September 11th, 2011

This weekend marks the tenth anniversary of the awful events of September 11th. At the time I was ministering at St. Kevin’s in Warwick. What I remember so well were the prayer vigils we had for the victims. So much emotion and faith were on display. In the face of unbelievable evil I made a commitment to do what I could to bring light and hope to others. Over and over the words of Paul kept coming back to me, “Where sin abides, grace abides the more.” We certainly saw so many signs of grace and goodness at Ground Zero. We saw the love of God in the firefighters rushing into burning buildings to save people. So much compassion was displayed by first responders, rescue workers, volunteers, nurses, clergy. This place of death was also a place of grace and even resurrection. For me it demonstrated the depth of the Christian mystery. The place of death became a location for new life. Some called Ground Zero an American Golgotha. So much has changed in our world since 9/11. We are reminded of this every time we fly and have to remove belts and shoes. Security has become a top priority for all Americans. Yet we are only truly safe when we trust in God. In God’s will is our peace as St. Theresa reminds us. As we have started a new parish year may we dedicate ourselves to making our faith community here a better place. We have so much in the way of treasure and talent. Let us not waste it as we take the lessons of 9/11 and bring God’s light to the world. Fr. Bob Hawkins