9/11 Chaplains Reflect

Editors Note: Immediately following the 9/11 attacks, spiritual leaders from all traditions gathered to offer comfort to the families, friends and workers. HuffPost Religion is proud to feature some of their reflections 10 years later.

'A Spiritual Pilgrimage To Ground Zero' by Rev. James Martin, S.J.

On Sept. 13, with the city still in chaos, a police officer offered me a ride to ground zero, where I would spend the next few days and weeks ministering to the firefighters and rescue workers. Continue reading...

'Playing Poker With Police At Ground Zero' by Rev. Dr. Martha R. Jacobs

I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve those who were there to protect us and recover the remains of those who died. It was not something I ever envisioned when I answered a call to serve God. Continue reading...

'Spirituality Forged In Smoke And Fire' by Bishop James B. "Jay" Magness

That day, I began learning that the affirmation of our spiritual differences is the only vehicle through which we can build the framework for common ground. Continue reading...

'God's Love Was At Ground Zero' by Mike MacIntosh

The aroma of God's love was in every stairwell, office suite and any imaginable place at the WTC. His love was reaching out to very frightened people and loving them into heaven. Continue reading...

'Providing Disaster Relief With The American Red Cross' by Rev. Earl E. Johnson

What has emerged in my experience is that those who have training and experience with the chronically ill also make good disaster spiritual care providers, without exception. Continue reading...

Comments

[Godfearing]

12:19 PM on 09/10/2011

It just don't look like God is blessing the world. As I look around and see the suffering and heartache, it strongly appears that God is damning the world. Remember Rev. Wright's comments when he said, "God Damn America!" and the religious went crazie.

[Areyoume2]

10:03 AM on 09/10/2011

YAHOO FATHER MYCHAL JUDGE

Admittedly I did not read through this entire article as the name I wanted to see as a LEAD IN didn't JUMP OUT at me. Those two phrases so dutifully and spiritually meld into the glory of Father Mychal Judge...aka death certificate Number One. His courage, as he led into the chaos and debris of certain death, should be heralded from the rooftops of every NYC high rise as it's trumpeted up in the heavens (where he's sure to be telling funny Irish stories as he did that fateful day ...to shepherd in those 350 firefighters and the many NYPD officers, as well.

They say he had his own FDNY car. Well, as the many other official vehicles were called in that day so was our Father Judge ...to be counted among our heroes. And a SAINT in heaven! Surely the former AA member is today hoisting a Guinness to the good health and happiness of his friends and family members as well as all the victims and families of the 9/11 disaster. Cheers Father Judge

[MA]

12:36 AM on 09/10/2011

Too bad we don't hear them now speaking against the slaughter of ninocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Too bad we don't hear them speaking out against torture and killings of individuals.
Yeah that what Jesus would have done...

[YourNewNeighbor]

11:24 PM on 09/09/2011

Why is there is cross on a public vehicle in the picture?

This is grossly unconstitutional and offensive to all the other faiths and non-faiths who were either direct or indirect victims on 9-11.

[Stephen Stafford]

04:46 PM on 09/10/2011

Looks like that is rubble and debris on that public vehicle in the picture. I bet this is one of the vehicles involved on September 11 used in the work of some of the fallen firefighters, the vehicle to which they arrived at the scene of their death.

These people are dead. Go to their graves and tell them that their apparatus is unconstitutional and offensive. Denigrate their faith experiences as we lift up the memories of all who were killed on that day.

[see-ellen2001]

08:01 PM on 09/11/2011

I find things became very Norman Rockwell painting like: showing the brave men (not women) rushing in to help, good Christian folk hoisting a cross, womenfolk worried about their men. I am not being flippant, I have noticed it for years. Like a need to turn back the clock to white, Christian patriarchal times. Maybe it is comforting. Hence the cross.

[srmmer]

03:01 PM on 09/09/2011

well why is GOD being left out at ground zero this 9-11

[123dee]

01:47 AM on 09/10/2011

This memorial is for all Americans.
Your faith is yours

[Godfearing]

12:21 PM on 09/10/2011

What about the innocent around the world who have suffered as much or more because of 9/11?

