Free Republic

Little did I expect to see the bombed out buildings in New York that week.It reminded me of Belfast and of Fr. Mike.I guess when I heard that a priest had died giving the last Sacrament to a firefighter, I was not surprised to hear that it was Fr. Mike. Neither was Fr. Mychal I am sure. He was ready.He died the way he lived, as a saint and an instrument of peace. We now know that he removed his hat to honor his fallen comrade and as he pronounced the prayers of the Church he joined him in the...

Most of us remember where we were on September 11, 2001. Televisions across our nation were riveted on one spectacle – the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington. We watched, in shock, as pictures of men and women falling from buildings, others rushing from the collapsing rubble, and billowing clouds of debris filled the screen. The World Trade Center was first. Then reports of the Pentagon started flowing in, followed by the horror story that took place aboard United Flight 93. This was a first for America. We never thought another nation...