Color Masses remind us to be witnesses

By Patricia Kasten
Compass Associate Editor

Can a Mass have a color?

Besides the colors of the church season - such as purple for Lent and green for Ordinary Time - and of vestments on feast days - such as white for the feasts of Christ and red for martyrs - other colors have become informally associated with some Masses.

Unlike liturgical colors, which are regulated by the church, these "color" Masses have developed around certain events.

The most famous are the "Red Masses." In the United States, a Red Mass is held at the Cathedral of St. Matthew in Washington, D.C. on the Sunday before the first Monday of October, the traditional opening day of the Supreme Court. The Red Mass is a celebrated as solemn Mass in honor of the Holy Spirit - and red is the liturgical color for Masses in honor of the Spirit.

A Mass honoring the Spirit seeks the guidance of divine wisdom. As Abp. Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., said at last year's Red Mass: "One reason we gather today ... is our realization that it is the wisdom of God that fills up what is lacking in our own limited knowledge and understanding."

For a Red Mass, this guidance of the Spirit is sought upon those in governmental power, usually judicial power.

Red Masses date back to 1245 in Paris. From there, the tradition spread to England, during the reign of Edward II (1307-1327). There, a Red Mass was annually held at the opening of Court sessions. The tradition spread from England throughout Europe.

It was slow to reach the U.S. The first Red Mass was not held until 1928 in New York City. The modern Washington Mass dates to 1939 at Catholic University of America.

Since then, several Catholic groups have made it their special work to promote Red Masses. This included the John Carroll Society, founded in 1951, which has sponsored the Washington D.C. Red Mass since 1953. In Wisconsin, the St. Thomas More Society, a Catholic law society, has sponsored an annual Red Mass since the mid-1950s.

This year's Red Mass will be at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 18 at St. John the Evangelist Cathedral in Milwaukee.

(A Red Mass is also held in spring at Madison; last year, one was held on April 20 at St. Patrick Church. One had not been scheduled in Madison as of press time.)

Since 1991, the John Carroll Society has also held a Rose Mass on Laetare Sunday - the fourth Sunday of Lent. The vestment color for that Sunday is rose, signifying rejoicing (from a Latin word, laetare for "being joyful.") The Rose Mass honors health care workers. Detroit has also held a Rose Mass since 1999.

Other dioceses hold similar Masses to honor health care workers, but they are called White Masses. As such, they can only be held on feast days that have white as the liturgical color of the day. White vestments can only be used for Masses that are scheduled during Easter season, or on a feast day of the Lord, such as the Annunciation (March 25) or All Saints, which celebrates those who are victorious in the Lord.

There are also Blue Masses - though not with blue vestments, since these are not liturgically permitted - offered to remember those who serve as fire, police and other service and rescue personnel. Here, non-liturgical blue decorations may be used.

Each of these Masses - most especially the Red Mass - reminds those who attend of the Gospel messages for justice, life and the common good. Some people have criticized the Masses for emphasizing a political agenda of the Church, especially since their homilies often present the church's concerns about modern society.

However, as Vatican II reminded us, the role of the church is to be present in the world, sharing in the joys and hopes, sorrows and worries of people. "At all times, the Church carries the responsibility of reading the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel" (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, n. 4).

These Masses - red, rose, white or blue - call us anew to be witnesses of the Good News of Jesus revealed in our world.