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Today [Sept. 11, 2011,] is the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack upon the United States which resulted in the death of nearly 3,000 people, the most lethal day in our nation's history.

We can all remember where we were on that day, and how overwhelmed we were with feelings of disbelief, shock and helplessness in the wake of this horrendous event borne of ignorance, misplaced anger and fundamentalist extremism. Despite the viciousness of this plot, however, I believe there are three very important lessons that can be drawn from our response to this attack: unity, tolerance and forgiveness.

First, unity: In the wake of 9/11 we pulled together as a people, as a nation. I can recall no time in my life, including the happy ending to World War II and the communal mourning of the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Sen. Robert Kennedy, where we were closer to one another as a people than following this attack.

Today, we must seek to recapture this unity, given the serious recession we are experiencing and the polarizing and dysfunctional partisanship which we have witnessed these past few months in our nation's capital.

Second, tolerance: After 9/11, we came together to express our support for and solidarity with our Arab and Muslim brothers and sisters. In our own Diocese and throughout the nation, ecumenical and interfaith services and community symposia were quickly organized to pray for the victims of 9/11 and their families - and to underscore that this attack was orchestrated by a radical fringe group which in no way reflects the values and ideals of Islam, and that American Muslims must not become scapegoats or targets for our anger and revenge.

This leads to my third point: forgiveness. The response of a civilized people is not "an eye for an eye" or "a tooth for a tooth," but mercy and forgiveness. This is the theme of the Scripture readings for today, the 11th of September. In our first reading, taken from the Book of Sirach, we are told that we must "let go of our anger and desire for revenge." We are called to be a forgiving people, not a vengeful people.

The Book of Sirach notes that forgiveness does not absolve others of responsibility. Forgiveness acknowledges that wrong has been done and that there is a need for conversion; however, forgiveness seeks the path of charity to foster and encourage this conversion.

Our Gospel reading makes this same point. In response to Peter's question, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how many times must I forgive him? Seven times?" Jesus responds, unexpectedly and probably to Peter's dismay, "Not seven times," but "77 times."

Furthermore, both the book of Sirach and our responsorial psalm point out that we should be forgiving because we are all guilty. We have all sinned. We have all done wrong. Yet God forgives us; so, too, we must forgive others.

Today, then, as we join with people from across our nation and from throughout the world to remember the events of 9/11, I pray that we will recommit ourselves to pursue the common good and to work for a society and world characterized by peace and justice, and that the mercy and forgiveness which Jesus evidenced even in His own hour of undeserved death on the cross of Calvary may permeate our lives, as well. May it be so![[In-content Ad]]

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