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“There is a connection between our faith and our ordinary life”
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October 19, 2023Judges, attorneys, people in public office – the Red Mass marks the beginning of a legal year, and its color symbolizes the Holy Spirit that can illuminate the faithful. Bishop Michael Mulvey linked the synod in his homily with its invitation to talk and listen to the self-knowledge central in St. Catherine of Siena’s reflections. “Self-awareness means asking, ‘who am I?’” so the bishop. It goes along with the opening reflections to the synod, where it was mentioned that everyone has truth inside, “not my or your own truth, but God who is alive in every one of us.”
This concept can help us understand why it is essential to encounter people who are different than us: “We need to get out of our cocoons, out of our comfortable places,” said Bishop Mulvey, and he shared a life experience he went through when he spent a year in a spiritual program with 60 other priests from all over the world. Excited about the arrival of a group of Brazilians, he tried to approach one named Nelson, thinking he would speak English – but he got a rather cold response. After a while, he discovered that he was prejudiced and shared his insight openly with the other priests: “Once I admitted that I was free, and I could work with everybody,” he said. Encountering those who are different also applies to the juridical professions, where many might need an authentic encounter. The bishop closed his homily, assuring all those present prayers for their essential work.
Keynote speaker Dr. Amy Uelmen, Georgetown Law Director for Mission and Ministry, focused on the question, “How might the Holy Spirit illuminate our work amidst many challenges?” She shared that, as an eight-year-old girl, she attended a Catholic Family retreat with her family, and something on the theme of finding the presence of God in their lives must have sunk in: “At a certain point, my ten-year-old sister and I were gossiping about one of the other girls in our group. We stopped in our tracks: ‘If Jesus lives inside her, then we can’t talk like this anymore.’”
“There is a connection between our faith and our ordinary life,” Uelmen continued. When she began working as a litigator in a large New York law firm, she experienced that one of the biggest obstacles to integrity was fear: “of what people were thinking, or disappointing expectations.” She realized one day that the phrase, “Perfect love casts out fear” (1 Jn 4:18), could transform her relationship with her supervisors and colleagues. “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt 22:39) was another key phrase that helped her to let go of her ego and foster relationships of encouragement and respect.
Since 2001, Uelmen has been working in legal education, in contact with young adults' joys, hopes, questions and anxieties. She observed how it is tough for some to listen to people with whom they strongly disagree, while others seek total validation of their perspective. Many people of all ages struggle with the question of what It means to be true to their values while at the same time being open to those who think differently. The fast pace of communication is not helpful either.
“What would Jesus say? What would Jesus do?” she asked. And, as adult professionals, what does it mean to model relationships that can be transformed by the power of recognizing the presence of Christ in each person?” She suggested fostering engagement where “we can see, meet and touch the reality of a person who holds a different conviction.” And the Holy Spirit could help discern the appropriate response of love in a given situation.
After the Red Mass, conversations and networking continued at a reception, with Bishop Mulvey and Amy Uelmen present.
