9/11

A few months ago, I attended a conference that was in 7 World Trade. 7 World Trade was rebuilt after 9/11. It was surreal going up into 7 World Trade, knowing that it had collapsed on 9/11. From the 40th floor, seeing the huge hole in the ground, it was surreal..... thinking about those who perished that day made me tremble.

We should never forget. We pray for all the families, victims and survivors of 9/11. The US was criticized today for remembering and holding public memorial services with the family members of 9/11 victims. One lady told me that we should only remember the humanitarian triumph on that day. How does one forget the reason Fr. Judge was anointing victims when the towers collapsed and killed him? He wasn't anointing people because they spontaneously became ill or dropped dead. He was doing his job as a priest because terrorists flew airplanes into our twin towers. Saying what she said today.... using that logic, one would then have to forget the holocaust when remembering the sacrifice St. Kolbe made when he died for a Jewish man who had a wife and kids. Are we supposed to forget why he was in the concentration camp to begin with? Absolutely crazy.

I also read that we were adding hype to the sadness of 9/11 and that this is what has created the economic turmoil. Right. President Obama, his administration and our Congress passing the recent bill to increase the debt ceiling without really controlling spending had nothing to do with it. It was all that hype over 9/11. No one can add hype to the events of 9/11. 3 WTC towers fell-- the twin towers were hit by airplanes and 7 World Trade fell after catching fire and falling debris damaged it. Our Pentagon was hit by an airplane and there is was a hole in the ground where flight 93 hit. No one can add hype to the sadness.... tell that to the widows, widowers, children who lost parents, or those who never met their fathers because they died in 9/11 before they were born.

To dare and criticize how we AMERICANS memorialize 9/11 and have public memorial services is in poor taste on any given day, but completely unconscionable on the tenth anniversary of 9/11. I am glad that our country has chosen to NEVER FORGET and have public memorials. The families of the victims need to know that we still support them, love them and pray for them.

Here are a few pictures from my visit to NYC this past summer.... NEVER FORGET.

Reflecting pools from 7 World Trade

Cross at Ground Zero

inscription on cross

view of ground zero from 7 World trade

new Freedom tower-- it will be 1776 ft tall when complete