Prayer in Memory of September 11th, 2001
The following prayer was composed by Fr. Brian for an ecumenical service held at the Bellmore Presbyterian Church the night of the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001. It has been edited slightly to reflect the twenty-five years that have now passed since that horrific day.
God of boundless compassion and tender mercy,
we come together as family on this day of sacred memory.
Twenty-five long years have passed
since we watched in horror and disbelief
as our nation—our own sisters and brothers—
were attacked with such mindless hatred and unimaginable violence.
Even now, even with the passing of time,
our hearts are heavy with the sadness of it,
and many faces are still streaked with tears.
Yet we know you never abandon your children,
nor will you allow us to be swallowed up by the evil of this world.
Once more we entrust into your strong and loving arms the thousands
who lost their lives so senselessly on that September morning.
Enfold them, Lord, with your light and your peace—
hold them close until we see them again, face to face.
Bless the courageous men and women who
responded without hesitation to the catastrophe,
risking their own safety and their very lives
to rescue the wounded and tend to the suffering.
So many have suffered debilitating illness
because they chose to rush headlong into that poisonous inferno,
and thousands more have succumbed to death over these long years
because they would not ignore the call to serve, and to save,
and to give, and to love.
Bless, especially today, those who were robbed of spouses and children,
parents, co-workers, friends and loved ones.
Lord, ease their sadness, and dry the tears of all who weep.
While we ache for justice,
and the continuing pursuit of all who are guilty,
we also struggle to remember your Son’s command:
that we should pray even for our enemies,
and bless those who persecute us.
We know your Spirit is at work
when hatred is quenched by mercy,
and vengeance gives way to forgiveness.
Be at work in us, Lord, for on a day like this one,
we hardly know how to pray as we should.
Cradle our grieving nation in your gentle hands,
and fill us with conviction that even terror and death
have no power to separate us from your love.
May our prayerful remembrance of September 11th
help to dispel the rancor, social divisiveness, and political discord
that have become too commonplace in this blessed country,
and to reunite us as one people under God, indivisible.
We ask all this in the name of him who is Love itself—
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Rev. Brian J. Ingram
