Carroll community commemorates September 11th

'Silence is our most eloquent speech ... and next to silence is prayer'
Following a moment of silence at 8:45 a.m., Father Ed Glynn SJ began the commemoration of the September 11th tragedy with brief remarks, noting, "We are human, and so we are bound to try and try again to grasp the spectrum of human behavior -- the malicious act of one human toward another, the virtuous act of one human on behalf of another." He offered a prayer and was followed by representatives of the Student Union, faculty, staff and administration. 

Read text of Father Glynn's remarks

 Father Ed Glynn SJ, President of JCU
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September 11th
Father Ed Glynn SJ

 Silence is our most eloquent speech. Before the reality of evil and the mystery of God our words disappear into inadequacy. But we are human and so we are bound to try and try again to grasp the spectrum of human behavior - the malicious act of one human toward another, the virtuous act of one human on behalf of another. We are bound to try and try again to grasp the radomness of death, death in an instant, death in a long moment, death that is cruel and finally, death that is inevitable. And so words follow words into sentences, into paragraphs, into books, into conversation, into debates and lectures.

Silence is our most eloquent speech. But in the breath and depth of our experience we catch sight of evil and we yearn for a glimpse of God. And because we are human we try and try again to find the words to voice our despair, our fear and our rage, and the words that will make real our unyielding hope, our steadfast faith and finally our love.

But silence is our most eloquent speech. And next to silence is prayer.

Let us pray.

Gracious God, From the depths of his being, Jesus, your son and our brother, unleashed a cry of despair that reverberated throughout all human history, the cry of abandonment, futility, injustice and defeat - a cry that entered into the depth of your being and was embraced by you, soothed and finally quieted in the resurrection. Hear us today. Deepen our compassion toward all who bear the scars of evil, strengthen our conviction to always advance justice, give us the eyes to see life3 in the midst of death. Grant us peace in our hearts and in our world. Amen

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