Bonus 46: The Red Mass

Sunday marks the 71st service at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle to pray for the Court in its upcoming term. The tradition has not always been without controversy, but it also has an upside

Welcome back to the weekly bonus content for “One First.” Although Monday’s regular newsletter will remain free for as long as I’m able to do this, much of Thursday’s content is behind a paywall to help incentivize those who are willing and able to support the work that goes into putting this newsletter together every week. I’m grateful to those of you who are already paid subscribers, and hope that those of you who aren’t will consider a paid subscription if your circumstances permit:

One of the central distinctions between the substance of Monday’s free issues and that of Thursday’s bonus content is the personalization of the latter. Perhaps not surprisingly, many of the bonus issues have thus been rather critical of some feature or decision of the Court and/or the justices’ recent behavior. I thought I’d break from that pattern in today’s issue to express my (perhaps surprising) support for one of the Court’s … less official … traditions: The annual “Red Mass” on the Sunday before the Court’s new term officially begins, the 71st of which is coming up this Sunday, October 1st. The eponymous Season 4 episode of The West Wing aside, I’m all for reminding the justices that they’re members of a broader, non-denominational community—and reminding those who believe in such things that even justices with whom we (vigorously) disagree can still be worthy of reflection and prayer.

Justices Breyer, Thomas, and Kennedy leaving the 2017 Red Mass

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