ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Bishop Martino, Bishops of this Diocese of Scranton,

Monsignor Quinn, Rector of this Cathedral of Saint Peter

            It is a great pleasure to extend, in your presence, a greeting to the members

of the Lackawanna Bar Association, the distinguished judges, lawyers and

            legal professionals present at this Mass,

Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,

Friends who serve the public and have come together to pray,

  

            I am pleased to acknowledge the link that exists between the great Saint Louis IX, King of France, and the tradition of the Red Mass. It was during his reign in the 13^th century that the famed Sainte Chapelle in Paris was designated for the celebration of the Red Mass. And the same tradition of the Red Mass continues today, after some 750 years, to invoke the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, to assist people of the law in their important service to our society.

            The Church encourages this tradition by our Red mass this evening. The Church encourages all of you who participate in it; and on this occasion she wishes to express deep gratitude to you for your commitment to the law, conceived as founded on truth and linked to true freedom.

            There is a remarkable text in the Second Vatican Council about the truth of our identity as human beings. This ext is found in the Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. It states that “we are witnesses of the birth of a new humanism, one in which man is defined first of all by his responsibility toward his brothers and sisters and toward history” (Gaudium et Spes, 55). This truth of solidarity — the fact that we are related to one another — is seen in a very special way in your life and your important work.

            Your many activities presume this solidarity — this basic law of God. You are invested with special responsibility for society. This text of Vatican II appears in the theocentric context of an ecumenical council that proclaims the primacy of God, a God who reveals Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with supreme relevance for our lives. And in the Gospel today the Son of God reveals Himself as the Good Shepherd who cares for us.

            Our liturgy today also speaks to us about truth and the very fundamental structure of truth with its many exigencies. We are reminded in our First Reading about the fact that we are God’s people. He is our God. Life comes from Him and terminates in Him. He spells out its meaning, its duration. He rewards its efforts.

Because we are His People and He is our God, our essential relationship to one another depends on Him. It cannot be determined by public appearance or consensus, by utility or by what is opportune. Rather, it is determined by His law, which expresses His truth. Our own identity does not let us, therefore, re-define ourselves or re-invent our relationship to others, whether it be, for example, at the moment of their conception or at the moment of their consummate defenselessness or terminal illness. The issue of abortion, partial-birth abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, can never be divorced from the principle of human solidarity — rooted in the truth of God, incorporated into our nature and impressed on our hearts just as is the commandment of God: “Thou shall not kill.” There is ample reason, also, to believe that the magnanimity inculcated by the Gospel requires for our times a re-examination of the death penalty, concerning not only its “effectiveness” but also whether it can ever truly be considered necessary in a just society that must indeed justly defend its citizens, but must also avoid cruel retaliation and leave vengeance to God.

            What splendid contribution you so often make in effectively proclaiming human dignity, human solidarity, the value of human life, and the value of the family, formed on the basis of marriage - the union of a man and a woman. How important it is for you to make your voice heard in society against human cloning and embryonic stem cell research. Yours is a magnificent service to a society in need — a society that officially professes liberty and justice for all.

            Your task is daunting, but you are people, perhaps not of facile optimism, but of deep hope. And I would say more. You are people of power. Today I would emphasize not only all the power inherent in your respective offices, but also that immense power with which the Spirit of Truth endows you. All the members of the Church are called to share in the power that the Holy Spirit entrusted in a particular way to the Apostles.

            God’s word proclaimed today at this liturgy is, therefore, extremely meaningful to your lives. Jesus says: “You will receive power.” It is power that is linked with a gift — the gift of the Spirit of Truth. This power is not aimed at domination or manipulation. It is power given to you for the service of truth and freedom. It is power to bear witness to Jesus.

            The Spirit of Truth whom we invoke today is the same Spirit promised by Jesus. He is the one who completes the work of Jesus in us and leads us to liberating truth. The experience of this past century has so effectively confirmed the fact that any system of life, any structure of government not based on truth radically violates freedom, and that real freedom requires society to live according to truth. The Iron Curtain, the Berlin Wall, the sham and travesty of apartheid — these systemic violations of freedom have all dissolved before the shining truth of God’s plan that creates the inalienable dignity of the human person and decrees the duty of universal human solidarity.

            Yes, what wonderful power you have — the power to possess truth, to live truth, to communicate truth, to serve truth, and, in serving truth, to serve the truth of life. You have the extraordinary power to serve life itself, and to help people live in happiness and in the truth of their lives, which involves their proper relationship to God and of solidarity with others.

            How relevant today in the United States of America are those words of God spoke centuries ago to the people of Israel: “I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statues, careful to observe my decrees. You shall live in the land I have your fathers; you shall be my people and I shall be your God.” The sector of human behavior and human law — now as then — cannot prescind from the truth of the primacy of God.

            The truth, moreover, of the right of government offers deep insight into the just formulation of laws. This is eminently so in regard to laws affecting “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Twenty-five years ago Pope John Paul II stood on the Mall in Washington, DC and, citing an impressive voice in the tradition of this Republic, spoke these words: “A distinguished American, Thomas Jefferson, once stated: ‘The care of human life and happiness and not their destruction is the just and only legitimate object of good government’ (March 31, 1809).” These words have proved to be an enduring challenge to America even to this day.

            To cite the truth of the primacy of God and the right role of government is also to raise the issue of moral truth in general — truth that exists independently of time-conditioned preferences or cultural options. I share the conviction, dear friends, that you who are passionate servants of just law are in a position — a powerful position, a spiritually powerful position — to proclaim in word and action that there is indeed moral truth that was such before we came to be, and will still be when our life on earth is over. What is not in accord with this truth is and always will be evil, even if it should be legal. And we see today that God’s holy word confirms this position, or rather that the certitude of this position is derived from God’s word: God has willed and in fact proclaimed that we shall be His people and He shall be our God.

            Do we not all agree that the role of human law must ensure the dignity of man — every man, woman and child — the protection of the human race and the promotion of those conditions of life that permit human beings to live as such? As human situations change, God’s relationship to humanity remains: He is our God and we are His people. As His people we are indeed defined by our responsibility to one another — our responsibility to do what is truly good for one another. And since what is evil remains evil even when declared legal, what great responsibility is incumbent on those who make the laws, interpret them and apply them!

            Resisting the pressure to make laws conform only to popular demand, and insisting on both the primary of God’s law — written in such great measure in our hearts — and the exigencies of universal human solidarity are a great contribution to justice and human freedom. How blessed then, dear friends, your every effort, through legal expertise to reinforce the moral conscience of our people by presenting human law as forever subject to God.

            I have spoken about power, about spiritual power, linked to the gift of the Spirit of Truth. This power to know and embrace liberating truth is yours and today we invoke the Holy Spirit of Truth to confirm you in this power. What is ultimately at stake is your providential service to the cause of justice and to the freedom of our land. The challenge is immense but surely there is every reason to be deeply encouraged by the assurance of Christ’s words: “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”

            As Pope John Paul II left Washington in 1979 on his first papal visit to the United States, he spoke these words: “ ... my final prayer is this: that God will bless America, so that she may increasingly become — and truly be — the long remain — ‘one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all’.”

            Friends of the law: I am sure that you all share the sentiments of this prayer. I am also sure that you know just how important a role you are meant to play in consolidating God’s blessings on America. Yours is a powerful role of service. Yours is a formidable challenge always to proclaim truth and to defend life. In the face of such a task be strengthened by the promise of the Lord Jesus. Rejoice in the Spirit of Truth, who is poured out in your hearts today. Amen.