I have been planning not to post about 9/11, since it seems to me
that all media has been single-mindedly focusing on it for awhile now.
But then I started to think of a few things, so lo and behold, a post,
with three sections: articles (neither the one-sided political
point-scoring ones nor the "where were you on 9/11/01" ones), thoughts
on "remembrance", and songs.
Articles: Though I have already previously posted some and I'm sure you have found some of your own, here are a couple more. This is perhaps the most incisive editorial about 9/11 I have yet read. This tells of the F-16 pilot ready to kamikaze her jet into flight 93. This tells of the astronaut who witnessed 9/11 from outer space. And this encyclopedia has most everything.
Remembrance: Though the word "remember" is
nearly always contrasted with the word "forget", it can just as readily
be contrasted with the word "dismember". To remember is to reconnect
that which has been severed, to repair that which has been broken. The
more Catholic-minded might consider Jesus' call to continue the
Eucharist "in remembrance of me," effectively reconstituting his broken
body in his Body, the unified Church (see further thoughts in this vein here and here).
So in the midst of all the remembering (i.e., recollecting) 9/11, we
ought to put at least as much effort in to remembering (i.e., restoring) what has been dismembered: faith in common humanity, peace, justice, trust in God's omnipotence, and love, to name only a few.
Music: A few pieces that might be worth a listen to commemorate the day. First, Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings", one of the most tragic pieces I have in my music collection. Second, John Tavener's haunting "Song for Athene", which was most famously performed at Princess Diana's funeral. Third, the hymn "Saint Patrick's Breastplate", binding virtues to oneself. And finally, John Adams' Pulitzer Prize-winning "On the Transmigration of Souls", written specifically to commemorate 9/11/01. Each of these pieces feel appropriate to me.
nice insights Mattie - I used the themes of forgiveness (setting aside, divorcing one's self of one's emotions, memories, anger, etc,) and remembering (re-creating, re-defining, re-organizing, re-constituting one's memories of the past, or those events which separate us from God's love and our ability to love others). I was motivated by some comments that Diane Butler Bass had written on Facebook. Seemingly, you were previously aware of a better NT Greek definition of "remembering" too. Nicely done!
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