9/11: The Catholic Church Remembers
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911. For years, those numbers simply meant a call for help. Now they also remind us of September 11, 2001, the date of the worst terrorist attack on the United States of America and one of the deadliest days ever on American soil.
In October 2001, the United States Congress passed a joint resolution designating that every September 11th be observed as "Patriot Day." The resolution requests that U.S. government entities and interested organizations and individuals display the flag of the United States at half staff on Patriot Day and that the people of the United States observe a moment of silence in honor of the individuals who lost their lives as a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
As we pray and work for peace, forgiveness and reconciliation, let us make this commemoration a time for hope in God’s grace, in ourselves and in one another.O Lord God, our heavenly Father, regard, we pray, with your divine pity, the pains of all your children. As we remember the horrifying events of September 11, 2001, hold us in the shelter of your enduring love. Grant that the passion of our Lord and his infinite love may make fruitful for good the tribulations of the innocent, the sufferings of the rescuers and the sorrows of the bereaved. We ask this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for the sake of all people. Amen.