Twenty-five years ago today, the world changed. On this September 11 anniversary, Fr. Andrew Carl Wisdom reflects on a day we are still trying to process: the lives lost, the heroes who ran toward danger rather than away from it, and the quiet truth that heroic decisions in the big moments are built by preparation in the small moments.
Drawing on St. Paul's words, "Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all" (1 Corinthians 9:19), Fr. Wisdom invites us to honor the memory of 9/11 by living small, daily acts of self-giving love, so that if the big moment ever comes, we will be ready to look out for the other and not simply ourselves.
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 – Welcome to A Word of Hope
0:11 – A devastating anniversary: 9/11, 25 years later
0:34 – "We remember where we were" – Fr. Wisdom's memory of that morning
1:06 – How far can humanity's inhumanity to humanity go?
1:17 – Remembering those who died that day, and those still dying from its effects
1:33 – The tears that must come to God's eyes
1:40 – The heroes of 9/11: first responders and ordinary people
2:11 – Fr. Mychal Judge, OFM – the Franciscan chaplain who went in with the firefighters
2:19 – What allows someone to be heroic in a moment of self-preservation?
2:43 – Big things begin with small things: everyday heroism
3:00 – Life is an arena for the heroic
3:13 – St. Paul: "I made myself a slave to all" (1 Corinthians 9:19)
3:27 – Today's takeaway: emulate love and heroism in small ways
3:49 – Blessing and prayers for this day
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📖 Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22b-27
📅 Friday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time – September 11, 2026
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