Annual Red Mass honors legal professionals, intertwines law and love
October 15, 2023 at 10:02 a.m.
Continuing a tradition that dates to the 13th century, attorneys and other law professionals attended the annual Red Mass in honor of all those working in legal professions.
Father John Butler, pastor of St. Michael Parish, West End, celebrated the Oct. 1 Mass at his parish. He had concelebrants, including Father Peter James Alindogan, pastor of St. Veronica Parish, Howell, and Father Jean Felicien, adjutant judicial vicar and vice chancellor for the diocesan Office of Canonical Services.
The Red Mass was also a time to acknowledge and pray for recently deceased members of the bench and bar, including Monmouth County Vicinage Assignment Judge Lisa Thornton, 59, who died in May.
In his homily, Father Alindogan drew parallels between the Gospel reading from Matthew — the parable of the two sons asked to work in the vineyard — and what is asked of those in the legal profession as well as all humanity.
“The parable is about us — our saying no to God when we do things our way, and our saying yes to him but not following through with our actions,” he said.
Father Peter James Alindogan preaches the homily during the Red Mass. Courtesy photo
Recalling his two decades as a canon lawyer as well as a priest, Father Alindogan said that “my attention and interest in the law itself did not waver for, down through the years, it is a different kind of law that I have talked about and shared — the law of love.”
Spreading from the Cathedral of Paris in 1245 to most of Europe, the Red Mass traditionally coincided with either the opening of the Michaelmas term in England or with the opening of the Roman Rota, the supreme judicial body of the Catholic Church. It took its name from the celebrant’s vestments of red, symbolizing the Holy Spirit, as well as the scarlet robes of the lord high justices of the English court. The first Red Mass in the United States took place in 1928 at Old St. Andrew Church, New York City. Today, more than 25 cities in the U.S. celebrate the Red Mass, which draws not only Catholic legal professionals but also those from Protestant and Jewish faiths.
Father Alindogan pointed out that the practice of law is intertwined with Jesus’ message of love.
“Law and love were at the forefront of the ministry of our Lord when a scholar of the law approached Jesus and asked our divine Lord what he must do to attain eternal life. Jesus said to him, ‘What is written in the law?’”
The parable of the Good Samaritan, in which Jesus illustrates who is one’s neighbor, reminds people that “We need to assess, evaluate and hold dear in our hearts how we should be neighbors to one another,” Father Alindogan said. “Love is the fulfillment of the law. … Law finds its encouragement, its edification, and its enrichment in love. We can sometimes be wrong with the practice and exercise of law, but we will always be right in the practice and exercise of love.”
What Jesus said to the law scholar, he continued, “is also being echoed to us, men and women of the red cloth, men of the white cloth, men and women of different and varied colors of the clothes we wear, ‘Go and do likewise.’”
Father John Butler accepts the gifts of bread and wine from Mass congregants. Courtesy photo
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Continuing a tradition that dates to the 13th century, attorneys and other law professionals attended the annual Red Mass in honor of all those working in legal professions.
Father John Butler, pastor of St. Michael Parish, West End, celebrated the Oct. 1 Mass at his parish. He had concelebrants, including Father Peter James Alindogan, pastor of St. Veronica Parish, Howell, and Father Jean Felicien, adjutant judicial vicar and vice chancellor for the diocesan Office of Canonical Services.
The Red Mass was also a time to acknowledge and pray for recently deceased members of the bench and bar, including Monmouth County Vicinage Assignment Judge Lisa Thornton, 59, who died in May.
In his homily, Father Alindogan drew parallels between the Gospel reading from Matthew — the parable of the two sons asked to work in the vineyard — and what is asked of those in the legal profession as well as all humanity.
“The parable is about us — our saying no to God when we do things our way, and our saying yes to him but not following through with our actions,” he said.
Father Peter James Alindogan preaches the homily during the Red Mass. Courtesy photo
Recalling his two decades as a canon lawyer as well as a priest, Father Alindogan said that “my attention and interest in the law itself did not waver for, down through the years, it is a different kind of law that I have talked about and shared — the law of love.”
Spreading from the Cathedral of Paris in 1245 to most of Europe, the Red Mass traditionally coincided with either the opening of the Michaelmas term in England or with the opening of the Roman Rota, the supreme judicial body of the Catholic Church. It took its name from the celebrant’s vestments of red, symbolizing the Holy Spirit, as well as the scarlet robes of the lord high justices of the English court. The first Red Mass in the United States took place in 1928 at Old St. Andrew Church, New York City. Today, more than 25 cities in the U.S. celebrate the Red Mass, which draws not only Catholic legal professionals but also those from Protestant and Jewish faiths.
Father Alindogan pointed out that the practice of law is intertwined with Jesus’ message of love.
“Law and love were at the forefront of the ministry of our Lord when a scholar of the law approached Jesus and asked our divine Lord what he must do to attain eternal life. Jesus said to him, ‘What is written in the law?’”
The parable of the Good Samaritan, in which Jesus illustrates who is one’s neighbor, reminds people that “We need to assess, evaluate and hold dear in our hearts how we should be neighbors to one another,” Father Alindogan said. “Love is the fulfillment of the law. … Law finds its encouragement, its edification, and its enrichment in love. We can sometimes be wrong with the practice and exercise of law, but we will always be right in the practice and exercise of love.”
What Jesus said to the law scholar, he continued, “is also being echoed to us, men and women of the red cloth, men of the white cloth, men and women of different and varied colors of the clothes we wear, ‘Go and do likewise.’”
Father John Butler accepts the gifts of bread and wine from Mass congregants. Courtesy photo