MERRILLVILLE – Prayer was the theme of Bishop Robert J. McClory’s message to members of the legal and financial professions at the annual Red Mass hosted by the Diocese of Gary on Oct. 6 at Our Lady of Consolation.
“I can guarantee that if you take the time to reflect and contemplate God, God will do great things for you,” the bishop, who practiced law for several years before entering seminary, told his congregation on the feast day of St. Bruno of Cologne, a priest who founded the Carthusian order of monks who remain notable for their strictly traditional and austere rule of contemplative life.
Known for his life of “silence, solitude, prayer and reflection” as compared to legal and financial professionals whose “demands can be so pressing (as to cause) a tendency to fill each day with everything else and not set aside time for prayer, Bishop McClory stressed in his homily that the life of St. Bruno can set an example for contemporary lives.
“How can his contemplative life refer to me?” asked the bishop rhetorically.
“Christ led a very busy ministerial life,” noted the bishop. “Once he started his public preaching he was on the go, he was going everywhere, to the point where he said, ‘I don’t even have a place to lay my head.’
“A model for us all, he took the time, sometimes in the middle of the night, to reach out in prayer to his Heavenly Father,” said Bishop McClory.
Using his own life as an example, the bishop said that when he practiced law, he often attended a noon Mass. If that is not possible, he suggested, “taking time early in the morning for prayer and contemplation may be a little easier.”
The bishop also described the practice of St. Ignatius, who followed the Jesuit tradition and established “‘the Examen,’ in which one reflects twice a day upon God’s work that day,” described Bishop McClory. “St. Ignatius chose noon and the end of the day for his reflections, using a five-step process:
• Place yourself in God’s presence and give thanks for God’s love for you.
• Go through your day with a specific review of your feelings.
• Pray for the grace to understand how God is working in your life.
• Reflect on how you acted in accordance with God’s plan, and when you turned away, by reviewing your day.
• Look forward to tomorrow and how you might collaborate more with God’s plan for you, and say an “Our Father.”
Other types of prayer Bishop McClory suggested included reflecting on the Gospel reading of the day, reading from a favorite devotional book, reflecting on a specific scripture verse or “simply spending time quietly with the Lord.”
“You have many responsibilities – families come to you for advice, consultations on legal matters, or estates … you make decisions large and small,” noted the bishop, “but to live in the Holy Spirit means we take the time in the day to say (to God) ‘I love you, I rely on you,’ and then we are better able to serve.
“My prayer for you is that you find the time in your busy lives for prayer,” Bishop McClory told the judges, attorneys and financial managers at the conclusion of the Red Mass. “It is the most important appointment of the day.”
“The bishop always gives a good homily, and taking time for silence and prayer is good advice,” said attorney Sara Vander Werff, of Michigan City and Horizon Trust & Investment Management, who makes it a point to attend the annual event. “You get to attend Mass, meet with your peers and participate in continuing education,” she said of the pluses. “It is always good to find time for the Eucharist.”
Barb Melendez, who works with the legal profession as manager for the Volunteer Advocates for Senior Incapacitated Adults (VASIA) program in Lake County, attended the Red Mass for the second straight year. “It’s an opportunity to attend a beautiful Mass and to be in the presence of people who are here to help the community, the disenfranchised, and to remember the reason we serve and keep an open heart,” she said.
“I’ve been coming for about 10 years,” said Ted Sinai, C.P.A., a Crown Point resident and parishioner at St. Mary in Crown Point who is a partner with Keilman Austgen & Sinai, public accountants. “It is a tradition, and a good morning. We are giving time to God,” he noted. “The bishop talked about making a point to pray in solitude, and I will try to do that – to get away from the phone, maybe during the lunch hour.”
After Mass, the Catholic Foundation for Northwest Indiana hosted a breakfast and continuing education program for the professionals, including a talk titled “Estate Planning Horror Stories from Real Life,” presented by retired banker and attorney Calvin Bellamy. He used celebrities – from entertainer Michael Jackson to TV talk show host Larry King – to describe mistakes and choices that led to protracted legal cases.
Karin Clauson, a financial planner with Swartz Retson in Merrillville, offered comments on “Trusts and Estates” and answered questions about taxes and inheritances.
Those attending were invited to make donations to Catholic Charities Diocese of Gary, which was selected as this year’s featured charity. Beth Casbon, an attorney who chairs the Catholic Charities Board, explained the six programs that assisted more than 36,000 people last year, including community outreach, food pantry, Women’s Care Center in Hammond, Tabor House, immigrant legal services and financial literacy workshops.