September 11, Friday Weekday

You are my inheritance, O Lord.-- Psalm 16:see 6

Mass readings:1 Timothy 1:1-2,12-14 / Luke 6:39-42

9/11 Lessons

For Americans, there are many indelible 9/11 memories. I recall crowding into the office of the director of the Kroc Peace Institute at the University of Notre Dame where I worked. Huddled around a small TV were 15 or 20 institute staff members, faculty and students. We watched wordlessly as the Twin Towers burned and then collapsed. Of course, the institute's events schedule changed dramatically after that. All year long, our top scholars analyzed and discussed U.S. policy options and the chances for peace. Now, many people say that America's ensuing foreign policy went wrong.

Generalizations are facile and often misleading. But isn't it possible that we should have studied and reflected on the famous counsel of Pope Paul VI at the United Nations in 1965? ''If you want peace,'' he said, ''work for justice.''

Prayer: Jesus, Prince of Peace, lead us to work for justice as we long for peace.