When I was first informed of the horrible events that were unfolding at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon last September, I released a statement to the media that said, “We are in shock as we pray for countless, innocent victims and their families. The calculated, cold-blooded, cowardly taking of precious human lives in the name of religion is beyond blasphemy. It is pure evil.”
Little did I know in those early moments that my own brother, David, and his wife, Lynn, were among those “countless, innocent victims.”
As I watched the first airliner crash into the World Trade Tower on television, I didn’t think they were on that plane. I had been with them the day before for a family wedding on Cape Cod, where I had stayed the weekend with them in their home. We had a great time. They brought me to the airport on September tenth, and I flew back to Burlington. I knew that they were leaving the following day for California, but they usually took a later plane. And, of course, at first we had no idea where the plane had originated.
When I found out that it was a plane out of Boston, it gave me some concern, but I still believed that they were leaving later. I got the call about noon from my sister telling me that David and Lynn had been on the plane.
Our family was devastated, and yet in times of such crisis you get strength that’s rather incredible. You don’t really know where it comes from. It comes ultimately from God, but it comes through many people who are supportive. It comes from one’s faith and the belief that the Lord takes care of us, and that his will must be done.
David and Lynn were going to return to the East to live permanently on Cape Cod. He was one of the creators and producers of Frasier, and he was going to stay connected to the show but from a distance. They felt more at home in the East. He and Lynn loved Cape Cod. For the last several years they owned a house on the Cape, but they were building a new one-a house that was going to be their permanent home and the house of their dreams. It’s a lovely place on a hill overlooking the water, and their property went right down to the shoreline.
As a couple they were generous to a lot of people. I knew David to be a giving person, and Lynn was the same. I don’t know how many people and institutions they helped. Lynn gave much of her time to a place called Hillside, a home for abused children. She worked hard there and established a library. She was like a full-time employee, and yet she wasn’t paid. I’ve heard stories that the two of them have supported young people, even sending some to college.They did such wonderful things with the money that was theirs, and it was typical of them. They left practically everything to a foundation that will serve other people. So they had a rich life, and they enriched my life and the lives of my sister, my family, and many people.
“Where is God in all of this senseless, painful evi1?” Not exactly a new question. Job struggled with it more than 2,500 years ago. It has always been a question easy to ask but difficult to answer. One modern expression of it is Rabbi Harold S. Kushner’s question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” In our early history as a Church, the great saint Augustine pondered this question and concluded, “The power of God is demonstrated in his ability to bring good out of apparent evil.”
I have seen that evil being transformed already into good. The perpetrators of this tragedy probably thought they had brought us to our knees. And indeed they have-but not in the way they intended. America is on its knees in prayer. America is on its knees before God. This is the good that can come out of evil. Yes, the terrorists should be brought to justice, but we must respond in a Christ-like manner by striving to forgive our persecutors-even the perpetrators of this infamous day of evil in America.
The Lord says that we have to love him first and foremost. But we have to love our brothers and sisters as well, including the people who committed this terrible act. Acts of terrorism are evil, but we have to love those who commit this evil-and that’s hard to do. I suppose I’ve preached that my entire priesthood. And I’ve tried to live it, but when it comes to something like this, it’s difficult.
Yet we know that this is what the Lord wants of us: We have to forgive those that perpetrated this terrible violence against our country. We have to say, “Lord, they know not what they do, and so we forgive them.”
Six days after the attack I said the memorial funeral Mass for my brother and sister-in-law. A week after that I said the Blue Mass for Vermont police, firemen, and emergency medical service personnel. There were about 800 of them. I was touched deeply by their generosity, their concern for others-to the extent that many of them gave their lives. I’ve always had great admiration for these people who put their lives on the line, day after day. I was happy to be able to go with them and to pray with them for their fallen comrades and to pray for all of those who lost their lives in this terrible tragedy.
I’ve been grieving since that fateful day, and my grief is still very much alive. But there is that good that comes from evil. Think of the numbers of people who turned to the Lord at the time of the attack. The churches were full that following Sunday. Some of my pastors tell me that for the most part that has been maintained: People are going to Mass, people are praying. There’s a new respect and reverence for one another, as a result of this; more of an appreciation of one another – more patience, more kindness. I suppose that in time some of that fades away, but I still see some great things that have come out of this.
I think there’s a new patriotism in our country, which is good. People are proud of our way of life, and we want to try to protect that way of life to the best of our abilities. I don’t want war. I don’t want our people to have to occupy countries like Afghanistan-I want them to come home. But I also do not want this type of violence to be perpetrated against any other people or any other nation. So perhaps out of all of this might come peace. That’s something that we’ve been striving for since Adam and Eve were put on the earth.
We have to be peaceful in ourselves, and we have to try to revere and respect everyone from the unborn to the elderly. We must have a whole new approach to loving our neighbor. Perhaps that will be the result of this tragedy-maybe people will begin to love one another a little more.
A personal good that has come out of all this is that my faith is deeper because of it. I think the spiritual effort it took to overcome my initial anger has made me more peaceful. I think the faith that is mine has grown because of the goodness of so many people. I see Christ reflected in these people, and I am encouraged.
None of us in this life are alone. The Lord sends many wonderful people into our lives through whom he works. My faith in him has increased tremendously because of 9/11. I’ve never had any problems with faith: I believe in Jesus, and I believe in his promises, and I believe with all my heart and soul that he loves us, and he knows what’s best for us. And to get to that point in your faith experience, to completely put yourself in the hands of God and put your loved ones in the hands of God and say, “God, you take over. You take over”-I think that’s been one of the blessings that has come out of this.
I believe in the goodness of people as a whole. Our newspapers are filled with stories of violence and the terrible things that people do to one another. And yet that’s not the America I see. I see wonderful parents rearing their children and trying to instill values into them. I see elderly people who have given of themselves all of their lives and are still helping their brothers and sisters. I see families sacrificing for one another. I see so many good things. That’s the America that I know. That’s the America that I want to see preserved: one nation under God.