Sunday Meditation: A Reflection on 9/11 by Fr. Jim Sobus

OnWednesday, 9/11, I received an email reflection from a dear priest about the tragedy that took place 23 years ago. It reminded me that some things are so serious they should never be forgotten. The sacrifice of  the early Christian martyrs who went singing to their deaths, inspires all who suffer "for righteousness sake". The actions of tyrants challenges us to act differently, especially when we have power and authority over others. We need to remember that God is the ultimate authority, and those who receive it from Him condemn themselves when they misuse it. So many bloody atrocities stain  the pages of history, especially the 20th century and these early years of the 21st. We forget them at our peril. Let us remember 9/11 with sorrow, but also with admiration and gratitude for those heroic souls whose glorious response merits our determination to never forget!

A Reflection on 9/11 by Fr. James Sobus

Monday Morning Musing! Is the Biden Administration Setting Us Up for Another 9/11?

Is the Biden Administration setting us up for another 9/11? Absolutely! No doubt about it!

The September 2nd issue of The Wanderer. featured an article by Terence Jeffrey's, How the 9/11 Terrorists Got Here. Easy answer -- illegally! His data came from the commission created by Congress titled "9/11 and Terrorist Travel." So I went and looked up the report. It's preamble begins:

It is perhaps obvious to state that terrorists cannot plan and carry out attacks in the United States if they are unable to enter the country. Yet prior to September 11, while there were efforts to enhance border security, no agency of the U.S. government thought of border security as a tool in the counterterrorism arsenal. Indeed, even after 19 hijackers demonstrated the relative ease of obtaining a U.S. visa and gaining admission into the United States, border security still is not considered a cornerstone of national security policy. We believe, for reasons we discuss in the following pages, that it must be made one.

Witnesses in the Dock: Wake Up, World, Islam Hates You! McCarthy on the Stand

Brussels Airport after bomb attack 

AT LEAST 31 DEAD IN BOMBINGS OF BRUSSELS AIRPORT, METRO

When the 9/11 attacks occurred, my husband and I still lived in Alexandria. The Pentagon attack hit close to home -- fewer than ten miles away. And Larry worked there for years before taking a job at Quantico in Fredericksburg. He could have been among the casualties. 

We talked occasionally about where we wanted to retire, but, the truth is we are slow movers, especially my husband whose family lived for several generations in one place. I expected we would stay in Alexandria forever. 

The Sign of Hope at Ground Zero

No matter how dark the hour, Jesus is always present. The cross was the sign of hope for the Israelites in the desert who were bitten by the serpents. It was the sign of hope for the early Christians. It is the sign Catholics make with holy water as they enter a church. It was the sign of hope left at ground zero on September 11, 2001.

The evil one wants us to "despair and die." But Christ wants us to repent and live. Let's pray today for the courage to persevere with hope and determination. Life has always involved battling evil. I saw For Greater Glory last night depicting the devastating persecution and attack on the Church in Mexico during the 1920s under President Plutarco Calles. The struggle of the Cristeros was the same battle against godless politicians that fills our history books: England after Henry VIII with the underground Church in hiding, the uprising of the Catholics in the Vendée during the French revolution, the persecutions in Russia, Japan, China and now in Muslim countries aided and abetted by the U.S. government. And yet we hope...not in politicians...but in Christ the king.

Viva Cristo Rey, Vive le Christ-Roi, Long live Christ the King!

9/11: Do We Know the Truth?

There are a lot of theories out there about what "really happened" on 9/11. Some believe it was a government conspiracy and the planes hitting the Twin Towers were empty, radio-controlled drones and the real planes crashed into the ocean. Other's believe the towers were deliberately brought down by explosives set in the basements of the buildings that were set off near the time the planes hit.

What do you think? I've read a lot of the conspiracy theories out there. I'm not an engineer or a scientist and I know next to nothing about mechanics and physics, but others do. Here's an interesting analysis of the conspiracy theories. Check out the folks who contributed to it and see for yourself.

Special Report from Popular Mechanics, March 2005

Pray for the Repose of the Souls of Those Killed on 9/11/01

We know not the day or the hour. Be ready at every moment. Dedicate your day to God when you rise. Speak to him often throughut the day. Make and act of contrition and thank him for the day when you go to bed. The only thing that matters is the state of our soul at death when we will hear either "Well done good and faithful servant.) or "Depart from you evildoer." Which will it be? We know not the day or the hour.

Remember the fallen.

9/11 is a memorial day.

It's a day to pray for the innocent who were ruthlessly murdered because of the hatred of a few. If you want to see the face of evil look at the black smoke and flames rising from the burning buildings and clouds of dust and debris filling the streets as the towers collapsed. Pray for the victims.

But don't only focus on the destruction. Remember the generosity of the rescuers, many of whom also died that day. Remember those who rushed to hospitals to donate blood, those who hurried to comfort their neighbors touched by disaster, the clergymen who rushed to the site to anoint, to pray, to listen, to comfort, to forgive. Pray for the hero-vicitms like Todd Beamer who didn't just sit on a plane in fear but, with his fellow passengers, prevented a plane from being the bomb that hit a Washington, D.C. target, perhaps the White House or the Capitol.

And pray for those who committed the evil as well: the plotters who organized it and the evil men who carried it out.

Remember, love always overcomes evil, because evil, like dark, is nothing. One match dispels the dark and one act of love defeats all evil.

9/11 didn't overcome America. It demonstrated the goodness in America's people.

America, America,

God mend thine every flaw;

Confirm they soul in self-control

Thy liberty in law.