This morning my pastor preached about the attacks on
September 11th in 2001 at our school Mass. It was interesting that most of our kids weren’t born by
9-11 and have no memory of what happened.
Now I may not be thirty yet, but I
remember well the terrorist attacks twelve years ago. I walked into Spanish class to start the day and the room
was completely silent with the television on. We watched the second plane hit the World Trade Center and
the collapse of the towers.
As an immature Christian my first
reaction was a desire for vengeance.
I remember telling my friend Aaron (over instant messaging), “We should
blow Afghanistan off the map.” Aaron,
who was a good role model in my faith and far more mature than I, replied, “No. We don’t respond to violence with
violence.” Aaron showed a mature
approach to tragedy—he lived out St. Paul’s exhortation to “seek what is above.”
Today our world faces other
terrorist attacks in Syria.
Leaders are gassing their own citizens—innocent men, women and
children. In the United States
many are seeking vengeance on those responsible, a natural earthly reaction to
tragedy.
As Christians we must be witnesses
of peace. We need to pray for the
innocent in Syria who have lost their homes, families or even lives. We need to hold our brothers and
sisters who are now refugees in our thoughts and prayers. We must pray for the conversion of those
responsible for horrendous crimes.
And we must pray for a peaceful resolution in Syria.
As we remember those who fell on
9-11 we pray for the grace to be men and women of peace. We pray for the grace to be men and
women of prayer.
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