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Stories of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will be repeated
for years to come. In an instant, those horrible images were
burned into our collective memory. And in the days that followed
that instant, we began the hard work of understanding what
those images might mean.
Holy Cross has its own stories to tell about Sept. 11. On the morning of the
attacks, as the news began to spread across campus, students, faculty, administrators
and staff came together and shared the horror, the worry, the grief and the prayers.
By 9:30 a.m., a crowd had swelled around the
televisions in Crossroads Café in the basement of the Hogan Campus Center.
People embraced and cried and tried to separate fact from rumor. Students rushed
to phones to check on family in New York and Washington. The noontime Mass at
St. Joseph Memorial Chapel overflowed with over a thousand people. In offices
on Fenwick 1, administrators held emergency meetings to set up counseling and
provide support for the entire community.
The phones in the alumni offices rang throughout that afternoon and into the
weeks that followed, as classmates sought information about friends and passed
along news. In several instances, that news proved to be tragic, as we learned
that the College had lost seven alumni-Edward A. Brennan
III '86, Thomas D. Burke '85, Neilie A. Heffernan Casey '90, John G. Farrell '91,
Todd A. Isaac '94, Beth A. Quigley '97, John J. Ryan '78-in addition to parents,
siblings, children and spouses of alums.
As they were for the rest of the nation, the days following the attacks were
difficult ones on campus. But as Fr. McFarland reminded the community repeatedly,
the welfare of our students was our primary concern. The administration made
the decision to continue with classes to provide students with a familiar setting
where they could discuss the situation, share their feelings and grieve together.
Chaplains and professional counselors met with students and a crisis line was
staffed 24 hours a day.
In the weeks since Sept. 11, the Holy Cross family has worked, in ways both large
and small, to provide comfort, support and understanding. The inaugural conference
of the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture, housed in the newly dedicated
Smith Hall, was held on Sept. 14-15. The conference, "Toward a Deeper Understanding
of Forgiveness," though planned for many
months, suddenly took on a pointed significance.
Masses, liturgies and prayer services have been held across the country. On Oct.
13, the victims of the attacks were honored at the Homecoming Mass. And on Nov.
2, at the Church of St. Francis Xavier on West 15th St. in New York City, Fr.
McFarland celebrated a memorial Mass.
In his homily, Fr. McFarland said, Anyone who wants to follow Jesus has to
face the darkness of suffering and death. There is no avoiding it; and it can
be dark indeed. The revered Cardinal Joseph Bernardin wrote of his long and painful
struggle with cancer, which would shortly lead
to his death, "The essential mystery of the cross is that it gives rise to a
certain kind of loneliness, an inability to see clearly how things are unfolding,
an inability to see that, ultimately, all things will work for our good, and
that we are, indeed, not alone." Yet through faith and prayer, he was able finally
to affirm God's presence in his suffering and
to draw hope from it. "For, in the final analysis, our participation in the suffering,
death, and resurrection of Jesus brings a certain freedom: the freedom to let
go, to surrender ourselves to the living God, to place ourselves completely in
His hands, knowing that ultimately He will win
out!"
Those we remember this evening: Edward Brennan, Thomas
Burke, Neilie Heffernan Casey, John Farrell, Todd Isaac, Beth Quigley and John
Ryan, as well as our many other family and friends who died in this terrible
tragedy, have already passed through the darkness and emerged into the light
in the company of their loving Savior. Those beautiful lives have now reached
their fulfillment, in joy and peace forever. They have found that place we heard
about in the first reading, where the Lord will remove the veil that veils all
peoples,
and where every tear will be wiped away.
We, however, are still on the way, stumbling in and
out of the darkness.
Where do we find our light and hope? It is right here in our companionship.
Coming together, offering our friendship and support for one another, praying
together and remembering those who meant so much to us. That love for one another
is where the healing power of Christ is most immediately and palpably present
to us. And it is what unites us with those who have gone before us. The extraordinary
care so many of you have shown throughout this tragedy, maintaining communications,
accounting for the survivors, searching for the missing, reaching out to the
bereaved, and supporting those in doubt and pain, is both the power of Christ
working among us and your affirmation
of that power.
We always have the expectation that God should come
and rescue us from
the darkness. Personally, that's the answer I prefer. But it is not always the
answer we get. Sometimes God is in the darkness. That was what Cardinal Bernardin
found. When he learned he had incurable cancer, he was certainly tempted to give
up and feel sorry for himself. Instead he started to go around and visit the
other people on his floor in the hospital. He discovered that suddenly he had
much more to offer them than ever before, because he now shared their experience.
He understood, in ways that only an insider could, and that brought tremendous
comfort to them. And then, remarkably, he found it brought comfort and
peace to him as well. It also brought home one of the great truths of our
faith. "As Christians," he wrote, "if we are to love as Jesus loved, we must
first come to terms with suffering. Our years of living as Christians will be
years of suffering for and with other people. Like Jesus, we will love others
only if we walk with them
in the valley of darkness."
As we come to terms with our suffering in this difficult
time, our College will continue to provide a spirit of community, of family.
More than ever, the mission
of Holy Cross is revealed to be crucial in a world of chaos and
strife. And our connection to that mission, and to one another, will be a saving
grace
that carries
through this turbulence.
Recently, the administration and the Trustees of the
College have decided to build a permanent, physical memorial in Smith Plaza
to remember forever
our alumni.
In the next issue of Holy Cross Magazine, we will remember
and pay tribute to those we have lost and talk to faculty in a variety of disciplines
about how
the events of Sept. 11 have changed our world and our lives.
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