At the annual Red Mass in Brooklyn, prayers were offered that the Holy Spirit would inspire wisdom, truth and action on those involved in the legal profession.

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio was the main celebrant of the Oct. 8 Mass at St. James Cathedral-Basilica, Downtown Brooklyn, for the annual liturgy that marks the beginning of the fall sessions of the courts.

Begun in Europe in the 13th century, the Red Mass was revived in the early 20th century to call upon the Holy Spirit for blessings upon judges and lawyers.

In his homily, Father Patrick Keating, the newly appointed chaplain to the Kings County Catholic Lawyers Guild, spoke about “three simple ideas” – wisdom, truth and action.

Father Keating, who is attending law school, said that wisdom is a tool to evaluate, to clarify and to distinguish the truth.

“There is not my law and your law,” he explained. “The law is the law, and the law seeks truth.

“Our faith is meant to be lived – in our interactions with those in our professions and in all that we say and do.

“We are called to give testimony in kindness and in fairness to each and every person we encounter.”

Members of the Lawyers Guild and the Columbian Lawyers Association of Brooklyn participated in the liturgy. Joseph Rosato, president of the Guild, and Bartholomew T. Russo, president of the Columbian Association, served as lectors.

The Prayer of the Faithful was led by Gergory T. Cerchione of the Lawyers Guild. Kings County Supreme Court Justices Matthew D’Emic and Michael Pesce brought the offertory gifts to the altar.

Following Mass, dinner was served in the cathedral’s lower hall.