09/11/2026
There are so many "feels" today so I wanted to share this wonderful article from our Bishop Cozzens on remembering 9/11. May God Bless YOU~
Remembering September 11, 2001:
Love Has the Final Say
Like many of you, I remember exactly where I was on September 11, 2001, when I heard the news of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. I remember the horror and the fear that marked those days for our whole country when all the planes were grounded, and we wondered if more would follow. All of us experienced the difference it made to our travel ever after.
9/11 still stands as a great marker of the evil of which the human heart is capable. It is stunning that human beings can be capable of such savage cruelty, yet we know that this cruelty has not ended in the 25 years since this terrible event.
In the days after, I remember praying and trying to make sense of this event in prayer and two things struck me. First were the words of Pope Saint John Paul II. The very next day, at his Wednesday audience, he said:
“Faith comes to our aid at these times when words seem to fail. Christ’s word is the only one that can give a response to the questions which trouble our spirit. Even if the forces of darkness appear to prevail, those who believe in God know that evil and death do not have the final say. Christian hope is based on this truth; at this time, our prayerful trust draws strength from it.”
The fact is that God has allowed a world where evil exists, and sometimes this mystery is quite terrifying. But God has not abandoned His world. He has entered into it and revealed a love that is stronger and greater than every evil. This is the love that flows from the heart of Christ and forgives and redeems evil and has the power to make new life wherever it flows.
In a beautiful way, we also saw this truth in the days after 9/11. As often happens when a great tragedy occurs, we saw people filling churches. We saw people respond with great generosity to help each other. We saw the incredible courage of the first responders. Who of us could forget the images of Father Mychal Judge, OFM, who gave his life while trying to offer the sacraments to those who were dying at the World Trade Center, including the first responders? These images remind us also of the greatness of the human spirit.
The events of 9/11 make clear that we live in a world that is, in many ways, still ruled by the enemy of God, and many times human beings act unwittingly as his agents. But this is why Jesus came: to redeem us from this enemy and to reveal to us the greatness of the love of which we are capable. This is why none of us can be bystanders in the great struggle of good and evil in our world. All of us are called to be part of the struggle to redeem the world and recreate it by sharing the overwhelming and unconditional love of God. This is what our world needs to know.
The beauty is that when we know this love and when we stand in His grace, we need not have any fear, no matter how great the evil.
I was also struck by another quotation that I read on September 13, 2001. It is a reading in the Liturgy of the Hours, which priests and many laity pray, that always appears on September 13 because it is from the feast of Saint John Chrysostom. In that reading, he says:
“The waters have risen and severe storms are upon us, but we do not fear drowning, for we stand firmly upon a rock. Let the sea rage; it cannot break the rock. Let the waves rise; they cannot sink the boat of Jesus. What are we to fear? Death? Life to me means Christ, and death is gain. Exile? The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord. The confiscation of our goods? We brought nothing into this world, and we shall surely take nothing from it. I have only contempt for the world’s threats; I find its blessings laughable. I have no fear of poverty, no desire for wealth. I am not afraid of death, nor do I long to live except for your good. I concentrate therefore on the present situation, and I urge you, my friends, to have confidence.”
In the face of evil let us have confidence as we seek to bring the light of Christ to renew the world.
