Sunday, October 3, 2010

The Red Mass


The first recorded Red Mass was celebrated in the Cathedral of Paris in 1245. From there, it spread to most European countries. 
Around 1310, during the reign of Edward II, the tradition began in England. It was attended at the opening of each term of Court by all members of the Bench and Bar. 
In the United States, Red Mass was first held in 1877 at Saints Peter and Paul Church, Detroit, Michigan by Detroit College, as the University of Detroit Mercy was known at the time. UDM School of Law resumed the tradition beginning in 1912 and continues to hold it annually. 
In New York City, Red Mass was first held in 1928 at the Church of St. Andrew, near the courthouses of Foley Square, celebrated by Cardinal Patrick Joseph Hayes, who strongly advocated and buttressed the legal community's part in evangelization.[2][3][4]
In Canada, the Red Mass was recommenced in Toronto in 1924. Its sponsorship was assumed by the Guild of Our Lady of Good Counsel in 1931 and by The Thomas More Lawyers' Guild of Toronto since 1968. It was re-instituted in Sydney, Australia in 1931.

Habakkuk 

The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw.

O LORD, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not listen?
Or cry to you "Violence!"
and you will not save?
Why do you make me see wrong-doing
and look at trouble?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
So the law becomes slack
and justice never prevails.
The wicked surround the righteous--
therefore judgment comes forth perverted.

If the righteous were healthy, wealthy & wise, while the wicked languished sick, poor and foolish, God would be a matter of self interest, not faith.



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