By Ruby Thomas, Record Staff Writer
Dozens of men and women who work in the legal professions paused midday Sept. 8 to take part in the Archdiocese of Louisville’s Red Mass at the Cathedral of the Assumption, 433 S. Fifth St.
Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, who celebrated the Mass attended by about 200 people, thanked the professionals for their service, telling them their “vocation is important to the common good and to the fabric of our society.”
Archbishop Kurtz compared the work lawyers and judges do to “kintsugi,” the centuries-old Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with a special lacquer and powdered gold. “Kintsugi” highlights the cracks in the pottery instead of hiding them, making the damaged part the “strongest element,” he said.
“I mention this because the legal profession has a major aspect of healing,” said Archbishop Kurtz. The “need to repair” also happens when offenses are committed within the society, said the archbishop. A healing process needs to take place in order to restore the “injured party” as well as the one who caused the injury, he said.
The Red Mass is an opportunity to pause — for those who work in the legal profession as well as those who benefit from the work they do, said the archbishop. It’s an occasion to “pray in gratitude most of all for your commitment to justice and most especially to pray that this year will be one in which you have the wisdom, grace and compassion to help those in need and to make our society even stronger,” said Archbishop Kurtz.
“We thank God for guiding each of you that your decisions as judges and your efforts as attorneys will be characterized by a real desire for the common good, a desire to allow the Holy Spirit to reign in your hearts,” said Archbishop Kurtz.
This year marks the 65th year of the Red Mass in the United States, the archbishop noted. The most well-known of these Masses is celebrated at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., before the United States Supreme Court begins its term. This year that Mass will be celebrated Sept. 12.
