Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari greets members of the legal profession and the St. Thomas More Society after the annual Red Mass Oct. 29 at St. Peter Church in Charlotte. (SueAnn Howell | Catholic News Herald)CHARLOTTE — Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari celebrated the 16th annual Red Mass Oct. 29 at St. Peter Church. Many of the legal professionals in attendance are members of the St. Thomas More Society, which emphasizes living a life faithful to Jesus Christ and His Church and seeks to promote justice in society.
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, a votive Mass of the Holy Spirit, drew dozens of Catholics who serve in our legal system, particularly attorneys and judges.
In his homily, Abbot Placid encouraged members of the St. Thomas More Society and others present to reflect on the virtue of hope.
“Each of us in the vocation we believe we have discerned as given us by the Lord are, each in our own way, to bear witness to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ everywhere and always,” he said.
“This Red Mass is not a continuing education program for you to make you more skilled in your profession. Rather, it is the Church gathered in prayer to ask the guidance of the Holy Spirit for those who have discerned a calling to refine your God-given talents in the judiciary, the legal profession and as officers of the law. That is, in the properly secular and civic arena,” he noted.
Abbot Placid continued, recalling words from the Second Vatican Council: “‘Thus the Church speaks to you, who have a specific vocation and calling, as follows in words from the Second Vatican Council: ‘At a time when new questions are being put, and when grave errors aiming at undermining religion, the moral order and human society itself are rampant, the Council earnestly exhorts the laity to take a more active part each according to his talents and knowledge and in fidelity to the mind of the Church in the explanation and defense of Christian principles and in the correct application of them to the problems of our times.’
“These words are as relevant today as when they were first promulgated 60 years ago,” Abbot Placid said. “And our gathering at this Mass gives us the opportunity to contemplate in your own vocation, the work of the Holy Spirit, freedom and prayer.”
After Mass, legal professionals explained why they attended the celebration.
Gene Katz, a founding member of the St. Thomas More Society, was in attendance at the Red Mass. He came to Charlotte from Washington, D.C., years ago, and served as regulatory counsel for Wells Fargo before he retired.
“The Red Mass was a big thing in Washington,” Katz noted. “When we came here, we started the St. Thomas More Society with the specific idea of having a Red Mass, because clearly the legal community in Charlotte was growing, and more and more Catholic lawyers were in town. We thought it would be a good opportunity for us to come together, at least once a year, and pray together to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit for the work that we do.”
“I do enjoy the Red Mass, because everything we go through in the day is very challenging and difficult,” said Cecilia Oseguera, an assistant public defender and parishioner of St Peter Church in Charlotte.
“When I come to Mass I feel some peace, it’s very uplifting. So it helps me get through the rest of the day. It just shows me there is a lot of hope and love in the world. We don’t’ see that every day,” Oseguera said. “It’s also great to be around the members of the community, the St. Thomas More community (at the Red Mass). They are really good people and great attorneys.”
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
