PASTOR'S CORNER
Welcome to St. Ann’s Parish Website!
I invite you to explore our website as a means of getting to know St. Ann’s and all that we do to serve Christ and one another. While we are well known in Charlotte for having a beautiful church and beautiful liturgy, what’s most beautiful about our parish is our parishioners! We are a family-oriented, thriving parish just south of Uptown Charlotte, filled with people committed to worshiping God through the fullness of our Catholic tradition and serving the poor and needy with charity and compassion. Come join us for Mass and help us as we seek to glorify God, bear witness to His Truth, and show forth His Love.
Father Timothy S. Reid
HOMILIES
WEEKLY LETTER
February 16, 2025
Dear Parishioners,
As we continue through these early days of the Jubilee Year, I heartily encourage you to gain indulgences regularly throughout this extraordinary Ɵme in the life of the Church. Our diocesan website has a very good page dedicated to Jubilee Year indulgences that you should check out: https://charlottediocese.org/jubilee-2025/indulgences/
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (cf. 1471) teaches that: “An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints.” Indulgences don’t take away our sins, but rather they help mitigate the consequences of our sins. To this end, “an indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin.” Indulgences may be applied to oneself or to the dead, but not to other people still living.
To gain an indulgence, one must be in a state of grace (free from mortal sin) and perform the prescribed work. For Jubilee Year 2025, some of the prescribed works are:
Normally, only one plenary indulgence can be obtained per day, but a second is possible this Jubilee Year only by performing an extra work of mercy and penance. You must also attend Mass and receive Holy Communion for a second time that same day, while fulfilling all the other usual conditions. The second indulgence may only be applied to the souls in Purgatory.
As you can see, gaining indulgences in this Jubilee Year isn’t really that difficult. Through our gaining of indulgences, we can reduce our own time in Purgatory, as well as help deliver souls from Purgatory (which is more meritorious). So, please give some thought to how you will regularly gain Jubilee Year indulgences this year, and consider offering them for the Poor Souls in Purgatory.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Reid
As we continue through these early days of the Jubilee Year, I heartily encourage you to gain indulgences regularly throughout this extraordinary Ɵme in the life of the Church. Our diocesan website has a very good page dedicated to Jubilee Year indulgences that you should check out: https://charlottediocese.org/jubilee-2025/indulgences/
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (cf. 1471) teaches that: “An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints.” Indulgences don’t take away our sins, but rather they help mitigate the consequences of our sins. To this end, “an indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin.” Indulgences may be applied to oneself or to the dead, but not to other people still living.
To gain an indulgence, one must be in a state of grace (free from mortal sin) and perform the prescribed work. For Jubilee Year 2025, some of the prescribed works are:
- going on pilgrimage to a designated pilgrimage site (The pilgrimage sites in our diocese include: the Cathedral of St. Patrick, the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians at Belmont Abbey, and the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville)
- doing the corporal and spiritual works of mercy
- spending time with people in need (such as the sick, prisoners, the lonely, elderly or disabled)
- fasting from “futile distractions” (e.g., social media or TV) and “superfluous consumption” (e.g., alcohol or sweets) in a spirit of penance for at least one day
- and supporting efforts defending life at all stages or helping abandoned children, struggling youth, the needy, lonely, elderly or migrants
Normally, only one plenary indulgence can be obtained per day, but a second is possible this Jubilee Year only by performing an extra work of mercy and penance. You must also attend Mass and receive Holy Communion for a second time that same day, while fulfilling all the other usual conditions. The second indulgence may only be applied to the souls in Purgatory.
As you can see, gaining indulgences in this Jubilee Year isn’t really that difficult. Through our gaining of indulgences, we can reduce our own time in Purgatory, as well as help deliver souls from Purgatory (which is more meritorious). So, please give some thought to how you will regularly gain Jubilee Year indulgences this year, and consider offering them for the Poor Souls in Purgatory.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Reid