On Commemorating 9/11

From "In the Spirit of Transparency" -September 13, 2002

Commemorating September 11 By Doing Good

One year ago, we stared at the raw, horrible face of evil when thousands of innocent people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania lost their lives due to some men’s despicable acts of violence. In the weeks and months that followed September 11, we deeply grieved the loss of these innocent victims of hate. We did not know the vast majority of these people, but through our shared sense of loss, our spontaneous pulling together as a nation, our unwavering faith in God, our compassionate embrace of the loved ones they left behind, and our common resolve to defeat evil- we became one family with them. And so did the world that recoiled at this evil and joined our resolve that such evil acts should not stand.

There are parallels to September 11 throughout human history, but one particular assault by evil on goodness stands out over the rest: the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, 2000 years ago. Jesus- the human and divine personification of the love of God, was sent to us by the Father to save us from sin. He was the truly innocent one- sinless, guileless, and perfect in goodness and holiness. Evil pounced on Him in a similarly treacherous and violent manner: They conspired against Him, arrested Him on false charges, tortured and executed Him in the most painful way. Yet evil can never triumph over good. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was raised up from the dead on the first Easter Sunday. He pulled together His fearful disciples and empowered them on Pentecost to be the foundation of His pillar of truth and goodness, against which the gates of hell shall not prevail.

The paramount lesson of Easter Sunday must continually be reinforced as we commemorate September 11: “Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good” (Rm 12:21). Evil will remain on earth until it is permanently consigned to hell on Judgment Day. Until then, we must resist, fight and conquer evil with the good that comes from God. There is no room for evil, whatever form it takes, in the household of God: greed, lies, hatred, intolerance, vindictiveness, violence and other immoralities. Rather, let us fill our hearts and lives with humility, love, forgiveness, truth, patience, and prayer. “Let the peace of Christ control our hearts, the peace into which we are also called in one body” (Col 3:15).

As a community, we will commemorate September 11 with prayer, fasting and acts of charity, such as almsgiving. We commemorate September 11 by acting in accord with the mind of Christ: by dying to self, fraternal correction, forgiveness, faith and obedience to God’s will. We commemorate September 11 by following the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ.