Hello.
It is hard to believe that it is 24 years ago that we witnessed the attack on the World Trade Towers in New York.
Being from NJ, I saw these buildings as part of the of the New York skyline. They were like a mountain that was always there.
I remember on one of my trips home that my brother and his wife asked if I wanted to take a boat ride around Manhattan. As we sat and view the buildings I could not help but to notice the absence of those two structures and I remember having dinner in a restaurant at the top of one of the towers several times.
I know that our first response, when something like this happens, is to strike back, to cause the same amount or more pain than another has inflicted on us.
I came across this quote by Sandy Kahl the wife of Jason Dahl the pilot of Flight 93 which crashed in a field in Summerset County, Pennsylvania. She said, “If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate.” Even in her grief and loss she was able to turn this tragedy into a teachable moment for all of us. There is a story from a visitor to the sight after the crash who said she saw a circle of angels around the sight as if protecting those who died.
We cannot deny the fact that there is evil in the world and has been there since Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden and when something like this happens, we want to fight back. But the Bible tells us not to return evil for evil. In Romans 12:17-20 we read “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.” This is in no way to say that we cannot protect ourselves, and this can be one of the hardest things to do. But Jesus calls us to rise above the occasion, to be the better person.
It would seem that some of the Lord’s teachings go against our very nature. But maybe that is what we are called to do. It sometimes does not make sense. But then, maybe it is not meant to make sense to us, but somehow it makes sense to God.
Peace and All Good
Fr. Vinnie, fcm and the
Bros and Srs of the
Franciscan House or Prayer.
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