CHARLOTTE — Catholics working in the legal profession in Charlotte gathered for the 14th annual Red Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral Oct. 13, celebrating their faith and the example of their patron, St. Thomas More.
The Red Mass is celebrated throughout the United States traditionally in conjunction with the opening session of the U.S. Supreme Court, giving members of the legal community the opportunity to reflect on the God-given responsibilities of their profession.
The Mass in Charlotte was celebrated by Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari of Belmont Abbey.
In his homily, Abbot Placid encouraged members of the St. Thomas More Society and others present to pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance in “the difficult and very important work” they do. He urged them to seek charity, justice, truth and wisdom, and to conform their lives, choices and actions to the will of God.
Abbot Placid quoted a portion of the Gospel reading from John 15:18-21, 26-27: “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.” Then he continued, “In ways many of us never could imagine, these words are taking on a new reality in our lives today.”
But, he emphasized, “We have been sent to this time, to this place, to bear witness” to the Gospel, and though it is difficult to witness these days to the faith in the public sphere, that very difficulty vindicates the truth of John’s Gospel. The faithful must invoke the Holy Spirit “to guide us to all truth,” he said.
After the Mass, St. Thomas More Society members honored Joseph Pearce, a Catholic author noted for his biographies of Christian literary figures. Pearce also serves as director of the Center for Faith and Culture at Aquinas College in Nashville, Tenn., and edits the St. Austin Review.
— Photos by Patricia L. Guilfoyle | Catholic News Herald
