Savannah Latin Mass Community

05/26/2026

Ember Days in the Octave of Pentecost:
This week is dedicated to praying for those men who would traditionally be ordained priests on Saturday. Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday is traditionally a fast day, which St. Leo the Great ascribed to Apostolic Tradition.
And so, please pray for the men who will be ordained in the next few weeks, particularly the FSSP in Nebraska - this Thursday, the Institute's men who will be ordain in July, and particularly for Father O'Keefe, the other priests who serve our Traditional Mass community, and Bishop Parkes.

05/25/2026

The Octave of Pentecost is a mix of celebration and penance, extending the final mystery of Easter, the coming of the Holy Ghost, within a penitential Ember week, with mortifications directed for the sanctification of the Church, especially priests. Each weekday Mass has a special focus on the Sacraments.

The Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays of the quarterly Ember weeks, are days of fasting and prayers for the clergy. Holy Mother Church also sets these days before us to teach us to use, with moderation, what God gives us through nature, and to also share these gifts with the poor.
Please consider using this week to pray and fast for our devoted priests and religious and for those discerning a vocation.
Further Reading:
https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-glow-of-ember-days-ember-week-in.html
https://www.fisheaters.com/customseastertide8.html

The Mass readings for the week of Whitsuntide exalt the sacraments:
• In Monday's Lesson, Peter exhorts the people to be baptized, and in the Gospel, Our Lord explains Baptism to Nicodemus. (L: Acts 10:34, 42-48 G: John 3:16-21)
• Tuesday's Lesson shows Peter and John laying hands on the baptized, Confirming them in the Holy Ghost. (L: Acts 8:14-17 G: John 10:1-10)
• Wednesday's Gospel gives us the Bread of Life discourse, highlighting the Blessed Eucharist. (L: Acts 2:14-21 & Acts 5:12-16 G: John 6:44-52)
• Thursday's Lesson and Gospel describe the authority of the Priesthood to cast out devils, cure the sick, and to preach the gospel. (L: Acts 8:5-8 G: Luke 9:1-6)
• In Friday's Gospel, Christ forgives the sins of the man lowered down on a pallet, a power exercised in Confession. (L: Joel 2:23-24, 26-27 G: Luke 5:17-26)
• In Saturday's Gospel, Christ is healing the sick, reminding us of the power of Extreme Unction.(L: Joel 2:28-32; Lev 23:9-11, 15-17, 21; Deut 26:1-11; Lev 26:3-12; Dan 3:47-51, 52-56; Rom 5:1-5 G: Luke 4:38-44)

The octave and embertide should be held especially sacred to those adherent to the Traditional Mass because it has been forgotten in the new rite. A story from 50 years ago tells of Pope Paul VI's first Pentecost Monday after the institution of the novus ordo in 1970. Upon seeing the green vestments set out, Paul VI pointed out the error to the sacristan. The sacristan told him it was a part of the pope's own changes to the liturgy. "And he began to weep" (Mark 14:72) just as the first pope also wept at his denial of Christ. This would have been a particularly poignant liturgical event for the Pope, who, as the Patriarch of Milan, Montini would have celebrated the Ambrosian rite, which keeps red vestments through the time after Pentecost until Advent.

05/22/2026

Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church, in Augusta, will have a Traditional High Mass
Sunday, May 24, Pentecost Sunday, at 12:30pm followed by a potluck
720 Telfair St
Augusta, GA 30901

05/21/2026

Solemn High Mass
This Sunday, Pentecost
Sacred Heart Catholic Church
Savannah, GA
1pm

05/08/2026

04/10/2026

St. Augustine referred to Quasimodo Sunday, the First Sunday after Easter, as “the compendium [or summary] of the days of mercy.” The Mass texts for this day, which recount St. Thomas’s initial disbelief and his subsequent profession of faith (“My Lord and my God!”), date back to the first century and have been retained in both the Eastern and Western liturgical traditions.

On 29 June 2002, the Apostolic Penitentiary of the Holy See issued a decree establishing new indulgences connected with the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday. The decree grants a plenary indulgence to the faithful who fulfill all the required conditions, and a partial indulgence to those who fulfill them only partially.

Conditions for the Indulgence on Divine Mercy Sunday In any church or chapel, participate in the prayers and devotions held in honor of Divine Mercy with a spirit completely detached from affection for sin (even venial sin), or In the presence of the Blessed Sacrament (exposed or reserved in the tabernacle), recite the Our Father and the Creed, adding a devout prayer to the Merciful Lord Jesus (for example, “Merciful Jesus, I trust in You!”). However, Our Lord Himself gave St. Faustina an even greater promise of complete forgiveness on this day. In her Diary, He said:

“My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flows are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity.” (Diary 699)

The Church distributes the treasury of graces won by Christ and the saints through indulgences, yet this distribution is always limited by the individual’s disposition. Our Lord’s direct promise, however, transcends those limits. While we should always strive for detachment from sin, His promises do not demand perfection; they are an invitation to approach Him with trust and to grow in grace.

To help you take advantage of this great gift, St. James the Less on Montgomery Crossroads will offer the Chaplet of Divine Mercy during Exposition this Sunday, April 12, at 3:00 p.m.

To encourage devotion, there will be no potluck this Second Sunday of April. We will resume our regular Second Sunday potlucks on May 10.

02/27/2026

Even the Far East was affected by the Ember days. In the sixteenth century, when Spanish and Portuguese missionaries settled in Nagasaki, Japan, they sought ways of making tasty meatless meals for Embertide and started deep-frying shrimp. The idea caught on with the Japanese, who applied the process to a number of different sea foods and vegetables. They called this delicious food—have you guessed it yet?—“tempura,” from Quatuor Tempora.

Foley, Michael P. THE GLOW OF THE EMBER DAYS. Rorate Caeli Blogspot

https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2015/09/repost-ember-in-sept-ember.html