If you would like to use this article for a reflection or discussion group, the following questions are provided as a resource:
1. In what ways were the firefighters who died on September 11 “men after God’s heart”? How would you relate their actions to the life and actions of Jesus?
2. September 11 was a terrible day in the life of this country. Yet in Romans 8:30, we hear these words: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” In what ways do you think God worked for “good” in the midst of the terrible evil and suffering that occurred on September 11?
3. How have the events of September 11 affected your life?
(This article was part of the Catholic Men’s E-zine, Being a Man After God’s Heart, (Nov-Dec 2002 issue) that is available on the NFCM website. You may e-mail them at info@nrccm.org. It first appeared in the Together in Christ magazine, July 22-Sept 27, 2002 issue, from The Word Among Us.)
[Editor's Note: This article is the second in a series on the theme “Being a Man after God’s Heart.” Click here to read the first article]
(We are approaching the third anniversary of the terrorist attacks on our nation. Captain Stephen J. Ruda of the Los Angeles City Fire Department, one of the firefighters from the West Coast who traveled to Ground Zero in New York City shortly after the collapse of the World Trade Center, reflects on his experiences, both as a firefighter and as a Catholic man.)
For twenty-four years, I had served the citizens of Los Angeles as a member of the Los Angeles City Fire Department. As a fire captain, I had seen my share of death and destruction, but nothing prepared me or any of my brothers and sisters for what happened on September 11, 2001.
As firefighters, we know that we have dedicated ourselves to the service of others. We have quietly accepted the possibility that every alarm that sounds in our fire station could very well be our last.
The Desire to Respond
When the call came on September 11, many New York firefighters had just finished their shifts. They had wives and children or girlfriends waiting for them to return. Did they all have to respond? No! But respond they did, because that’s what we do in our profession. When a call comes in, everyone wants to go.
When we heard that jets had plowed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, we waited in dread of the evil that we believed might soon strike Los Angeles. Yet, as firefighters, many of us wanted to be in New York and Washington. We felt that we were needed there, and that by not going, we were letting down those who needed us.
Fortunately, some Los Angeles firefighters did have the opportunity to respond to the crisis. By late in the afternoon on September 11, sixty-eight members of our department’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team were ready to fly to New York to help with rescue efforts.
One Overpowering Goal
When the alarms sounded in New York City that fateful morning, I’m sure that in the mind of every New York firefighter was the thought, “Could this be the ‘Big One’? Could this be my last alarm?” Yet, they put those thoughts behind them as they donned breathing tanks, shouldered hose packs, and headed for the ascent up the 110-story twin towers of the World Trade Center. Their goal was to save lives. They knew that extinguishing a blaze in the upper stories of a major high-rise building filled with jet fuel would be nearly impossible. But firefighter after firefighter mounted the stairwell in their assault upon an enemy that would soon take their lives. The images that followed will remain in the minds and hearts of Americans forever.
The firefighters’ chaplain, Fr. Mychal Judge, quickly arrived on the scene. Many firefighters passed him as they entered the building. They saw him kneeling in prayer as he anointed the dying. Quietly, firefighters uttered a prayer for themselves and for “Fr. Mike” — without knowing that falling debris would soon take the life of this great priest. It was said that Fr. Mike was the first fatality of the rescuers. God needed him to be in heaven first and foremost to welcome all the brothers who were being called home that day. He was at heaven’s gate, showing them the way.
Laboring in the Rubble
Within twenty-four hours of the attack, our USAR team was at Ground Zero, deployed to assist in the recovery of what they believed would be thousands of survivors. For ten days they toiled and labored in a seven-story pile of rubble that formerly housed the financial backbone of the United States. There is nothing more frustrating for a firefighter than to be unable to accomplish the overriding reason for his existence — to save lives.
Firefighters across the nation initiated fund-raising drives to benefit the families of our brothers who had lost their lives. In late September, I was part of a team that traveled to New York and delivered 2.2 million dollars to the widows and orphans of these firefighters. This money came from the hearts and souls of Los Angeles residents, who had stopped us in the streets to place dollar bills in our outstretched boots. We represented the little girl who had knocked on the door of our fire station. With her piggy bank in hand, she asked us if we could take her pennies to the children who had lost their fathers. It moved us all to tears.
Honoring the Heroes
I will never forget the experience of being at Ground Zero. Amazingly, a sense of peace and serenity pervaded the New York fire station that was just feet away from the collapsed World Trade Center. From the roof of the three-story station, a panoramic site unfolded before us as rescuers continued to search for their comrades. As we watched, a call came that a brother’s body had been discovered. We quickly formed an honor guard as the body was carried from the pile of rubble. I stood shoulder to shoulder with firefighters from around the country and from around the world who had come to be in this holy place to honor the heroes. We all stood at attention as the stretcher, which was draped with an American flag, passed by us.
And I thought about this hero and his last moments. I wondered about his relationship with his Creator and his Lord. Had he experienced a relationship with Christ, and did he live it in his daily life? In his death, he had lived it by being obedient to Christ’s command: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn 15:13).
We Are All Dust
As I stood amidst the rubble, I could feel the dust on my face and realized that around me were the souls of thousands. In my face and my nostrils, I inhaled the lives that had been lost. In a building that had been filled with computers, desks, and files, I saw nothing recognizable. All was twisted steel and chunks of concrete and dust. The thought of the Lenten message we hear year after year came to me: “We are to remember that we are dust, and unto dust we shall return.”
On that day in lower Manhattan, I absorbed the dust of mankind into my skin, my heart and my soul. I felt convicted of all that Jesus teaches us in the Gospels. We must live the Word of God, and by doing so, reveal Him to others. We must not be ashamed to acknowledge Christ before men. Whether or not we are firefighters, it is clear to me that we know neither the day nor the hour in which our judgment will come. We must be ready ourselves, and we must assist others in finding the peace that comes with the knowledge that we are saved by the blood of the Lamb.
As men, we must acknowledge our love for our heavenly Father. We must be mentors and friends to other men. We must be men of sexual integrity. We must love our wives and families. We must support our churches and pray for our clergy. We must eliminate racial and denominational barriers from our lives. Finally, we must be obedient to the Great Commission to spread the gospel (Mt 28:20) and the Great Commandment to love God and others (Mk 12:30-31). If we can be faithful, the kingdom of God will be ours. And if we are called to respond to the challenges of this life and our lives are taken in the process, then we will be saved.
Stephen J. Ruda, in addition to being a firefighter for the city of Los Angeles, serves on the board of directors for the Catholic Men’s Fellowship of California. For more information, visit their Web site.
