"Men of Freedom", Written September 11th, 2001, Performed by the Cadet Glee Club of West Point

In Remembrance of All Who Died on September 11, 2001: Free Men Will NOT Yield!

"Men of Freedom," was written on September 11th, 2001, and is performed here by the Cadet Glee Club of West Point.

BOATLIFT - An Untold Tale of 9/11 Resilience

Tom Hanks narrates the epic story of the 9/11 boatlift that evacuated half a million people from the stricken piers and seawalls of Lower Manhattan. Produced and directed by Eddie Rosenstein. Eyepop Productions, Inc.

BOATLIFT was executive produced by Stephen Flynn and Sean Burke and premiered on September 8th at the 9/11 Tenth Anniversary Summit: Remembrance/Renewal/Resilience in Washington. The Summit kicked off a national movement to foster community and national resilience in the face of future crises.

Father Jay Scott Newman Reflects on 9-11

Upstate South Carolina and Catholics in the Greenville area in particular are very fortunate to have one of today's most brilliant and eloquent homilists in Father Jay Scott Newman.

We strongly urge all of our visitors to take time to listen to the homily he delivered yesterday, placing the events of ten years ago into proper historical perspective.  He reminds his parishioners that yesterday's anniversary also marks an earlier Islamic assault on Christian civilization - the Islamic siege of Vienna in 1683.  

We very deliberately dedicated this blog's very first post to that battle.  We predicted in that post that just as Poland saved Western civilization in 1683, Poland, the only nation in Europe still permeated with deep Christian faith, may yet again be the instrument through which God saves his people.

Live Streaming Coverage of 9-11 Memorial Ceremonies

"Welcome into your kingdom our departed brothers and sisters, and all who have left this world in your friendship. We hope to enjoy for ever the vision of your glory, through Christ our Lord, from whom all good things come."

From the Pastor - 'I Vow to Thee, My Country'

A weekly column by Father George Rutler.

Providential symmetry sets the plaintive anniversary of September 11, 2001, on a Sunday, which is always a celebration of the Resurrection. By rare indult, Holy Mass on this day replaces the ordinary liturgical Propers with suffrages for the dead. We live as mourners, never forgetting the wanton rampage of evil on that Tuesday whose late summer brilliance was so affronted by the moral darkness of those who blackened the bluest sky. 

These days pick up the pace from the pleasant torpor of summer, and on this particular day ten years later, we also move on into a new decade to engage a cultural war against the moral offences which have afflicted our time. The Second World War was won by people who knew the difference between good and evil. Things have changed, and there is a lot of ambiguity now about what constitutes integrity and truth itself. Many take the shortcut of denying that we are in a war at all. It was the mistake made by decadents in the 1930’s, like the “Cliveden Set,” who underestimated the pulsating hatred on the pages of “Mein Kampf.”  Christian civilization is again under attack, and little resistance is shown by a society of indolence, promiscuity, infanticide, eugenics, extravagant debt, crime, collapsed family life, and marriage so surrealistically redefined by Gnostics that 44% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 think that matrimony is becoming obsolete. The battle of good against evil will not be won by a culture of narcissists led by leaders chosen because they make people feel good instead of being good.

Christians do not confuse optimism and hope. They do not optimistically think that “wishing will make it so.” They hopefully trust in God, who “made us to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in heaven.” So today we sing a grand hymn by Cecil Spring-Rice, “I Vow to Thee, My Country.” He wrote the first version as a diplomat in Stockholm in 1908. At the end of his career as British ambassador to Washington in 1918, Spring-Rice altered its bluster after the traumatic carnage of the First World War. It is set to the magnificent melody of Gustav Holst from the “Jupiter” section of The Planets, which sustains even the lame poesie of more recent alternative lyrics preferred by insensitive taste. Spring-Rice gave the strong chords for the moment, paraphrasing in cadence Proverbs 3:17: 

And there’s another country, I’ve heard of long ago, Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know; We may not count her armies, we may not see her King; Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering; And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase, And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.

'Abide With Me' - A Tribute to the Brave

May God bless all those men and women from many nations who have fought, and and are fighting, in the cause of freedom.

A Blind Man, His Guide Dog and Lessons Learned On 9/11

By Michael Hingson

Ten years ago, on September 11, 2001, I was working at my desk on the 78th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. I stood up to grab some letterhead from the supply cabinet when I heard a tremendous BOOM! It was 8:46 a.m.

I was one of many thousands of people in the World Trade Center that day.

I had a good job that allowed me and my wife Karen to pay the bills and have a good life. But unlike almost everyone else in the building that day, I am blind and use a guide dog. When the terrorist-hijacked plane plowed into the building above our heads, Roselle was snoozing under my desk.

In Memory of All the Victims of September 11, 2001

London's Proms season for 2001 finished as it usually does in September. But that year there was a very different mood following the 9/11 terrorist strikes in New York and Washington, D.C. This performance, dedicated to all those who died, is Samuel Barber's evocative Adagio for Strings, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and presided over by the American conductor, Leonard Slatkin.

