Prayer for the Anniversary of 9-11

Let us prayerfully commemorate this anniversary. Below is an abridged version of the prayer Pope Benedict XVI delivered on April 20, 2008, during his visit to the site of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York.

O God of love, compassion, and healing, we ask you to give eternal light and peace to all who died, the heroic first-responders: fire fighters, police officers, emergency service workers, and Port Authority personnel, along with all the innocent men and women who were victims of this tragedy simply because their work brought them here on September 11, 2001.

In your compassion, bring healing to those who, because of that day, suffer from injuries and illness. Heal, too, the grieving families and all who lost loved ones in this tragedy. Give them strength to continue their lives with courage and hope.

We are mindful of those who suffered death, injury, and loss on the same day at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. Our hearts are one with theirs as our prayer embraces their suffering.

Bring your peace to our violent world:  peace in the hearts of all men and women and peace among the nations of the earth. Turn to your way of love those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred.

Overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy, we seek your light and guidance as we confront such terrible events.

Grant that those whose lives were spared may live so that the lives lost here may not have been lost in vain.

Comfort and console us, strengthen us in hope, and give us the wisdom and courage to work tirelessly for a world where true peace and love reign among nations and in the hearts of all.

Amen