Today the 10th anniversary of the horrific terrorist attacks took place. September 11 will always be a date engraved in the minds and hearts of all who witnessed it, whether in person or on television. The events were indeed horrific. Planes were hijacked, people killed on them. Those same planes were used as missiles by terrorists who crashed them into the World Trade Center's "Twin Towers" and the Pentagon. Another plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after the brave passengers thwarted the terrorist's plans to use the plane as another weapon, possibly aimed for the Capitol building or White House.
There are many questions we ask. One is why. Why did this happen? How can people be so evil to even think up these ideas and carry them out? The answer is sin. The infection of original sin is transmitted by concupiscence as St. Augustine tells us. The concupiscence is a strong desire to seek what is bad and evil. Evil, bad things, and sin appears to be fun or useful to humanity. Good things are perverted and used to do evil. It is the Id gone wild, so to speak.
Some anti religious people claim religion caused Sept 11; however, that is not so. This concupiscence or desire to do evil is the root cause. Terrorists hijacked Islam in order to carry out these heinous attacks in the name of God. The reason was not religion itself, but politics. Those who feel the United States of America is an unwanted presence in the Middle East came up with a plan to bring this nation to its knees. That plan did bring the USA to it knees, but not in defeat. It brought us to prayer. America was reminded that while it is a super power, it is not the be all end all of the globe. America has been spreading many ideas that feed concupiscence. In a nation that kills its own unborn children and which promotes promiscuity in the guise of "safe sex," those who are spiritually mature can see the real battle that is going on between evil and good. Like Communist Russia, the USA has made many errors run rampant throughout the globe.
September 11 reminded us that we are not gods. We cannot live in this life thinking that nothing will happen or that we control ever aspect of space, time and matter. America is not immortal. Unfortunately, America learned this lesson the hard way. It was beautiful to see this nation become "e pluribus unum" in the days that followed the attack. Everyone united despite differences. Churches, Synagogues, Mosques were full nearly every day. Everyone prayed, helped each other in a spirit of goodwill.
On September 14, 2001 President Bush declared the day the National Day of Prayer & Remembrance. Ironically on this date the Catholic Church celebrates the Triumph of the Holy Cross. It is also ironic that among the piles of dust, twist steel beams and other debris, all that remained were 2 beams in the form of a Cross. Was God telling us something? We cannot know for sure, but coincidences do not exist. It is Divine Providence at work. But why would God use this violent event to give a message? Why the loss of innocent people? Those questions can go either way. However, we do know God brings good out of evil.
God is not evil, nor does the presence of evil take away from his all good essence. Evil is the absence of good. God sometimes allows evil to happen in order to bring good out of it. That good can be anything He wills. Unfortunately it does take a bad event to wake people up. Why can't people be united, help each other every day? Why does it take a tragedy to bring everyone together? Sometimes kids don't listen when parents calmly tell them to stop doing something that will harm them. It isn't until mom and dad raises his/her voice or uses some other form of discipline that the child presents his/her attention.
Humanity being God's children are not any different. God does sometimes use a strong way to get humanity's attention. We must pray, meditate, and grow spiritually in order to see what God's will is. America needs to wake up and not go the way of the Greeks and Romans whose societies became so free that anything was allowed. There was no moral/immoral distinction; everything was "good." Today we see abortion where some argue till they turn blue claiming that it is a good. Others push for marriage between same sex couples. Now they even want to make pedophilia normal. Where is the line between sanity/insanity and morality/immorality? America must pray, follow the Lord's will be truly be a Nation under God.
President Obama read Psalm 46 which says:
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the LORD has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields[d] with fire.
10 He says, "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. (NIV)
How true is this Psalm. God is indeed our refuge and strength. But will He continue to be this nation's refuge and strength as we fall to absurd immoral ideas and ways of life? Let us pray to the Lord, keep His will and Commandments alive. We must worship God, love God and one another; not attempt to make ourselves God and oppress our brothers and sisters born or preborn. As 2 Chronicles 7:14 says: " if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
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