9/11 Links

Here are some links I have come across today, while I have been remembering September 11, 2001, all our fellow Americans who were murdered that day, those who gave their lives for others, and everything else I WILL NEVER FORGET.

The President today at the Pentagon. Beautiful remarks.

Items from over the years that are worth reading again:

Barbara Olson was one of my absolute favorite political analysts. I remember coming home from school on 9/11/01 and learning from my parents that Barbara was on the plane that hit the Pentagon. I hadn't thought my heart could hurt anymore than it already did that day, but Barbara's death . . .

Here are some links about Barbara:
Lucianne Goldberg-13 September 2001: “What Do I Tell the Pilot?”
Fr. Macafee-17 September 2001: 'We Are People of Life' A sermon for Barbara Olson--and for America.
Ted Olson, Solicitor General of the United States at the time, on his wife, Barbara-November 2001: Ted on Barbara
My Remembrance of Barbara Olson from 9/11/05

As a way to remember all 2,996 people who were murdered on 9/11/01, in 2006 the 2,996 Project was launched. Bloggers volunteered to write memorials honoring victims of the attacks and post them on 9/11. I was blessed to write about Betty Ann Ong, who was a flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11. My memorial to Betty's memory is here.

Pope Benedict spoke at Ground Zero 20 April 2008 and said this beautiful prayer:

O God of love, compassion, and healing,
look on us, people of many different faiths and traditions,
who gather today at this site,
the scene of incredible violence and pain.

We ask you in your goodness
to give eternal light and peace
to all who died here—
the heroic first-responders:
our fire fighters, police officers,
emergency service workers, and Port Authority personnel,
along with all the innocent men and women
who were victims of this tragedy
simply because their work or service
brought them here on September 11, 2001.

We ask you, in your compassion
to bring healing to those
who, because of their presence here that day,
suffer from injuries and illness.
Heal, too, the pain of still-grieving families
and all who lost loved ones in this tragedy.
Give them strength to continue their lives with courage and hope.

We are mindful as well
of those who suffered death, injury, and loss
on the same day at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Our hearts are one with theirs
as our prayer embraces their pain and suffering.

God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world:
peace in the hearts of all men and women
and peace among the nations of the earth.
Turn to your way of love
those whose hearts and minds
are consumed with hatred.

God of understanding,
overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy,
we seek your light and guidance
as we confront such terrible events.
Grant that those whose lives were spared
may live so that the lives lost here
may not have been lost in vain.
Comfort and console us,
strengthen us in hope,
and give us the wisdom and courage
to work tirelessly for a world
where true peace and love reign
among nations and in the hearts of all.

Debra Burlingame, whose brother Chic Burlingame was the pilot of Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11, wrote this last 11 September 2007, reminding us that 9/11 WAS AN ACT OF WAR UPON THE UNITED STATES, not merely a tragic accident: We must always remember. Read it. Remember.

Some 9/11 Resources here.