Monday, September 11 marked the fifth anniversary of the tragic and devastating terrorist attacks on our nation. The entire country was horrified by the vivid images as the airplanes flew into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. We learned with equal distress that passenger jets had crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, DC and in western Pennsylvania. A terrible sense of vulnerability gripped the people of the United States as we grieved the loss of life of thousands of people, among them police, fire and rescue workers, even a priest, all who would be acknowledged as heroes for their ultimate sacrifice. In the moments following the terrible attacks, we came to realize that the world had changed.
For many weeks, we observed media coverage of recovery efforts at Ground Zero. Our sadness grew as the list of the names of victims continued to grow. A numbness engulfed many, particularly young people who had never experienced such a devastating loss of life.
Along with the bitter grief which weighed upon the United States, the terrorist attacks of September 11 ushered in an unsettling distrust, a heightened sentiment of suspicion and a reawakened intolerance. As our nation found itself at war against an elusive enemy, neighborhoods, businesses and schools suddenly became places where those who were different were held suspect. Innocent people suffered as a result of prejudice and bigotry.
The September 11 terrorist attacks were the manifestation of an increasingly violent era. The twentieth century was so badly scarred by world wars and excessive violence. The dawn of the Third Millennium was awaited with much hope and promise, especially for an age of peace and harmony. The attacks, fueled by the callous disregard for human life, were the fruit of an age which has embraced violence of all sorts. Whether the violence is simulated in films or graphic video games, or the violence is actual, violence of all sorts has taken its toll on the human family. Wars, oppresive regimes and genocide, gang-related violence, drug and alcohol-related violence, domestic abuse, violent and sexual abuse of children, the increased violence in schools, neighborhoods and cities, all have contributed to a terrible era drenched in innocent blood and heaped with the injured spirits of those who have been victimized by the many forms of violence.
The words of a prayer by Alcuin of York, who lived in the eighth century, express in our own day the lamentation which weighed (and continues to weigh) upon our hearts for all victims of terrorism and violence: "Christ, why do you allow wars and massacres on earth? By what mysterious judgment do you allow innocent people to be cruelly slaughtered? I cannot know. I can only find assurance in the promise that your people will find peace in heaven, where no one makes war. As gold is purified by fire, so you purify souls by these bodily tribulations, making them ready to be received above the stars in your heavenly home" (Manual of Prayers, Pontifical North American College, p. 305).
Finding Solace in the Heart of Jesus
In the fear, confusion and grief which followed in the wake of the attacks, many people immediately turned to their local churches in order to be near our Eucharistic Lord. Churches remained opened into the night. Masses for Justice and Peace were celebrated. Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament was made available. People gathered to pray the Rosary. Those who were troubled found solace in the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus. Within their parish churches, many people found the security and tranquility which the terroristic events attempted to diminish.
Looking back upon the tragic events enables us also to recall the many blessings which became evident as, moved by charity, compassion and spiritual yearning, people of good will aided each other, supported each other, prayed for each other and, especially, grew more conscious of the nearness of God. The tribulations led many to a return to Church, a return to the Sacraments, and a return to prayer. Through the ministry of the Church, through the opening of hearts to God, people began to experience an inner peace which is manifested in the desire for peace in the world and harmony among all people.
Prayer ignites, not the fires of hatred and destruction, but rather the flame of ardent charity and unbreakable unity. Prayer " especially the Mass and Holy Communion, Eucharistic Adoration and the Rosary " will strengthen our resolve to overcome the barriers and divisions among the human family. Prayer will overturn this terrible epoch of violence.
The Triumph of the Cross
September 14 is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Church's celebration of the triumph of Christ over sin and death, which He achieved through His Cross. In the mystery of the Cross we find renewed hope for the destruction of evil, restored hope for peace in our hearts.
The greatest act of violence which history ever witnessed occurred on Good Friday, when the human race crucified our God, our Creator. Yet out of that atrocious violence the redemption of the human race was wrought. God, then, has deemed that suffering is an inseparable component in the work of salvation. Therefore, our sufferings enable us to share in the sufferings of Christ.
Saint Paul, whose life and ministry were challenged by many hardships, tribulations and sufferings, declared: "But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Gal 6: 14). The Apostle personally knew the power of suffering and viewed each of his sufferings as a share in the mystery of the Cross of Jesus.
Pope John Paul II explained the mystery of suffering:
"Those who share in Christ's sufferings have before their eyes the Paschal Mystery of the cross and resurrection, in which Christ descends, in a first phase, to the ultimate limits of human weakness and impotence: indeed, He dies nailed to the cross. But if at the same time in this weakness there is accomplished His lifting up, confirmed by the power of the resurrection, then this means that the weaknesses of all human sufferings are capable of being infused with the same power manifested in Christ's cross…. In Him God has confirmed His desire to act especially through suffering, which is man's weakness and emptying of self, and He wishes to make His power known precisely in this weakness and emptying of self" (Salvifici Doloris, 23).
The events of September 11, 2001 awakened many to the profound impact of evil. Evil inflicted a harsh blow upon a country which in many ways had become complacent in a materialistic, utilitarian and, frequently, hedonistic culture. The suffering which resulted from the attacks overcame complacency and comfort, drawing a collective response from every corner of our nation " and from other nations throughout the world: evil will never overcome goodness.
The lesson of the Cross is that tremendous good can result from terrible evil. Just as the goodness so deeply embedded in the human spirit surfaced swiftly and triumphantly in the face of the evil actions of September 11, 2001, so, in the wake of so much violence today, great good will blossom. The culture of violence, abuse, destruction and bloodshed will be overshadowed by the Cross of Jesus. As our late beloved Holy Father also taught of this mystery of Christ Crucified: Through his death, he has revealed to us that there is love in the world: Love stronger than death.