I can remember September 11, 2001, almost like it was yesterday. I remember that I was driving in my car from Pittsburgh to Steubenville since I was taking classes at Franciscan University, and what I heard on the radio while driving seemed like fiction to me. I really wasn’t sure whether what I had heard on the radio was real or not. Then, I heard a verification that the United States of America was under a terrorist attack. I was in this state of shock and disbelief asking how can this be happening? I was scared! Shortly after I entered onto campus I found my honey, Kevin and we hugged. Kevin was so worried because he has some relatives who are NYC firefighters and police officers. We said a prayer for their and everyone’s safety. I attended my Theology class where we prayed for the people who tragically lost their lives on 9/11 and their loved ones who have had to endure their loss.
We must never forget 9/11. And, yet somehow there are people today who have forgotten about 9/11 and believe that day shouldn’t have changed our lives. It did. It will forever. That would be like saying Pearl Harbor shouldn’t have changed our mode of thinking. It did. We entered WWII to defeat our enemy. Our troops are deployed all across the world trying to defeat our enemy much in the same way that we defeated our enemies in WWII. These people who have forgotten about 9/11 need to wake up and stop burying their heads in the sand. The terrorist attacks that happened 9 years ago today were in fact an act of war. Prior to that date America was targeted with terrorist attacks that occurred mostly overseas with the exception of one attack taking place in America in 1993-- the World Trade Center bombing. Those were treated as if they were mere matters of law enforcement when in fact they were attacks on our nation - acts of war. God rest all those souls who died that tragic day. God Bless our troops who are serving overseas. God Bless the USA!
When Pope Benedict XVI visited the United States he also visited the WTC site and prayed. He prayed this beautiful prayer:
O God of love, compassion, and healing,
look on us, people of many different faiths
and traditions,
who gather today at this site,
the scene of incredible violence and pain.
We ask you in your goodness
to give eternal light and peace
to all who died here—
the heroic first-responders:
our fire fighters, police officers,
emergency service workers, and
Port Authority personnel,
along with all the innocent men and women
who were victims of this tragedy
simply because their work or service
brought them here on September 11, 2001.
We ask you, in your compassion
to bring healing to those
who, because of their presence here that day,
suffer from injuries and illness.
Heal, too, the pain of still-grieving families
and all who lost loved ones in this tragedy.
Give them strength to continue their lives
with courage and hope.
We are mindful as well
of those who suffered death, injury, and loss
on the same day at the Pentagon and in
Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Our hearts are one with theirs
as our prayer embraces their pain and suffering.
God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world:
peace in the hearts of all men and women
and peace among the nations of the earth.
Turn to your way of love
those whose hearts and minds
are consumed with hatred.
God of understanding,
overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy,
we seek your light and guidance
as we confront such terrible events.
Grant that those whose lives were spared
may live so that the lives lost here
may not have been lost in vain.
Comfort and console us,
strengthen us in hope,
and give us the wisdom and courage
to work tirelessly for a world
where true peace and love reign
among nations and in the hearts of all.
Pope Benedict XI--Prayer at Ground Zero
New York, 20 April 2008
God rest all those souls who lost their lives on 9/11
God Bless Our Troops! God Bless the USA!
1 comment:
Amen.
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