Bishop Kevin Farrell

The Chief Shepherd of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas

Connect

Remembering September 11

By

Dates have a way of taking on a life of their own. They trigger memories that surge up and cause us to relive the times they recall. September 11 is one of those dates, along with November 22, December 7 and, if you are old enough, November 11.

So again we recall the images seared into our minds: towers sheathed in smoke, fire trucks and police cars racing to the scene, dazed survivors wandering the streets, the incredible collapse of the towers followed by hundreds of people fleeing the billowing cloud of debris. We remember hundreds walking out of Manhattan looking back incredulously at the smoldering emptiness.

Then the sudden realization that thousands of people were buried in that heap of wreckage where rescue workers were scrambling frantically to reach them. We watched and we prayed; transfixed by tragedy…later to discover that other acts of terror and heroism had occurred in Washington and Pennsylvania.

There is a unity in tragedy…it draws us together…it brings out the best in us. Nothing illustrates that more than the overwhelming grief and incredible heroism of that day.

September 11 reminds us that wounds heal but scars remain. Some things we do not get over…we just learn to live with them.

So it is with 9/11. We salute the heroes, we pray for the families and we commend the victims to a merciful God.

A Tragedy for the Barrientos Family

By

The loss of a loved one is always a calamity, but the sudden death, particularly of a child or a young person is particularly tragic. It is natural to agonize over why and how this dreadful event occurred. We search for meaning in what appears to be meaningless.

Yesterday such a tragedy befell the family of Carlos and Rosa Barrientos, when their 22 year old daughter Gladys died instantly in a collision apparently caused by a driver fleeing from the police. Gladys was a very involved young Catholic woman, who was on the way home from a Bible Study when she was killed. Carlos and Rosa are both on the staff of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church.

One cannot but think of the unrealized potential of a young person snatched away by death. Why, we ask, was this tragedy visited upon us; upon our family? We seek answers where there are none. We are left with an emptiness that cannot be filled. Only our faith in Jesus Christ and in His Resurrection sustains us in the presence of innocent suffering. We know that is what is sustaining Carlos and Rosa and their family in this time of such great sadness and distress.

We share with them their deep sadness. Let us come together as a Catholic community to offer prayers and support.