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#89. Special Episode with John Dear: Dedicated to all whose lives were altered that day: Life and Death at Ground Zero.
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This episode is dedicated to the victims of September 11, 2001, and to the countless families whose lives were forever altered by that day.
As we reflect on a message of profound peace, healing, and the pursuit of a nonviolent world, we pause to honor the memory of those we lost. May their legacies inspire us to reach across divides, comfort those who mourn, and work tirelessly toward a future defined by compassion, reconciliation, and enduring peace.
This week, I’m offering two special episodes of “The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast” to commemorate 9/11.
Earlier, on Monday, I posted Part 1 of 2, my conversation with my friend Colleen Kelley, co-founder of Sept. 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows.
Today, in Part 2 of 2, I share my own experience as the Red Cross coordinator of chaplains after 9/11.
As some of you know, I was scheduled to have breakfast with my parents that morning in the restaurant on the top of the World Trade Center, but they changed their plans at the last minute. I went down to help and was asked very quickly by the Red Cross to become the local coordinator of all the 550 chaplains at the Family Assistance Center where we served some 50,000 direct relatives of those who died in the two towers over the next three months. I also worked once or twice a week at Ground Zero, praying with and counseling rescue workers.
I tell about the many people I met, such as Neil, a Long Island Catholic, who came to the Center clutching a bag of hairs snatched from his missing brother-in-law’s comb, as DNA evidence. While he was filling out the paper, he was told his relative’s body was found. I prayed with him before he called his sister to tell her.
I also share stories of the many rescue workers I met at Ground Zero, such as the fireman who came scrambling down the smoking seven story Pile, ran up to me and said, “Father, quick, give me your blessing. I’m digging for my best friend.” Or the one who ran up to me and begged, “Father, please, teach me how to pray. We found the body of my friend yesterday, and I don’t know what to do.”
I conclude with reflections about my work organizing protests against the Afghanistan war, and where we are 25 years later. Thank you for listening.
PS. For the full story, read my autobiography, "A Persistent Peace."
Find me on Substack https://fatherjohndear.substack.com/
Onward in peace with the nonviolent Jesus!
🌻, God bless you, Fr. John