Today marks the anniversary of September 11th, a date we all know, a date we cannot help but know, a date we will never forget. And, as time moves on and the events less frequent in our collective conscience, we pause to recall those same horrible events, yet, we do so not to experience the pain, which is bound to happen, but to remember how as a nation we came together, how as a nation heroes were made, and how as a nation we mourned and we prayed as one.

For, 10 years ago our lives were, forever, changed.

Yet, something always interesting seems to happen on this day, which I am unsure happens by design or is Providential, or a little of both, but, usually, at least one or both of the readings during Mass happens to center around forgiveness, the destructive nature of anger, or the importance of life itself.

It is no wonder then that our readings today speak to all three, especially on this 10th anniversary, for, usually, in the midst of great tragedy we look to the Scriptures for consolation and hope and, yet, today, we are asked, above all things, to forgive.

Yet, how do we forgive when the memory is etched into our minds, or when we look at the skyline and only see two lights where two great towers used to stand?

It seems impossible and more idealistic than anything else.

Yet, as our first reading tells us: “Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.” In other words, our forgiveness of another’s faults brings forgiveness to us as well because the anger we hold towards another not only prohibits us from forgiving the other person, but also from having the capacity of being forgiven ourselves.

Put another way, forgiveness, by its very nature, asks us to accept our own faults and in understanding those faults to understand the fault of another. That is why Jesus tells us to forgive not just seven times, but seventy-seven times, a number that, in biblical terms, is equivalent to infinity, and the number with which God has used to ultimately pay our debt, with His sacrifice. For, if His forgiveness is infinite, and we are unworthy of that, as our first reading asks: “Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself?”

Now, of course, I am by no means trying to imply that we would do the same things, but rather to recognize the sad truth that all human beings are, unfortunately, capable.

In fact, St. Augustine, in his Confessions, realizing this, said: “There is no sin or crime committed by another which I myself am not capable of committing through my weakness; and if I have not committed it, it is because God, in His mercy, has not allowed me to and has preserved me in good.”

Either way, forgiveness is never easy, in fact, it is one of the greatest challenges of being a Christian, but when we refuse to let go, we not only carry the anger and the hurt, we also carry the person with us, which causes the greatest pain of all.

There was one man who recognized this, one man who, perhaps, stands as one of the greatest examples of forgiveness. Pope John Paul II was shot and seriously injured but, miraculously, he survived. Although, most people probably wanted to kill the man who shot him, John Paul II did not, in fact, he visited him in prison and not just visited him, but, made it a point of forgiving him. He didn’t need to do that, he could have held on to the anger, refuse even to see him, but instead he went to him, in his attempted killer’s darkest hour, and did just the opposite.

Forgiveness is never easy, our Gospel makes that clear, but forgiveness is not impossible since, as we know, all things are possible with God. Therefore, let us seek to practice forgiveness everywhere, in our hearts, in our lives and, most especially, as we recall those tragic events this day, watching as those two bright blue lights shine where two strong towers used to reside.

So that, one day we may to come to a point of forgiveness, to free our hearts of the burdens and resentment, knowing that by doing so, we will learn to forgive freely and fully from our heart knowing that then and only then will our bitter grief and tremendous suffering fully subside.

So that as it reminds in our first reading, we will not hate our neighbor, but, rather, remember the Most High's covenant, and, ultimately, knowing the true freedom found in the fullness of forgiveness.