As the nation’s attention focused on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Catholic leaders and their congregations reflected upon the impact of that day.
In a statement released Friday, Sept. 10, Bishop Barry C. Knestout recalled the words spoken by St. Pope John Paul II the day after the attacks: “‘Faith comes to our aid at these times when words seem to fail. Christ’s words are the only ones that can give us a response to the questions which trouble our spirit.’”
The bishop noted the permanent impact the events in New York, Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon had on everyone, noting that faith and hope “sustain us during our darkest hours.” (Bishop Knestout writes more about 9/11 in his column.)
He concluded his Sept. 10 statement with additional words from St. Pope John Paul II: “‘Even if the forces of darkness appear to prevail, those who believe in God know evil and death do not have the final say.’”
On Saturday, Sept. 11, Our Lady of Peace Parish, Appomattox, hosted a memorial service featuring retired Maj. Gen. Scott West, a parishioner who, was working at the Pentagon that day when the terrorists’ plane slammed into the building.
While West’s life was spared, three of his friends died — Lt. Col. Stephen Neil Hyland Jr., Major Stephen Long and Major Clifford Potter. Several days later he learned that another friend, retired Col. Rick Rescoria, was killed in the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
Following the attack on the Pentagon, all communication was shut down. It was four hours before West could reach his wife, Patti, to let her know that he was safe. By 9:30 that evening, he finally made it home.
In his reflection, West prayed, “They will live forever in our hearts. May God cradle them and all in his loving arms.”
The service, whose participants included Our Lady of Peace parishioners, as well as those from Holy Cross and St. Thomas More Parishes, Lynchburg, and St. Victoria, Hurt, included a reading from Mark 15:33-39, music by the Our Lady of Peace choir and prayers for the deceased of 9/11 and their families, and the people of Afghanistan.
New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan said he couldn’t think of “a better place to be” than St. Patrick’s Cathedral “on this somber anniversary” of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
He shared his sentiments in opening remarks at a morning Mass he offered Sept. 11 at the cathedral to members of the New York City Fire Department and to families of firefighters who perished on 9/11.
“My welcome to all of you this morning is especially heartfelt and fervent,” the cardinal said in his homily.
“While the entirety of this one nation under God observes this two-decade anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, you all have a special claim to it,” he added.
“You, FDNY, were there. You, FDNY, lost cherished colleagues — 9/11 Continued from Page 1 343,” the cardinal said. “You, FDNY, ask the questions … in your duty to save, rescue and protect.”
“And you, beloved families — how much we love you — realized that day, that the day you had long dreaded, the phone call you often feared, the supreme loss you knew was part of the package, had arrived all at once.
“So you are all very much at home here at St. Patrick’s, folks,” he said.
“This happens to be where we come to sob, to remember with reverence and gratitude, to recall with love those we gave away that day.”
The cathedral, he continued, is where we come to hear the inspired word of God, especially the teaching of Christ.
“This is where we come to bow heads, to whisper a prayer, to dry a tear, to fight off a lump in the throat, to light a candle and realize we’re not alone. God is with us, family, friends, community, Mother Church is with us.”
At a 9/11 remembrance Mass Sept. 8 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin reminded the congregation that what happened 20 years ago was more than a national tragedy. For many in the local area, it was personal, he said.
The terrorist attacks directly impacted New Jersey families and residents who “had no idea that morning they were saying a final goodbye to someone whose loss would rip out their hearts,” the cardinal said in his homily.
Some of those who lost loved ones in the World Trade Center attack were at the Mass.
Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, the principal celebrant and homilist of the Sept. 11 Mass at St. Patrick’s in Washington, said the anniversary of the terrorist attacks is a time to “pause to remember the thousands of people whose lives were lost and their families who still grieve,” and also an opportunity to “recall the extraordinary dedication of first responders and even ordinary citizens.”
He said the anniversary is not “simply a moment for deep national mourning, but it is also simultaneously a time for deep hope and pride in the courage and the strength of our nation.”
Contributing to this story was Father Jim Gallagher.