HCH photo by Anna Weaver

At the end of the Red Mass on Jan. 18, Bishop Larry Silva blesses the public officials in attendance.

At Red Mass, public officials gather for the church’s prayers, gratitude, blessings

By Patrick Downes and Anna Weaver | Hawaii Catholic Herald

Legislators, justices, generals and other public leaders gathered in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace on the bright sunny morning of Jan. 18 to accept the prayers, gratitude and blessings of the Catholic Church in Hawaii.

The occasion was the annual Red Mass, celebrated every January since 1955 during the week the state legislature opens as an invocation to the Holy Spirit to pour down wisdom and guidance on the state’s public servants.

Bishop Larry Silva presided over the music-rich liturgy in crimson vestments and miter, accompanied by 30 priests and 12 deacons wearing white albs and red stoles. He preached on the topic of “legal and bloodless violence,” abuse perpetrated by the misuse of media, law and economic policies. (See homily text on page 22)

About 300 people filled the pews of the cathedral. They included about 30 public officials, among them Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona and his wife Vivian Aiona, speaker of the state house of representatives Calvin Say, Hawaii Supreme Court chief justice Ronald Moon, city prosecutor Peter Carlisle, Brigadier General Gary M. Ishikawa, Honolulu police chief Boisse Correa, Honolulu fire chief Kenneth Silva and a number of state senators and representatives and city council members.

The Mass opened with a Hawaiian chant by Marianist Brother Franklin Pao followed by the singing of Hawaii Ponoi and four verses of America the Beautiful.

Joining the Catholic clergy in procession were Episcopal Bishop Richard Chang and Kahu Curt Kekuna of Kawaiahao Church. Filling out the congregation were an assortment of Catholic leaders, chancery workers, and lay men, women and children.

At the end of Mass, the public officials were invited to gather behind the altar for the bishop’s blessing.

“May you walk in God’s ways,” the bishop began over the bowed heads of the leaders. The congregation punctuated each phrase of the expanded prayer with a robust “Amen” while extending their right hands in the direction of those being blessed.

After the liturgy, the Mass-goers spilled outside onto the Fort Street Mall and into a refreshment tent set up on the mauka side of the church for handshakes, friendly conversations and a pickup breakfast of fruit and pastries.

The Hawaii Catholic Herald caught up with a few attendees to ask them their thoughts on the homily, Bishop Silva’s first for a Hawaii Red Mass. The homily, or address by a lay person, has always been the focal point of the Red Mass.

“I thought it was absolutely fascinating because I thought it was a very touchy sort of subject,” said Peter Carlisle, prosecuting attorney for City and County of Honolulu. “And yet I thought he handled it gracefully and he gave us a lot to think about. I thought it was provocative and very well-spoken.”

Carlisle, who has attended six or seven Red Masses, said he always comes if he is in Hawaii at the time.

“I think it’s just a terrific thing done by the Catholic Church,” he said. “Asking us and inspiring us to do our very best is, I think, a very noble mission and I think it’s very well-done.”

Rep. Gene Ward (District 17, Kalama Valley, Queen’s Gate, Hawaii Kai) described the homily as a “blessing.”

“It was not only very pointed and meaningful,” he said, but “also very diplomatic and very well-delivered.”

“This is the best way to start off the session,” said Ward. “So thank God for bishop and the Catholic Church that brings us all together.”

City council member Nestor R. Garcia (District 9 Waikele, Waipahu, Village Park, Makakilo, Kunia, and Mililani Town) said, “I find it encouraging that the bishop and the church are willing to weigh in on issues that are important to society as a whole.”

“For those who might stick too much to that old saw about separation of church and state, you have to also understand that the church, through its bishop, has a right to weigh in on subjects that are important, not just to the church but to all of God’s children,” he said.

Garcia, who has been coming to Red Mass since he was a state legislator, sees the event as an opportunity to “seek out people who are able to inspire and perhaps give us something to think about before we proceed and make those decisions that are important for everyone.”

Chief Justice Ronald Moon, a Red Mass attendee for many years, called the Red Mass “wonderful” and said he was grateful for the attention and recognition of public service on the part of the church.

“I think it’s very appropriate that every year they can have this for the public officials,” he said, “and I appreciate the fact that they take the time to indicate the importance of the public officials and the warmth that they extend to us in terms of wishing us well.”