The following is the text of the homily delivered by Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, archbishop for the Military Services, USA, during the Sept. 11 he celebrated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States:
Certain dates strike a chord and bring back clear memories. For my generation and those older, Friday, 22 November 1963 will produce an immediate reaction. We can all tell you where we were when we heard the news of President Kennedy’s assassination. Now for those a bit older than 30, 9-11 resonates in the same way.
The terrorist attack certainly had an effect far beyond the territory of the USA. In a very real sense, the whole world felt the impact of the attacks on twin towers, the Pentagon, and the brave actions of the 33 passengers and seven crew members on Flight 93.
We pause today during this perfect prayer to remember the authentic service of so many, to offer prayers for the thousands of innocent victims, and to renew our commitment to effective reconciliation, still a tremendous need in our troubled and antagonistic world.
No one really prepares for a tragedy of that dimension. Certainly, first responders train, follow procedures, and imagine emergencies, but the magnitude of the events of that September day took the world by surprise. So many of the police and fire fighters who rushed into those situations died in the catastrophe. I already mentioned Welles Crowther whose story I only learned at least a decade later. There are certainly many more who sacrificed personal safety to respond to the needs of so many innocent people who were caught unawares. We pray for their eternal repose.
Jesus talks about His love in the Gospel passage which takes place at the Last Supper the night before He gives Himself completely for our salvation. Is that not the application that these men and women made to care for others? Did they not set aside all of those considerations that would make someone go away from these scenes and instead do what they could? We know that a high percentage of those first responders shared our Catholic faith.
There are also many who responded, I am thinking here of the horrific scenes at the Pentagon, and lived, but always with the traces of that tragedy. Some still suffer the ill-effects of the toxic air breathed in those moments of immediate response. Others experienced trauma as they so quickly responded. We pray for them, as well. They will carry those effects with them for a lifetime, perhaps even a shorter one than expected.
We gather in this beautiful crypt church to pray for the almost three thousand innocent victims of the tragedies in New York, Pennsylvania, and here in Washington. Lives young and not so young snuffed out prematurely in a shameless, horrible act. May the Lord grant them eternal rest. We pray for the loved ones left behind and we all know that the void created by the loss of a loved one, even from natural causes is never really filled. Even 25 years are not enough to erase those memories coupled with the aspirations for what might have been. We beg the Lord to shower healing and serenity upon them.
With the late Pope Benedict XVI, we can pray: “Heal, too, the pain of still-grieving families and all who lost loved ones in this tragedy. Give them strength to continue their lives with courage and hope.”
Our perfect prayer this evening reaches out to surround them with the loving embrace of our heavenly Father.
There is yet a third task for us not only tonight, but throughout a life time. It is the effort at reconciliation, dialogue, and rebuilding of a sense of our common humanity. Our responsibility for others is at the core of our faith in the Lord who came to serve and to give His life in ransom for many.
Saint Paul reminds us that preaching the Gospel is an obligation, not an option. “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel”, he wrote to that extraordinary community at Corinth. He reminded his disciple the bishop Saint Timothy: “Be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient, convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.”
The weight of apostolic ministry induced him to look for ways ever new to communicate the timeless message and to bear authentic witness.
If we read the Pauline Corpus, we perceive Paul and his ministry ever more generous, ever more disinterested, ever more consecrated. That inspired word speaks to us this evening as we pray for the grace of forgiveness and reconciliation. It is the just Judge who will make the ultimate determination, but we still seek retribution or some justice for those responsible for these crimes against the dignity of the human person.
The Gospel speaks to us about our common baptismal identity: to love our neighbors as Jesus has loved us. The task is daunting, if not impossible. We try to learn to go the step farther, to serve, and to make the Gospel come alive in the ordinary routine things of life. We try to pass on that experience to others.
Everything serves to cultivate authentic friendship with the Lord who calls us to a full life with Him. That means adjusting our schema, listening, and recognizing the opportunities the Lord places within our grasp. Fundamentally, we are called to love Almighty God and to keep the commandments. That is the authentic path to friendship with Almighty God.
Yet remembering 9-11 we find it difficult to forgive and more difficult to work for reconciliation. We find challenging the notion that I cannot change another or his or her perceptions, but I can change mine. I can adjust my approach. Drawing of divine grace, I can be an instrument of reconciliation.
I will never forget the wisp of a voice of the saint who would later ordain me an archbishop as he spoke on Vatican radio shortly after an assassin tried to end his life. Saint John Paul II, the vibrant young man elected to the See of Peter at age 58, whispered: “I pray for the man who shot me, whom I have already forgiven. Later the Pontiff would urge the public to "pray for my brother... whom I have sincerely forgiven.”
That is a virtue that you and I must learn. It is a hard lesson, because passions are so high, resentment is intense, and the sense of a violation of our national security and of our life style still burns as we wait in an airport security line. Yet, this sad anniversary is also an occasion to cultivate a spirit of reconciliation and renewal.
As the saintly Pope told the U.S. ambassador just two days after the attacks of 2001:
“I pray that this inhuman act will awaken in the hearts of all the world’s peoples a firm resolve to reject the ways of violence, to combat everything that sows hatred and division within the human family, and to work for the dawn of a new era of international cooperation inspired by the highest ideals of solidarity, justice and peace.”[1]
Even as we remember in prayer the horrible events of 11 September 2001, we pray earnestly that the “spiral of hatred and violence will not prevail."
