It is hard to believe that next
Saturday we will memorialize the
20th Anniversary of 9/11 when our
country was brutally attacked by
terrorists. I remember my Business Administrator giving me a
note at Mass about a terrible aviation accident: presumably two passenger planes had veered off
course and flew into the Twin
Towers in New York City. We
prayed for all the victims.
And then shortly after this another note. A plane had flown into
the Pentagon. Our country was
under attack. September 11, 2001,
is a day that will be remembered
in history, especially by those who
lived through it.
I remember seeing the movie
“Pearl Harbor” the month before
and thinking, “We are more vulnerable then ever, because our
country has turned away from God
and family, even allowing abortion.” I even preached about
“Pearl Harbor” and how we need
to get back to the Ten Commandments, which were written on two
tablets like a fortress against evil,
before God’s judgment would revisit us. The Two Tablets crumbled in our country’s life, much
like the Twin Towers.
9/11 was a tragic day and our
country reeled with grief and confusion. About three thousand people were brutally murdered, and
hundreds of our first responders
died trying to rescue the survivors.
Many people rushed home from
work and school. They stayed at
home securing their families, food,
water, finances and property.
Some prayed, made amends, and
sought God’s mercy and justice.
I remember reading about
many heroic men and women doing whatever they could to serve
the suffering and dying. I remember our churches filling up
with many people who had put
God, and the sacrifice of the Holy
Mass, second, or third place in
their life. But after 9/11 many
seemed to realize that everyone
needs Jesus Christ and his Holy
Mother Church to build true
peace in this world, and most importantly, to gain Eternal Life by
living devoutly the Catholic
Christian faith.
Our military men and women
rose to the occasion and sallied
forth, especially our special
forces. Within weeks they had
attacked the terrorists as memorialized in the movie “12 Strong”.
Unfortunately, after about 9
months, the pews began to slim
out. Many went about their
business chasing after the
American dream, perhaps with a
renewed interest in security.
Many were content to let the
professional military endure the
sacrifices of protecting our “life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.
Yet, others joined the military, began to pray daily, began
to study scripture – especially
the Prophets – to understand
why God allows evil so that people come back to his call to holiness by taking up their cross and
defending the truth found fully
in Jesus Christ and his
Church.
The natural gifts we
have of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” come from
God, but these natural rights
must be defended and nurtured
by freedom loving Christians.
Our country has been established on Judeo-Christian principles embodied in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these
truths to be self evident, that all men
are created equal; that they are
endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable rights; that
among these are life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness.”
The most effective way we can
protect “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is to live a life
of deepening conversion to Jesus
Christ and his Catholic Church.
We need to follow Jesus more
closely within his Catholic
Church and pray for the conversion of sinners; even to the point
of making sacrifices to win over
hearts and minds to Jesus
Christ, his sacred order and his
seven Sacraments.
To that end, please consider
praying the Family Rosary daily
and joining us for a special Adoration/Confession time at Holy
Trinity, Sat. September 11, from
8:30 a.m. to 9:50 a.m., with Holy
Mass dedicated to the Victims of
9/11 and their families at 10:00
a.m.
God bless you,
and God bless America,
Fr. Thomas McCabe