As we mark the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, let us join in this prayer for peace and understanding:

Come, Spirit of God,
Spread over tribal conflicts and nations at war
Spread over groups and factions
Spread over cliques and gangs
Spread over all of us.
May a new wind blow
To fill us with desire and strength
That all may be one
Because you created us as one, and that is how you want us to be.

Srs. Anne Denise Brennan and Nora Cunningham, SC

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We revisit reflections written soon after 9/11/01 by Sisters of Charity and Associates:

God on September 11 was exactly where God always was. God in Jesus takes on the powerlessness of each human being in the face of evil and death. God remains in the agony of the families who lost loved ones; he is with the families who still cling to that hope that some remains of their loved ones will be found; he is present to all those workers who still labor at Ground Zero; and he helps all of us as we struggle to make sense out of this tragedy.

Sister Eileen Fagan, SC

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As ecclesial women invited to be attentive to the signs of the times, we could not ignore the events of September 11, 2001….  How would she [Elizabeth] feel looking at the steeple of Saint Paul's [Chapel] as the World Trade Center collapsed behind it? What would she say to us? What does it mean to be ecclesial women and men in a country and world reeling from a day of terror? 

Sister Theresa Capria, SC

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Evil has shown its face in all its ugliness: what can we learn?.... Evil, in whatever form, does not have the last word... We belong to each other - we are community....We are vulnerable creatures whose security rests in God alone.

Sister Jean Flannelly, SC