[Rangers 30]

10:35 AM on 09/11/2011

While there are no clergy members speaking, plenty of speakers including Giuliani are voicing prayers and words of God. God isn't forgotten there, He's very much alive.

[jlining8]

11:28 AM on 09/09/2011

“10th anniversar­y of 9/11. organizers of proposed Islamic mosque @ Ground Zero chosen this moment 2 roll out a multi-mill­ion dollar fundraisin­g campaign. They are using September 10th eve of the 10th anniversar­y of 9/11 as their deadline for raising funds.
It’s insensitiv­e 2 families who lost loved ones that day; it is an outrage 2 all Americans.
It is critical, we take a stand against Islamic mosque at Ground Zero & it’s organizers­’ wholly insensitiv­e fundraisin­g campaign.
Ground Zero Mosque organizers reacted to their fundraisin­g campaign being exposed for what it is,saying: its timing is merely a coincidenc­e.
A coincidenc­e,like when they originally named the project "Cordoba",­long a symbol of Islamic conquest.
It is abundantly clear @ every step of Ground Zero Mosque project, organizers­, financing,­& public relations campaign behind it are insensitiv­e at best. We must never allow this Islamic victory mosque to be built, & we certainly should not allow them 2 use this important moment 2 do it.
ACLJ is aggressive­ly fighting back as this case,now on appeal, representi­ng Tim Brown,a firefighte­r & first responder who lost nearly 100 of his friends @ Ground Zero. As he recently told Fox News, “With the ACLJ . . . this will never happen; this mosque will never be built.”
The reason he can say this with confidence is because of you.Join the Committee to Stop the Ground Zero Mosque. http://acl­j.us/kdr5

[myopinion2]

05:08 PM on 09/09/2011

what difference does it make

[Gordonfs]

03:12 PM on 09/11/2011

paranoia? you have proof of the charges you make?

[jlining8]

05:41 PM on 09/11/2011

where does it say anything in my post about paranoia? that word is not even mentioned,if you have anything to discuss about my post,you can go to the website for the American Center for Law & Justice, (ACLJ) About ACLJ - The American Center for Law and Justice
Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the ACLJ focuses on constitutional and human rights law worldwide. Based in Washington, D.C., with affiliated offices in Israel, Russia, Kenya, France, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe, the ACLJ is pro-life and dedicated to the ideal that religious freedom and freedom of speech are inalienable, God-given rights for all people. The ACLJ engages legal, legislative, and cultural issues by implementing an effective strategy of advocacy, education, and litigation that includes representing clients before the Supreme Court of the United States and international tribunals around the globe. American Center for Law and Justice
P.O. Box 90555
Washington, DC 20090-0555
1-800-296-4529
Legal Helpline Phone: [phone]
Legal Helpline Fax: [phone]
Member Services: 757-802-9160
Radio call-in number: 1-800-684-3110 (from 12-12:30 PM EST/EDT.)
Petition call-in number: 1-877-989-2255
For information on broadcasting Jay Sekulow Live! or Jay Sekulow Weekend:
Phone: [phone]

[see-ellen2001]

10:25 PM on 09/11/2011

I agree. I just looked on the Cordoba site and no where does it say the tenth was the deadline.

[Box500]

05:42 PM on 09/06/2011

Do we need more tripe from chaplains, priests, pastors, etc? They are part of the problem.

[Allen2Saint]

11:34 PM on 09/09/2011

Actually, chaplains are trained to minister to all people in crisis, regardless of belief systems or culture, helping the affected person draw on their own strengths, whatever they may be. You may not be familiar with our profession, but we work in health care, law enforcement, the military and even corporate( although I find that a little weird). We do not proslytize or enforce our belief system on anyone. A chaplain lost his life in the line of his duty that day as well.

[Stephen Stafford]

04:41 PM on 09/10/2011

Pastors, chaplains, priests, etc. never seek out to engage in tripe.