Who Is In Control?

My 9/11 Moment of Truth

From The Word Among Us
By Hallie Riedel

“God has a plan for your life.” I have heard the phrase countless times and never really doubted it. In fact, my husband and I have always loved the Scripture passage from Romans 8:28: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.”

But as often happens in my spiritual journey, it took the crucible of anxiety and uncertainty to bring this truth to an entirely new and more personal level.

It happened on September 11, 2001. The morning sun shone brightly as I got our three young children ready to go with me to my aerobics class. My husband, John, was already commuting to his new position at the Pentagon. It was a beautiful day, and my heart was light. We had just found out that we were expecting our fourth child, John and I were about a month from our fifth anniversary, and he was thrilled to be back in the Defense Department after a several-year absence. Even my aerobics class was starting a new session. Everything seemed full of the promise of new beginnings.

I was at aerobics when I heard that a plane had crashed into the Pentagon, but I refused to let myself get too alarmed. As the minutes passed, however, my fears started to rise. The class (which used contemporary Christian music) began a song based on the Book of Esther, with the refrain, “For such a time as this you have been created” (Esther 4:14). That started my questions. How could I not think of the baby I was carrying? Had this child really been created for such a time as this? Would he even know his father? How would I cope as a widow with four young children? Even as my fears rose, I clung to the song’s refrain, affirming that God has a plan for our family and a loving purpose for every situation.

Help My Unbelief

When I heard that the twin towers in New York had fallen, I decided to leave the class and return home. On the way home, I recalled one of the other songs: “God Is in Control.” I grappled with my concerns. Was God really in control?

The two hours that followed were like a pressure cooker. I reasoned with God: Why would you have given me a wonderful husband and four small children and then take my husband away from me? Why would I conceive a new baby right before losing John? How can I trust that you have a loving plan for us? Was this just a hollow promise? In my moment of crisis, I prayed, “I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). I kept offering my fears to the Lord and interceding for those who had lost loved ones. Despite my anxiety, I began to be filled with peace. To my own surprise, I became more and more convinced that God would take care of my family no matter what happened—including even what I dreaded most.

It was after I had reached this point of acceptance that the phone rang! I jumped to answer and heard the most wonderful sound in the world—John’s voice. He was safe. The plane had hit very close to his office, knocking him to the ground and filling the office with thick smoke. But he had made it out and helped a shaken coworker to escape. It all felt surreal, he said, and he was looking forward to getting home.

Deepening Convictions

I am fortunate that John survived. There are so many who didn’t. And I am grateful for those hours God gave me to grapple with my anxiety before I received the good news. As I wrestled with my “why now?” questions and tried to accept God’s timing, I grew in my conviction that God truly did have a good and loving plan. Even before John called, I became more certain that God can bring good out of even life’s most tragic or challenging moments. And this conviction has sustained me ever since.

In fact, these past seven years have brought us even more opportunities to hold on to the truth that God works for good in all situations. Like any family, we have faced struggles, but I have found that the struggles bring me closer to the Lord and give a deeper meaning to the truths I profess. In fact, I have become grateful for these these “difficult” times because they tend to expose weaknesses in my faith and give me a chance once again to confirm God’s love and presence in my life.

One such time happened two years ago, while the family accompanied John on a one-year work assignment in Chile. It was a beautiful year for us, filled with many blessings, as well as challenging struggles and sometimes painful growth. We were on the other side of the world, away from family and old friends, learning a new language and a new culture.

We had nearly finished our year and were preparing to move back to the United States when I found out I was expecting our fifth child at age forty-two. What a surprise! A new child would be such a blessing for our family, but I had to grapple with my fears about the health risks of being such an “old” mother. The news challenged me to reaffirm my trust in God’s provision. I had to hold on once again to the truth that the blessings God gives—no matter what challenges they may involve—always come with the grace to see them through.

The week we were scheduled to leave the country, however, a new crisis arose: I began to have a miscarriage. Why would a loving God allow this to happen to me—and more importantly, to our baby? Once again I was on my knees grappling with my conflicting emotions and trying to embrace God’s will. And once again, the promise of Romans 8:28 brought affirmation, comfort, and stability.

Keeping the Right Perspective

Not every event in our lives is traumatic or monumental. However, we all face challenges to our faith. We all have moments when our time-worn platitudes are turned on their heads and we need to decide what we really believe about God; where we really stand in relation to him.

Now, whenever we face what seem to be regular reversals or challenges, John and I look at each other and say omnia in bonum—all things for the good! Sometimes that’s enough to help us say “yes’” to the Lord and get us to look at things from the right perspective. And isn’t that really what he wants from all of us as we move through this life?


Hallie Riedel, a contributing writer for The Word Among Us magazine, lives in Adamstown, Maryland

"Here's To The Heroes" -- We Will Never Forget Them