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
March 19, 2023
Dear Parishioners,
While March 19 is traditionally the Solemnity of St. Joseph, because this day falls on a Lenten Sunday this year, good St. Joseph’s feast day gets bumped to Monday, March 20. Because St. Joseph’s feast is classified as a solemnity, you are excused from Lenten penances on March 20. You are also excused from your Lenten penances this coming Saturday, March 25, for the Solemnity of the Annunciation. Now that we are halfway through Lent, let’s enjoy this little respite from the rigors of our fasting!
Speaking of enjoyment, today is the 4th Sunday of Lent, also called “Laetare Sunday.” “Laetare” is a Latin word which means “rejoice”, and we are rejoicing because we are now at the midpoint in our Lenten journey. In just three weeks we will be celebrating the glories of Easter. Today the Church encourages us to have a foretaste of that Easter glory. Like a ray of light breaking through dark clouds, we are given a brief respite from the rigors of our fasting and penances so that we can focus ourselves more clearly on the joy that is to come. Thus, the violet representing our penance is set aside for the day in lieu of a more festive rose color that symbolizes the lightening of our penance, and we are called to rejoice because we will soon see the redemption that Christ will procure for us at Easter!
Please mark your calendars for Friday, March 31. That’s when we’ll have our annual Tenebrae liturgy at 7 p.m. Tenebrae will replace the Holy Hour of Reparation and Stations of the Cross. That’s also the evening of the Men’s Club Fish Fry.
Prayerfully awaiting our Lord’s Resurrection
Fr. Reid
While March 19 is traditionally the Solemnity of St. Joseph, because this day falls on a Lenten Sunday this year, good St. Joseph’s feast day gets bumped to Monday, March 20. Because St. Joseph’s feast is classified as a solemnity, you are excused from Lenten penances on March 20. You are also excused from your Lenten penances this coming Saturday, March 25, for the Solemnity of the Annunciation. Now that we are halfway through Lent, let’s enjoy this little respite from the rigors of our fasting!
Speaking of enjoyment, today is the 4th Sunday of Lent, also called “Laetare Sunday.” “Laetare” is a Latin word which means “rejoice”, and we are rejoicing because we are now at the midpoint in our Lenten journey. In just three weeks we will be celebrating the glories of Easter. Today the Church encourages us to have a foretaste of that Easter glory. Like a ray of light breaking through dark clouds, we are given a brief respite from the rigors of our fasting and penances so that we can focus ourselves more clearly on the joy that is to come. Thus, the violet representing our penance is set aside for the day in lieu of a more festive rose color that symbolizes the lightening of our penance, and we are called to rejoice because we will soon see the redemption that Christ will procure for us at Easter!
Please mark your calendars for Friday, March 31. That’s when we’ll have our annual Tenebrae liturgy at 7 p.m. Tenebrae will replace the Holy Hour of Reparation and Stations of the Cross. That’s also the evening of the Men’s Club Fish Fry.
Prayerfully awaiting our Lord’s Resurrection
Fr. Reid