September 11th: 23 Years Later

The terrorist attacks on 9-11-2001 that took the lives of nearly 3,000 innocent people were incomprehensible acts of evil.  Radical Muslim extremists hijacked four U.S. commercial jets and deliberately crashed two of them into the Twin Towers in New York City and one into the Pentagon.  The fourth jet was deliberately flown into the ground in western Pennsylvania when passengers attempted to retake the hijacked plane.  Thousands more later died from cancers and other health complications caused by exposure to hazardous materials released by the collapse of the Twin Towers. 

On this 23rd anniversary of those horrific events, I offer my prayers for those who died and for their families and loved ones and everyone else impacted by this senseless tragedy.

On September 11th, 2001, our nation and our world were confronted by an immense evil, an evil that dramatically altered so many lives.  The images of the planes crashing into the Twin Towers and then the Twin Towers collapsing are horrifying to view even 23 years later.  

The day after this appalling evil, as rescuers were painstakingly combing through the debris searching for survivors, Pope St. John Paul II reminded us all, "Even if the forces of darkness appear to prevail, those who believe in God know that evil and death do not have the final say.  Christian hope is based on this truth; at this time our prayerful trust draws strength from it."