Monthly Lunch Meeting
Third Wednesday of the Month At Noon

Next Lunch Meeting
Date: December 17th, 2008
Time:  12 Noon pm
Place: First American Title Insurance Company
2 First American Way
Santa Ana, CA
Access a Map here

Topic: “OUR LORD COMES:WAITING WITH JOYFUL HOPE”
Speaker: FR. CIRILO FLORES, J.D.
Fr. Cirilo Flores was born and reared in Corona. A graduate of Notre Dame High School in Riverside, he received his B. A. from Loyola Marymount University. He earned his Jurist Doctor from Stanford University Law School and worked as a lawyer for ten years, practicing in the area of civil litigation, representing financial institutions and other businesses. He prepared for the priesthood at St. John’s Seminary, Camarillo, and was ordained for the Diocese of Orange in 1991. First assigned to St. Barbara Parish in Santa Ana, he also served as parochial vicar at St. Joachim (Costa Mesa), and Our Lady of Guadalupe (La Habra), before Bishop Brown named him pastor of St. Anne, Santa Ana, in July, 2000. After he served as pastor of St. Anne for eight years Bishop Tod Brown named Fr. Cirilo pastor of St. Norbert Parish, Orange, effective August 30 of this year. Fr. Cirilo presently is a member of the Diocesan Finance Council, the Priest Personnel Board, and various other committees and boards. Fr. Cirilo has lived his priesthood in diverse and challenging communities; he gives thanks for the love and prayers which sustain him and all priests. Reservations are not required. For more information please contact: at 714.663.8000 or at 714.871.6655

The Red Mass

A Brief History of the Red Mass

The first recorded Red Mass, a special Mass for the Bench and Bar, was celebrated in Paris in 1245. For many centuries it was held in the chapel of the Order of Advocates, La Sainte Chapelle, which was built by Louis IX. In certain localities of France, the Red Mass was celebrated in honor of St. Ives, the patron Saint of Lawyers.

In England, the tradition began about 1310 during the reign of Edward I. The entire Bench and Bar attended the Red Mass together at the opening of each term of Court. The priest and judges of the High Court wore red robes thus the Eucharistic celebration became popularly known as the "Red Mass." The tradition of the Red Mass has continued in the United States. In Washington, D.C., the members of the United States Supreme Court join the President and members of Congress in the celebration of the Red Mass at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The Red Mass is also celebrated in Sacramento and most other state capitals and major cities throughout the United States.

The first Red Mass in Orange County was celebrated in 1988 and was well attended by the Bench and Bar. It is our hope that the celebration of the Red Mass will become as much a tradition in Orange County as it is in the United States and other parts of the world.
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