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It will soon be 20 years since the 9-11 attack on our country. I don’t know about you, but it is hard for me to believe it was 20 years ago. In some ways, it seems like a lifetime ago and in other ways, it seems like it was just yesterday.
I was pastor of St. James the Apostle in New Bedford. As I concluded the morning Mass and walked through the Social Hall toward the parish office, I was informed by some of our early morning volunteers that an airliner had flown into one of the Twin Towers in New York City.
Being a newly licensed private pilot with my instrument rating, I was truly shocked that any such thing could have happened on that beautiful, clear September morning. In fact, a friend of mine was flying that morning and I was hoping, myself, to find some time to get into the air. I walked over to the rectory and turned on the television and as I was watching, a second airliner flew into the second tower. At that moment, I knew, as did America, that we were under attack.
The news continued to unfold and so did the attack on America. Many Americans were then glued to the television as we helplessly watched another airliner fly into the Pentagon and heard the report that another aircraft crashed near Shanksville.
When I heard the news that an aircraft went down in Shanksville, I knew that I would be involved, being chaplain to the FBI. Our Pittsburgh office of the FBI takes in half of Pennsylvania and all of West Virginia. Sure enough, I was called upon by the Bureau to assist at Shanksville the next morning. Being on the critical response team, I have a bag always packed for an immediate deployment. I quickly called Father Bob Miller, who was pastor at St. Camillus Parish, and asked if he would cover my parish while I was gone. He agreed to do so and I arrived at the crash site on the morning of September 12th. I had made arrangements of Fr. Ed Higgins, a retired priest of the Greensburg Diocese, who was living in a condo at Hidden Valley so that I could stay with him. But on the morning of September 12 th, I drove directly to the crash site with the help of the state police. I arrived at the command post and was immediately requested by FBI command to help with the families of the victims who they anticipated would be arriving at Seven Springs. I was also directed to assist with United Airlines personnel who would be in charge of the families of the victims. My role expanded to assist and coordinate with the Red Cross in providing assistance and comfort to the families of the victims and all the volunteers and first responders.
Immediately after receiving my orders, I was taken to the overlook of the crash site itself and prayed the interment prayers for all who lost their lives in this terrible tragedy. I prayed for their families, their souls, and consecrated the ground where they lost their earthly lives and prayed that through the mercy of God they would live eternally in His loving embrace.
There is so much more I could share with you. My Mass kit with which I celebrated Mass with the families of the victims and the first responders at Seven Springs, along with my FBI id badge for the site and my FBI jacket were procured by the Heinz History Center and are often part of their 9-11 display. The National Park Service requested an oral history from me recounting my service and memories regarding the aftermath of this attack. That oral history is on record at the memorial in Shanksville. More recently, because of the twentieth anniversary, I have been asked to participate in a number of remembrances as well as panel discussions and even a television and radio interview as we approach the anniversary.
One of the major haunting questions that has to be in the mind of all Americans today is: are we better than we were 20 years ago or worse? I know my answer to that question, but what is yours? Are we living up to the blood that was spilled on that day? Are we a more faithful, loving, united and peaceful country? Do we have a united leadership that is truly concerned about liberty and justice and following our rules of law in the Constitution? Are we committed to protecting human life from conception to natural death?
On September 12th, we will celebrate our Parish Picnic beginning with holy Mass at 11:00 am at Cascade Park. My hope and prayer is that we, as a Catholic parish, will make every effort to live the faith that we profess. Each one of us in our own lives can witness to the Gospel. We can be instruments of Christ’s love and peace in our world. Don’t wait for someone else to make our country and certainly our parish the place we want it to be. That is the responsibility of each and every one of us. We are either actively making our world, our country, and our parish in Lawrence County, a better place, a more loving place, a more united place, a more Christian place! Or we are actively making it the exact opposite. Which are you doing? I hope and pray that you and I are doing everything in our power and with God’s grace to do His will, no matter the cost and no matter the sacrifice!
God love you,
