9/11 Tribute - Poem

Dear Lord, Jesus Christ, that which conquered Death and forced open the door that was jammed for all time, look upon those souls who we lost on that fateful day 23 years ago.

Those who ran into the den of hell and, without any second or hesitation on their end, gave their lives so that the world could be saved. You saved the world for us all once, Lord, and I am sure that you can save all these departed souls, the true heroes of that day, who burrowed the darkness and the ashes to give the world some light.

Pray for them, angels and saints in heaven. Give them and their families the love that only the Lord knows and has. Please, Lord, let them not die in vain but die so that they can be lifted to heights that only match your own greatness.

For this, I pray for those who we lost on 9/11 so many years ago. On a day that many will remember, and none will forget, the day that terror struck the heart of the nation and that day, that time, the nation called out and said that we choose light over darkness, we choose love over hate, we chose heroes over villains. When we were at our worst, with our backs against the walls, nothing in us but our souls, we carried on, for the love of the Lord and for light is greater than anything that darkness can give us.

We picked up the bodies, one at a time. We removed the debris, piece by piece. We healed the wounds, one scar at a time, and on that day, we claimed that no darkness, no hate, and no villain is too great for the love that we have for one another.

We are still healing, Lord, and those who are gone will never return. May we not forget what they did there so that we, too, can take a page from their books and see that those who are the brightest are needed when it is the darkest. Help those who carry that tradition and who live as those who died on that day did.

Help us all, Lord, for the darkness is always lurking, always planning, always scheming against us, trying to take us away from you, but with you, we can showcase to ourselves, each other, and

the world that no darkness is too great for those who live with the Lord.

Amen.