whose sway are subject all things that are lower than God, sorrowful and mindful of our own sinfulness and the sins of our nation, we come to thee, our refuge and hope.
Knowing that our country cannot be saved by our own works and mindful of how much our nation has departed from the ways of thy Son, we humbly ask that thou wouldst turn thine eyes upon our country to bring about its conversion.
We consecrate to thee (the peaceful transition of power) and all of those governing our republic, so that what is spiritually and morally best for the citizens of our nation may be accomplished, and that they would govern according to the spiritual and moral principles which will bring our nation into conformity with the teachings of thy Son. Bind any forces, spiritual or human, that would seek to inflict harm or evil on our country or those who do good for our nation by their governance.
Give grace to the citizens of this land so that they may merit leaders who will govern according to the Sacred Heart of thy Son, that His glory may be made manifest, lest we be given the leaders we deserve. Trusting in the providential care of God the Father and thy maternal care, we have perfect confidence that thou wilt take care of us and wilt not leave us forsaken.
O Mary Immaculate, pray for us. Amen.
Composed by Fr. Chad Ripperger
To download a PDF copy of this prayer please visit this link.
