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It takes a special person to walk into danger when everyone else is fleeing to safety. I have great admiration for the courage and bravery of the first responders from 9/11. Their virtue exhibited on that day, and the weeks afterward is a result of possessing Fortitude. You see, Fortitude gives us the capability to face fear, while courage and bravery allow us to act upon our fortitude. Therefore, the fortitude of first responders is something to behold. They are living witnesses of what it means to truly serve for the glory of God. Fortitude of First Responders Inside each of the first responders is a desire to serve others, even at the expense of one’s own life. How could that be, that the first responder would be willing to die, just to save the life of another? It is that way, because the first responder possesses Fortitude! We are all graced with this virtue at Confirmation, but I think that people of this vein are... Read more...

My daughter and I traveled to New York City in March.  One of the highlights of that trip was our visit to the  National September 11 Memorial & Museum . To read the article and view the photo gallery, please visit Being Catholic ... Really .

On this  most difficult day  I am thinking about death. Last night, on my way out of my graduate class in Jersey City, a friend texted me to let me know our next door neighbor's infant son had died suddenly. I spent the long drive home talking to Ruth. When I got home at 11 p.m., I sat in my car in the driveway, crying and still talking with her and noting that all the lights were on in the family's home and all the shades drawn. My friend and I were grieving, trying to make sense of the unimaginable. "There has been a lot of death lately," I told her. Keep Reading...

I wrote this post on the tenth anniversary of  September 11. Ten years ago today, our country was viciously attacked like no other time in history.  Like the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert and Martin Luther King Jr., the day will ever be in my memory along with where I was and what I was doing. You can read the rest at Being Catholic ... Really .

On the anniversary of 9/11 every year, when I am watching the footage of the twin towers being hit by planes on TV, I am reminded of a dream I had exactly three years earlier in September of 1998. At the time I had the dream and until 9/11 happended in 2001, I did not realize the dream was going to be somewhat literal. I even prayed about and came up with a symbolic interpretation.  Continue Reading at Beautifulthorns >