BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS!

Merry Christmas, everyone. This post is inspired today by my savior's birthday.

Those of you who know me know that I am Catholic. People have asked me how I reconcile the work I do, representing the accused and often the guilty, with my religion. The answer, in short: I can think of no other work in which I could daily put the teachings and examples of Christ into action.

Those of you who know me also know how much I love Pope Francis. He is a constant example of how to live Christ's love and compassion, the man walks the walk, and he may have said it better than I ever could:

"The apostle John, thinking about these things and speaking of us, who are great sinners, says, ‘Do not sin, but if any of you do sin, know that we have an advocate before the Father, one who prays for us, defends us in front of Father, justifies us.’

I believe we should really think about this truth, about this reality: Jesus is praying for me right now. I can go on in life because I have an advocate who defends me and if I am guilty and I have so many sins …he is a good defense attorney and will speak of me to the Father."

This analogy of Jesus as a defense attorney is not a new one, but it is a true one. Jesus' love and compassion was limitless. This is the example I strive to follow. When another human being needs my help, I don't think "what did this person do? Do they deserve my help?" I withhold judgement and I think to myself: "how can I love this sinner? How can I help my fellow man?" Because I am certain that this is what my creator hopes for me. That I live a life in service of others. That every person is better than the sum of their worst actions. That everyone is deserving of love.

I hope that this approach to my work makes me a better lawyer for my clients. I know that it makes me a better servant of my Lord. Happy birthday, Jesus!