Today is the 25th Anniversary
of 9/11, let each of us take some time today to pray for peace in our world, in
our country and in our families. The prophet Isaiah offers us this magnificent
vision, “They shall beat their swords into
plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the
sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.”
*
Today ponder Isaiah’s
vision, pray for peace and praise God.
*Kelly Latimore at: https://kellylatimoreicons.com/
9/11 Reflection - Homily from 9/16/2001 [Special Blog on 09/11/2026]
I offered this Homily on Sunday, September 16, 2001,
five days after 9/11, at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Vienna, Virginia. [Our Scripture readings for
that day came from Cycle C.]
We have been through a most devastating week, as a nation.
Tuesday’s events are seared into our hearts and minds. In our reading from
Exodus we heard “…for they have become depraved” - - and don’t the
people responsible for Tuesday’s death and destruction come to mind. Those of us who were not personally affected by Tuesday’s
events can readily identify with Paul’s letter to Timothy, “… but I have
been mercifully treated.”
But in today’s Gospel we must
grapple with a most difficult lesson: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the
lost son(s). These parables turn our world upside down - -they turned Jesus’
world upside down!
How hard it would be for us to rejoice if the people
responsible for Tuesday’s devastation, repent and are saved by God’s compassion? Is it beyond our wildest dreams and hopes?
So Jesus tells us the story of the two sons - -one who tells
his Dad to drop dead! As a father, if my children did that I would be
devastated. Jesus tells us that God our Father
calls us to: bear our grief, forgive our hurts, and to be compassionate.
Today we should search our hearts for the pain and hurt we
haven’t forgiven yet; those in our families most especially!
This week has taught us many
lessons - one of them is how fragile life is - Today forgive in your families
because tomorrow may be too late. We hope and pray that Tuesday’s horror is never repeated.
Let us heed Jesus’ call to be compassionate. His call to be the “foolish”
shepherd, woman, father.
His call to heal first in our families and then in our
world, then we will join with the psalmist and “…rise
and go to my father.”
May God Be Praised.
