This past August, I officially moved into St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, New York to begin my theological studies. One of the highlights of my orientation was visiting lower Manhattan to visit the September 11th memorial at ground zero. I have only been their once, but this visit was different because this year marks the 20th anniversary of the attacks. When the attacks happened, I was only a child, so I do not remember anything that occurred. What I do know is all the testimonies others have made that resonated with me. Those stories always drove me to learn more about this historical event. During my visit, I had the privilege of going to the actual museum below the memorial for the first time. I am not the biggest history “fanatic” but I found that my eyes were fixated on many of the artifacts preserved in the museum, and I found this event peaked my interest. As I roamed the museum, many thoughts and questions were going through my mind. The biggest question was “how could non-Christians see our Lord in this tragedy?”
After reflecting on this question, I went to the Catechism of the Catholic Church to see what it says about evil. In paragraph 412, it states that “God permits evil in order to draw forth some greater good. Thus St. Paul says, ‘Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.’” This is a very powerful statement because it puts things into a different perspective. Although evil exists because of sin, God always remains a loving God who desires us and willed us into existence. God loves us and never causes us to suffer. Suffering is a result of sin which is not of God, but of our wounded humanity. However, God accomplishes His Will somehow and in someway despite any tragedy that occurs. In other words, God may permit something bad to happen in order to accomplish His goal for humanity. This just reminds me how much God is a mystery and how much He invites us to explore constantly His mystery.
During my personal prayer after the trip, I couldn’t help but think that God was very much present during the attacks. As I was walking through the museum, I saw the wall that was directly opposed to the wall of the original foundation of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The World Trade Center was built right next to the Hudson River so this particular wall was the barrier that blocked the river from the foundation of the original World Trade Center. The question can arise, “why was that wall not punctured after the towers collapsed?” The experts say that if the wall was punctured, then the river would’ve flowed out and flooded all of Manhattan! They were surprised that it did not happen. When I heard this, I couldn’t help but think that God must have intervened! If God did not intervene, then the situation would have been much worse. I would go as far to say that the wall is a sign of hope!
Twenty years later, we still find ourselves grappling with this event as it has left a scar on our nation. Nevertheless, God never abandons his people, despite whatever tragedy occurs. We continue to pray for those, living and deceased, affected by the terrorist attacks on the day of 9/11.
Timothy Mulranen
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