"The Beard Grows, But The Head Does Not Grow Wiser."
"Lawyers work hard and, like us, they're human, many of them."-Dick Cavett
“A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers.” - H. L. Mencken
"I tell you, I'll consult my lawyer. And if he advises me to do it, I'll get a new lawyer."-Groucho Marx 
"We are all here for a spell, get all the good laughs you can."
Disclaimer--I love the Red Mass put on by UDM Law School at Sts. Peter and Paul Church on Jefferson. The LinkedIn self-promotion criticism is not about the UDM Red Mass.
The 2020 edition of the Red Mass, sponsored by the University of Detroit Mercy Law School took place on Tuesday, September 22. It is the oldest, continuous event of its kind in the US.
It was a livestream event this year due to COVID 19. Not sure how well it was publicized. I did not have notice of it before the event, though I am on more legal and Catholic mailing lists than most (Catholic Lawyers Society, MAJ, MDTC, Detroit Bar Association, Michigan Bar, the Detroit Catholic, AOD, Knights of Equity, Knights of Columbus, Wayne State Law School among others).
I learned of the event, after the fact, on LinkedIn, of all places. The poster child for the Deadly Sin of Pride.
Seeing my friend, Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Mike Riordan, masked, in the bottom picture, I thought I'd yank his chain and asked how many additional organizations I needed to join to be notified of this event. He did respond with a link to a livestream recording of the Mass, which can be found here .
And a promise to included on the UDM Law School (not my alma mater) mailing list for the event next year.
I did poke around LinkedIn to see if the Red Mass was advertised anywhere on the platform. I did not find any announcement under the #RedMass search term, but I did find exhibit:
A nauseating instance of self-congratulatory, self-promotion which is the hallmark of LinkedIn.
Mr. TJ Shope , features a picture of himself reading "an" intercession at the Archdiocese of Phoenix Red Mass, an event in which Bishop Olmstead had a minor role (compared to Mr. Shope). I say this because while Mr Shope is shown front and center, in hi def, all other participants, including the Bish and various other clerics, are shown in the background, through a soft focus filter, to emphasize their comparative importance-at least in relation to Mr. Shope.
And lest we forget, Mr. Shope has now performed this service (at this service) for the 8th time. While he thanks both the Bishop and the Archdiocese of Phoenix for the invitation, it is clear to me that they should be thanking him for deigning to turn the light of his countenance unto this event.
Mr. Shope's profile picture shows him in a cowboy hat. Wah-Hoo!!!
For those not familiar with the Catholic Mass, there are generally 7 or 8 intentions/intercessions in the Prayer of the Faithful after the priest's homily(sermon). Other civilian participants would include a couple of lectors (scripture readers), a commentator (emcee) and 8 or so EMEs (Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist-Communion Giver Outers). So, Mr. Shope was not the only act on the bill.
But let me add my congratulations to his own.
Which reminds me of a story-most things do. It is legal and Catholic related, but was not featured on LinkedIn.
For a very short time in 2017, I was president of the Catholic Lawyers Society of Detroit. The reigning Prez had to leave town quickly to take up a Social Security judgeship appointment in Pennsylvania. Memory is a bit fuzzy but I think the VP at the time(if any) was unwilling or unable to take on the post. As I was trying to put together the only fundraiser in years, I "volunteered" to fill the post on an interim basis.
The fundraiser was a performance of "Late Nite Catechism" (a tremendous one woman show), preceded by a Mass. the venue was my alma mater, Catholic Central High School.
My Board of Directors turned out to be less help than I would have liked, and I had to procure the elements of the set, put it up and tear it down without assistance. At the Mass, I served as a lector and EME, for want of volunteers. We did without a commentator. The event was set on a Saturday night, so the Mass fulfilled the Sunday obligation.
It was a wonderful event, taking about 10 hours of my Saturday. I set a record for steps on my FitBit that I have not come close to since.
What with all that fun and frolic, I did not have time to arrange for a sub for my lector assignment at my home parish, Our Lady of Loretto the next day.
So, I attended 9am Mass Sunday at OLL. We normally have a commentator, 2 lectors and 4 EMEs assigned. Well, on that Sunday, I was "honored as well as humbled" (as they say on LinkedIn), to serve as commentator(assigned person didn't show), do both readings (my assigned lector partner didn't show) and act as an EME (one or more of those assigned to the office did not show).
After Mass I went to the office, put in 6 hours of billable work, and then finished the first draft of what would later become the first comprehensive revision of the Michigan Court Rules in 35 years. Yay, me!
Well...that last sentence is not quite true, but it is like much of the muck I read on LinkedIn. The "Yay, Me!" is not an exaggeration.
There was no LinkedIn post about this little melodrama, though there could have been. Not at a self described tribute to my selfless effort, but as an object lesson about the dubious nature of commitment.
Not every human activity is worthy of note. And not every meal needs to be photographed and uploaded to social media.
To quote from the Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are the humble, for they shall inherit the earth." (but they shall probably not subscribe to LinkedIn Premium).
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