We need less disrespect and disregard from those who deny religious precepts in their own experiences and are insufferably intolerant of others have their experiences acknowledged.

[Gordonfs]

03:15 PM on 09/11/2011

and the same is due to those that do not hold your beliefs. intolerance is a two way street, the intolerance bred in the fundamental religious right has made our faith blasphemous and not at all with the teachings of our savior Jesus Christ

[eword]

05:10 PM on 09/06/2011

As the tenth anniversary of the tragic events of 9-11 approach, it is right and proper, that chaplains and all of us reflect on this sad chapter in our history.
But what do we really reflect on and how do we really reflect on, what we are supposed to reflect on, if we don't really know, what really happened? Can a really honest and realistic reflection, take place without real knowledge of the event?

Credible Voices
- http://www.infowars.com/establishment-prepares-911-official-story-onslaught/
In Plane Sight
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igX7Z8VstN4
Fabled Enemies
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh-sm4ICE3g&feature=fvst
Painful Deceptions
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5wkyEDIxTk
Loose Change
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28QukKjwLtI
Press For Truth
- http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/911-press-for-truth/
Terrorstorm
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J9cQpjSELk
Dust To Dust
- http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/dust-to-dust/
Unanswered Questions
- http://www.infowars.com/you-only-believe-the-official-911-story-because-you-don%e2%80%99t-know-the-official-911-story/

[AbrahamSadegh]

06:45 PM on 09/06/2011

Regarding 9/11, there are two distinct issues involved. The fact of what took place on that day and the tragic loss of lives and our empathy for those who were in any way adversely affected.
And as tragic is not knowing after ten years exactly what led to 9/11 and who was truly behind it and why which is unfortunate in our supposedly free and democratic society.

I was going to suggest for those interested to take time and watch the documentary "Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup" that I watched yesterday on Netflix and I believe it is the same one on your list.

I was astonished to hear the possibility that Osama bin Laden might not have had as much to do with 9/11 as we have been led to believe. I was surprised to hear that the personal lives of many of those directly involved in high jacking of the planes had nothing to do with Islam they professed to be adherents to.

It was puzzling the realize how much our government knew about the possibility of the attack as was the case when Japan attached Pearl Harbor six decades earlier and did nothing about it.
Your question, "Can a really honest and realistic reflection­, take place without real knowledge of the event?" is legitimate and the answer has to be, "No!"

Our responsibility is, however, to continue seeking the truth as a requirement to keep our society free and democratic.

[John Edward Byrd]

09:12 PM on 09/11/2011

Wow...

[Jim NLN]

03:29 PM on 09/06/2011

Why is there a cross on the front of that Fire Department vehicle? Do only Christians work for the Fire Department? Maybe if they prayed harder then 9/11 would not have happened!

[Colonel Muttonfield]

11:53 PM on 09/06/2011

I see a vision of countless crosses, endless crosses stretching over the freshly dug fields. But it is only a memory. I feel the pains that were given, that I gave, on so many days of loss. And, there is no light to free me from these shadows which cage me. I know I should have been dead long ago and suspect that perhaps I did indeed die, long ago. I cry out to God. I seek his consolatio­­­n. But I know that he cannot help me. I have created my own prison in which I am the only prisoner and the only guard.

[badman5150]

09:14 AM on 09/07/2011

Maybe if you got your head out of the dark recesses and prayed, your bitterness might fade.

[Jim NLN]

11:19 AM on 09/07/2011

You are a bad man.

[jokerdanny]

02:38 PM on 09/06/2011

i have a wishing well at my house that works as well as prayer, and you don't have to toss in 10%

[finwiz]

03:30 PM on 09/06/2011

good for you.

[badman5150]

09:15 AM on 09/07/2011

Perhaps you can spend eternity there when you croak.

[sweetlilthing]

02:27 PM on 09/06/2011

So did family members, friends, neighbors, teachers, people on the street, total strangers. We come together in crisis because we are human.