Washington ( CNN ) -- A half dozen Supreme Court justices , hundreds of members of the legal profession and other dignitaries attended the annual Red Mass in Washington Sunday to hear a call for them to pay attention to their spiritual health . Chief Justice John Roberts joined associate justices Antonin Scalia , Anthony Kennedy , Clarence Thomas , Stephen Breyer and Samuel Alito for the service at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle , a beautifully ornate church located a few blocks from the White House . All are Roman Catholic except Breyer , who is Jewish . The current Supreme Court is composed of six Catholics and three Jews . The purpose of the Red Mass -- so named because of the color of the garments worn by clergy -- is to `` invoke God 's blessings on those responsible for the administration of justice as well as on all public officials , '' according to the John Carroll Society , a lay Catholic group of prominent lawyers and professionals , which started the Mass in 1953 . The Mass is celebrated traditionally on the Sunday before the first Monday in October , which marks the beginning of the Supreme Court 's annual term . Critics have called the attendance of leading decision-makers , including members of the highest court in the land , inappropriate . They see the services as an unhealthy mix of politics , the law and religion . The Mass is a Catholic service , but power brokers of other faiths are asked to attend the event , which was also open to the public . Sunday 's attendees included Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta , Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and White House Chief of Staff William Daley . Archbishop of Seattle Peter Sartain gave this year 's sermon , which was largely devoid of controversy , telling those in attendance that `` we are not fully alive , even if we follow a balanced , healthy lifestyle ... unless we give ourselves to someone beyond ourselves . '' `` In the end , it is in our relationship with the Lord in which we find the spiritual health that reveals and makes possible true balance , true integrity , '' Sartain said . However , at one point in the service after the main sermon during what 's called the Prayer of the Faithful , Montgomery County , Maryland , Circuit Court Associate Judge Joseph Quirk made a quick reference to the unborn , reciting a short prayer , `` We pray for the inalienable right to life for every human being . '' See some of the important cases the court will consider . Archdiocese of Washington spokeswoman Chieko Noguchi Scheve said the prayer readings are determined before the service by the John Carroll Society . Past homilies by individual speakers have lamented the high court 's ruling legalizing abortion and the constitutional separation of church and state , prompting one justice to stop going . Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg attended Red Masses in the past , but has said she grew tired of being lectured by Catholic officials . Ginsburg , like Breyer and Associate Justice Elena Kagan , is Jewish . `` I went one year , and I will never go again , because this sermon was outrageously anti-abortion , '' Ginsburg said in the book `` Stars of David : Prominent Jews talk About Being Jewish '' by author Abigail Pogrebin . `` Even the Scalias - although they 're much of that persuasion - were embarrassed for me . '' CNN Supreme Court Producer Bill Mears contributed to this report .
The service is meant to invoke God 's blessings on public officials . The Mass is celebrated on the Sunday before Supreme Court 's term opens . Critics say it 's inappropriate for justices to attend . The tradition began in 1953 .