Source: maps.google.com
I am rather sure that if you were to ask someone who was alive 25 years ago where they were on the morning of September 11, 2001, they would have no trouble in telling you exactly where they were and what they were doing. I happened to be in Chile, as Viatorian Superior General, visiting the retreat center of the Province of Chile in a town called El Granizo.
It was a sunny morning, and I was being shown some of the new buildings on the property that had just been built. Suddenly, a Viatorian brother ran down the hill to call me to the television set. He looked shaken and told me that something terrible had happened in the United States. I followed him back to the Viatorian Residence only to see the second plane hit the south tower a few minutes after 9:00 AM. I was stunned, not really understanding what I was looking at. It took time to completely take in the horror taking place that I was witnessing 5,000 miles away. As the day progressed and hijacked planes crashed into the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, I gradually understood how this event was affecting not just the United States, but the entire world.
The next day, I visited the Viatorian school in Ovalle, Chile. The special assembly of the faculty and students that was already planned to greet me became an expression of solidarity with the United States. The Stars and Stripes was displayed next to the Chilean Flag, and I was humbled and moved by an outpouring of sympathy and compassion for the United States delivered by the principal, members of the faculty, and students.
That was 25 years ago. Much has happened since that moment, and it would be out of touch to think that the world still feels the same degree of support and good feelings toward the United States that people exhibited in 2001. However, it is important for us to remember this horrific event in American history and to learn from those terrible days.
I can only reflect on the goodness of so many people who acted out of courage, dedication, and self-sacrifice. In New York, police, firemen, emergency medical personnel, military personnel, and so many ordinary people rushed to help, putting themselves in harm’s way – they showed the world that human life is not just a matter of looking out for our own self-interests, but that we all belong to one another. Who can forget the poignant photo of Fr. Mychal Judge, OFM? He was the FDNY chaplain carried out of the collapsing South Tower, who is recorded as victim 0001, the first official fatality of the September 11 attack.
We can also remember the many messages of love. Many of the thousands of victims, knowing that they would not survive, made calls to family and friends to say good-bye. While facing death, they taught us that what is truly important are our relationships with the people whom we love and our ability to communicate that love.
There is also the story of the people of Gander, Newfoundland – population 9,000 – who, in an extraordinary way, offered hospitality to over 6,500 passengers from international flights that had been diverted there when the US closed its airspace. The people of Gander opened schools, churches, community centers, and more. Many residents took total strangers into their homes and offered food, medical services, and care for five days to these “come-from-aways,” as they were called.
It is important, now more than ever, to reflect on the solidarity, self-sacrifice, compassion, and love that the terrible events of 9/11 produced. We need to be grateful as a nation for the outpouring of care by not only Americans, but also people from other countries, especially Canadians. As a nation, we are bitterly divided over many issues, but we must remember that, even amid our most divisive arguments, we are united to every person by our common humanity. We pray in thanksgiving for those who gave their lives in service to others on 9/11. May we draw strength from their example that helps us to heal our nation.
Fr. Mark Francis, CSV
Provincial Superior, Province of Chicago
Clerics of St. Viator