Once Again

To my son Tommy,

Once again we have reached the horrific anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9-11-01.  Once again I offer no answers as to why those tragic events happened just as I had no answers last year.  Once again I offer my thoughts and prayers to those who lost their lives or lost their loved ones on or because of that fateful day.

As I went to church this morning to remember and pray, I wished I was only praying for stuff that happened in the past.  I wish we had learned and grown past the violence.  But, once again, my prayers for peace extend to the future as well, as the drums of war seem to beat ever loudly in the middle east and in Syria.  Once again we seemed destined to repeat past mistakes over and over again and try to solve violence with violence.

There is hope though.  We may have all been witnesses to the ultimate weapon for peace.  This ultimate weapon is not some impressive battleship or tomahawk missile. It is the weapon of prayer.  Many joined in solidarity Saturday to pray with Pope Francis for what seemed a hopeless cause.  It seemed inevitable that we  as a country would be adding to the violence and opening a new gateway to new levels of war and discourse.  So we prayed.  Much to our surprise a more peaceful resolution presented itself.  What made John Kerry throw out a long shot ultimatum?  What made Putin and Assad seize on that comment and agree that is a workable solution?  Some say it was through the real threat of force that this opportunity for diplomacy came about.  Perhaps, but flexing our muscle in the past sure never dissuaded any of the other countries in the region.  Maybe something bigger was at work here?

So as we once again remember the lives lost before in senseless violence, we continue to pray for peace in the future.  To those who went before us, who lost their lives in the 9-11 attacks and all the consequences that followed, we will never forget.  The only way to honor your sacrifice is to pray and work towards a better peaceful future.  God graciously grant unto us peace, not only in the sense of an absence of war, but that peace which truly touches the heart and soul of every person.

Sincerely with love from your dad,
Leo