Patriot Day: Remembering 9/11

Patriot Day

September 11, 2024

Most of you will not remember what you were doing at 8:30 am on September 11, 2001. Many of you will remember where you were and what you were doing later that morning, as news of the atrocities of that day were revealed throughout the United States and the world. Twenty-three years have elapses since 9/11/01. I remember where I was at 8:46 am that morning, wondering how a plane’s flight path could deviate so far offline. Then by shortly after 9:00 am, when the second of the World Trade Center towers was hit, I knew that New York was under attack.  

For those of us old enough to remember and old enough to have been impacted by the events of that day, it is our responsibility to help the generations to come understand all that transpired that day, beyond the fact that airports no longer permitted family and friends beyond security checkpoints. Young people, our students and your children, are growing up in a cultural and political environment created out of the response to 9/11, even if that is not immediately recognizable as a direct response.  

The attacks of 9/11 were the first on American soil since the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Now our students can study both modern-day attacks in their Modern World History class.  

I have a personal story from that day. In fact, our long-time sub, Dr. Meyer, was with me throughout that day, as we were both at work at school {or at the Academy of the Sacred Heart}. In both 2016 and 2021, local stories of the terrorist attacks were written in the Detroit Catholic.  

The first was a human interest story written for the 15th annivesrary, specifically about a 27-year-old woman who was on a business trip to NYC and was in the South Tower of the World Trade Center when the first plane struck. You can read the story for yourself. I had the great privilege to teach this woman, Suzanne Kondratenko, when she was in high school. The article very nicely summarizes Suzanne for the woman she had grown up to be. To this day, her parents Patricia and Eric Kondratenko, go to the site every year, for the commemoration ceremony when the names of all the men, women, and children who were killed as a result of the 9/11 attacks, reading of the names of the fallen.

The second was a more general article written 20 years after the events, about the inter-faith memorial service on the Detroit River. Archbishop Vigneron prayed that, “as we commemorate this day, September 11, as a time for remembrance and resolve, we ask you to hear us. In your presence, Lord, we remember those who were victims of terrorism on that dreadful day. Those who died, those who were injured or wounded in body or spirit, and those whose loved ones are among the victims, we entrust anew into your hands, there to find safety and healing beyond what the world offers.”

Out of this day twenty-three years ago comes a reminder that we are a people of faith, not fear. There are 31 Bible verses about “fear”, and through them, we are promised that God walks with the faithful at all times.  “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord, your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

On 9/11, flags throughout the nation are flown at half-mast. A moment of silence is observed six times to correspond to each attack that day – 8:46 am, when the first plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center, 9:03 am, 9:37 am, 9:59 am, 10:03 am, and 10:28 am, when the attacks on the South Tower and the Pentagon took place, as well as to commemorate crash of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania, and the time each tower fell.  

This day also serves as a reminder that we must always stand together as a nation. A thoughtful quote from Mark Hart, author of Ask the Bible Geek, helps put things into perspective: “It’s OK to be upset and even angry over things that happen around the world or show up in your social media feed, but don’t let them steal your joy, cause you to sin, or destroy your hope. Put any energy that is tempted to hate into loving others instead.”

We Pray:

God of justice and of peace,

On this day of solemn remembrance:
May we honor the lives that were lost in this tragic act.
May we give thanks for those who served and saved, rendered aid and assistance.
May we give comfort to those who live with loss.
May we seek justice and peace where it is within our ability,
and rely on you when the ability escapes us.

On this day of solemn remembrance:
May we build what has been torn down.
May we mend what has been broken.
May we live your love when hate seems to reign.
May we bear witness to the cause of peace.

Amen.

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Reference:

• https://www.detroitcatholic.com/news/not-lost-in-vain-two-decades-after-9-11-archbishop-religious-leaders-honor-fallen
• https://www.detroitcatholic.com/news/never-ever-forgotten
• https://www.dynamiccatholic.com/ask-the-bible-geek/GEEK.html