Bishop Celebrates Red Mass For Members Of The Legal Community

As he spoke to judges, attorneys, elected officials and other members of the legal community in the Diocese of Evansville, Bishop Charles C. Thompson recognized the challenges they face in carrying out their vocation.

During the Oct. 3 Red Mass hosted by Sts. Mary and John Parish in Evansville and held on the St. Mary Campus, Bishop Thompson related the story of a parishioner he had as a pastor in the Archdiocese of Louisville, Ky. “This man was a judge in family court,” the bishop said. “Now all grown up, his children tell the story of how all the photos on their refrigerator when they were growing up were of people who had threatened their father or his family harm as he applied justice,” the bishop said. “The brought home to me the challenges associated with doing what is right. It’s often not easy.”

As he discussed the Scripture readings of the day, Bishop Thompson noted that they were not picked especially for the Red Mass – although they were perfect for the occasion.

He talked about the first reading (Galatians 1: 6-12), in which St. Paul emphasizes strongly that the Gospel cannot be manipulated or compromised in any way. “Likewise the (judges) sitting here seek to do that very thing,” Bishop Thompson said; “applying the law without compromising the law; applying justice without compromising mercy; being merciful without compromising justice. It’s a delicate balance, but one that is necessary.”

He also talked about the Gospel reading from Luke (Luke 10: 25-37), which includes the parable of the Good Samaritan. “The gospel begins by telling us that a scholar of the law asked Jesus a question; a scholar of the law. And Jesus, in answering, gives us the parable of the Good Samaritan.

“We often hear people talking about the need to defend rights … their own rights and the rights of others. But how often do we hear them talking about their obligations? (In the parable of the Good Samaritan) It may have been the right of the priest and Levite to remain clean, but Jesus would have told them it was their obligation to reach out to someone in need.”

The bishop concluded by talking about what he called “the Catholic both-and…. One bishop said during his Red Mass that without mercy there can be no justice. In Canon Law we say that justice must be tempered by the sweetness of mercy.

“As we gather here today we celebrate that what God has done for us we could not do ourselves,” Bishop Thompson said. “In justice, we were condemned. In mercy, we have been saved.”