09/10/2026
HOMILY
Rev. Kevin V. Madigan
Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel, NYC
September 6, 2026, 9:00 a.m.
This Friday we will observe the twenty-fifth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and on the Pentagon .I would like to connect that with another tragic event--the attack of a crazed shooter at the Catholic church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis in August of last year, as the children of the parish school were gathered in the church for the opening mass of the school year. The young gunman, a graduate of the school, discharged a barrage of bullets, shooting through the windows of the church at the children inside, killing two of them and injuring about twenty others.
What was the connection between the two events? Besides the two planes that crashed into the Twin Towers and the, one that crashed into the Pentagon, there was the plane that crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pa., that had set out from Boston, heading to San Francisco. As you may recall, many of the passengers on that plane became aware of the attacks because they were on their cell phones at the time. They soon realized that they were to become part of what was unfolding far away, when they saw the terrorists taking control of their plane. There was one young man on that plane who was returning to San Francisco, to complete the sale of the company he had built and devote the rest of his life to Christian service. His family learned afterward that he had been on his phone, alerting the F.B.I. to what was transpiring on the plane and receiving instructions as to what he should do. The plan was to take the food cart, run down the middle aisle, slam it into the cockpit door, overpower the terrorists and divert the plane away from the White House or the Capitol, whichever was the presumed target. All the passengers perished on that flight. They realized they were doomed but they had to act. Their heroic action saved the lives of many others as well.
Now to return to the attack on the school children in Annunciation Church in Minneapolis last August. Among those gathered inside, besides the students and teachers, there were some parents of the children as well, one of whom was a father of two of the kids, and who was the nephew of the man who had perished on the ill-fated plane that crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pa. Growing up, he had heard stories of the role that his deceased uncle had played in diverting the plane. It was part of the family lore. Now it was his turn to act.. He said afterwards that he heard a quiet voice within him say simply, “Be of help.” With bullets whizzing around him he sprang into action to protect the endangered children.
Witnesses to the event commented afterward that his heroic activity saved the lives of many of those terrorized children.
Today's second reading reminds us of the centrality of love in living out our Christian faith. We see the greatest example of that in Jesus who speaks of Himself saying, "No man has greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.” The death of Jesus on the Cross is the epitome of selfless love, We may not be able or willing to do the same, but it is the ideal to which we ought to aim. It is the reminder that the imitation of Christ's love is not just some gauzy feeling of benevolence, but a willingness to act in support of another, when called upon, in whatever way that we can. It is the refusal to sit or stand quietly on the sidelines, when we see some injustice or harm being perpetrated. As we observe the anniversary of 9/11 we remember the heroic first responders, the fire fighter and police officers who ran to the scene while others understandably were trying to get away, They laid down their lives not just for their friends, but for people they did not even know. Let us pray that we can have some measure if that same generosity of spirit, that we can "be of help,” as the situations present themselves in our lives.
Shanksville PA Memorial https://www.nps.gov/flni/learn/historyculture/crew-and-passengers.htm
