Local Catholic business community gathers for 33rd annual Mass and fellowship at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit
DETROIT — Dozens of business leaders and professionals in Metro Detroit planned a detour in their morning commute Oct. 21, starting their day at Sacred Heart Major Seminary for the 33rd annual Mass for Commerce.
Celebrated by Detroit Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger, with Msgr. Charles Kosanke and Fr. Joseph Kirkconnell concelebrating, the Mass offered an opportunity to bless the labor of Detroit's business professionals and to reflect on the role of the economy in communal life.
Also in attendance were members of the Knights of Columbus, Knights of Malta and a choir comprised of young musicians from Mercy High School in Farmington Hills, De La Salle Collegiate High School in Warren and Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Clinton Township.
The Mass for Commerce follows in the same tradition as the Red Mass, White Mass and Blue Mass, each of which has a long history in the archdiocese, and which are offered for legal professionals, medical professionals and first responders, respectively.
"Recognizing that work really is a vocation is very important, and it's good to be prayed for," Archbishop Weisenburger said in his homily. "How badly we need people who recognize that their vocation flows from their baptism!"
The archbishop also called to mind the mission of the Catholic University of America's business program: "Business is a force for good." This, the archbishop reflected, is central to daily life and work.
"The creation of a healthy economy is more than simply earning a living for oneself or supporting a family, important as that is," he said. "It is a way to contribute to the wellbeing of the world. It's only a healthy economy that tends to help that social safety net so desperately needed for Christ to come into the world."
The Gospel reading for the Mass offered part of the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus tells his disciples not to worry about tomorrow — for tomorrow will worry about itself — and to seek first the kingdom of God.
"It's a little piece of almost embedded folk wisdom: of the things that keep us up at night, how many are really, truly in our control?" the archbishop reflected. "We are constantly reminded in the Gospel: do what you can and then have faith."
He closed by reiterating Jesus's call to action: seek.
"To seek is active," Archbishop Weisenburger said. "What we find that Jesus reveals over and over in his teaching is that it's not enough to simply have the sentiment. It involves a coming out of ourselves and going out into the world. To seek the kingdom for Jesus and for his immediate followers was to do the works of the Gospel. If we do that, perhaps our endeavors can bring to life that beautiful statement: business is a force for good."
The 34th annual Mass for Commerce will be held on Oct. 20, 2027.
