The Gift of Prayer

I ordered Margaret Silf's The Gift of Prayer: Embracing the Sacred in the Everyday and love the candle flame on the cover. This book was published in 2004, but I had not seen it; the publisher is BlueBridge and it was published in London under the title On Prayer. The page before the Introduction has two powerful quotes that are familiar: "Be still, and know that I am God." (Ps 46) And this one from The Dhammapada: "Better than a thousand useless words is one single word that gives peace."

Today the St. Thomas More Catholic Law Society had "The Red Mass" at St. Thomas University. The purpose of the "Red Mass" is to seek God's blessing on those who are part of the legal profession. Judges and lawyers attend in a body joined by public officials and law faculty members. The Mass in honor of the Holy Spirit is celebrated at the opening of the judicial year. Celebrants are clothed in Red because the red vestments represent the flames of the guiding Holy Spirit.

Here is a prayer of St. Thomas More: "Lord, grant that I may be able in argument, accurate in analysis, strict in study, candid with clients, and honest with adversaries. Sit with me at my desk and listen with me to my client's plaints, read with me in the library, and stand beside me in court, so that today I shall not in order to win a point lose my soul."
Let us pray for all lawyers today.