Bishops Celebrate 50th Annual Red Mass Attended by State Lawmakers

The 50th annual Red Mass took place at the Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More on Wednesday evening, March 19, the Solemnity of St. Joseph. The Mass is held annually in conjunction with Catholic Days at the Capitol and is offered for those who serve in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, and members of the legal profession, to join them in prayer and ask for the Lord's guidance in their service to the people of Florida.

The Bishops were pleased to welcome numerous elected officials to the Mass, including Governor Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier, as well as Chief Justice Carlos Muniz and Justice John Couriel. 

Judge Lance Neff, Second Judicial Circuit of Florida, and Representative Dana Trabulsy (R-Fort Pierce) served as lectors. Speaker of the House Daniel Perez (R-Miami) read the prayers of the faithful. 

Archbishop Wenski Red Mass Homily: 'People are not problems' 

Archbishop Thomas Wenski highlighted St. Joseph as an example of a just and virtuous man in his homily. Wenski reminded everyone that we are called to holiness and justice through our baptism, and carry that calling into our personal vocations, including involvement in political roles.

"We can only practice the virtue of justice, giving our neighbor his due when we recognize that every human life is sacred and that all humanity forms one family.

This is the core of what has come to be called Catholic social teaching. While the arguments of this teaching can seem to be quite complex, I believe that it can be summarized in one simple phrase: no man is a problem. No human being, no matter how poor or how weak, can be reduced to being just a problem. Whether we are talking about the homeless, the mentally ill, the addict or the unwed mother, the troubled child in one of our failing schools, to view any human being as merely a problem is to fail to be just and in doing so, we offend his or her dignity. And, when we indulge in such reductive thinking, we give ourselves permission to look for expedient but not just solutions"

The Archbishop's full homily is available here.