The dead vendor at the world trade center ========================================= This afternoon I happened to hear from a boy who were in a shopping center. The boy and the mother were talking about some issues and that is the time I passed by them. I heard the boy relating with the mother I am the one suffering. I am hurt mom. Could you feel my feelings?. What an astounding statement from a six-year-old boy whom I knew! I stopped by them and appreciated the intelligent statement he made . We are talking about the terrorists attack on the World Trade Center the mom tried to introduce the discussion with a smile and the son got hurt as the mom smiled mentioning the mishap at the World Trade Center I am hurt when I see her smile as I share my hurts about the attack on our land. The boy wanted his mother to show grief as she mentioned the word World trade center. A lot of feelings in him. This boy is very hurt I said to myself. I found that to be an interesting conversation and I tried to stay with these friends. The boys name is Mathew whom I call Matt and his Mom is Mary. (The names are real). Matt was in New York city recently with his mom and dad. Mat had a lighted pen in his pocket. He took that out and showed to me expressing his sadness. I remember the vendor who sold this pen to me. He might be dead today. He was nice to me and even gave me a small gift. When Matt said this, Mary his mother turned around and gave him a hug. I heard her say to him I love you my son. I know it hurts you. Thank you mom. You are so good. I love you was the response from Matt. He was happy that the mom changed her behavior and shared his pain. I think this is what our children are asking us to do. We need to listen to them instead of giving them advise all the time. Matt and his friends were talking about this event at school and the teachers did spend some time explaining to them about the mishap at new York City. Matt was able to share the pain of the whole world at this mishap because he knew someone in New York who might be dead today and that hurts him and that is the vendor who was kind to him. My reflection ============= I for myself am not sure if the vendor at the World trade center is alive or dead but this boy feels for him thinking that he might be dead. I herd the boy say The World Trade Center is gone. I saw that in the T.V. But I am going to keep this pen and the hat my dad bought for me from Manhattan. an amazing way for the boy to remember the tragic event!! As I was walking home, I started to feel what this little boy felt. I thought about the many people who might be buried in the rubbles. I Remember going up the World Trade Center last year some time and I started to dust off my memories about the many people who were atop the building who might be burned alive or jumped from the windows almost <th of a mile from the ground. Oh that was a sickening thought. The beautiful view of the Empire State building, the Hudson River, the Statue of Liberty and the entire Manhattan area and many other amazing views flashed through my memory. The view is there but the venue to view them had changed. It shocked me to think, It could have happened when I was there. I could have been atop the building . I dont know if the person who was trading when Matt went there was there today. But it is a possibility that he might have been there or someone else was there trading something else. I thought about the cafeteria and the people who traded atop the building, on the view deck. There were many people who worked in that building who either jumped off of the building or came down with the building. I wonder if anyone escaped from the view deck. The many tourists and even the people who may have served Pizza for little Matt might be gone. The smiling faces of tho! se poor and innocent people I wont be able to see again. I cant take another photograph from the top of that building, I wont get a photograph taken by their photographer as we line up to get into the elevator. As I remember, the elevator in that building was one of the fastest and yet quietest. All those people who are employed on top of the World trade Center are gone. It would have been a very sad day for me and my family if my cousin who came from the middle east to see the Americas went on top of the building yesterday. He landed in Philadelphia and was planning to go to New York yesterday but his brother in law couldnt be absent from work yesterday and that saved his life. I called Shaji and his in laws in Philadelphia. Many of you may have family and or friends in new York, Washington and the related areas. I was surprised to read in the Deepika, yesterday about that Vincent and Appu and his mom. They were my guests in California, some time back and I was their guest too as he studied in Nevada University. As I was talking with many friends, yesterday in New York and Washington, I shared their pain. Little Matt couldnt figure out how this is done and why. He cannot conceive of hatred yet. He thinks it is an act of God, like the earth Quakes and Tornados. He thinks about the many people who could still be alive among the rubbles. He asked me how to rescue them. Why God did this he asked me. It is peoples act not Gods I said top him briefly. If I were grown up , I could have dug these people from the rubbles, Matt said and I think that the mom might have liked that. The boy said If I were grown up and I started to think what I could do at this juncture and that prompted me to sit and type my feelings. I thought of sharing my feelings as I heard many people share their feelings yesterday. I thought my sharing of this incident might enable some people who read this to share their fears and related feelings and might help them to be healed. Some of us might say There is no need to share the feelings. I would say that we need to share our fears and related feelings for inner healing. Peoples memories are vivid and that hurts. I am hurt to see all these people vanish into nothing. As I watched the Television this evening, I was shocked to see the cold blooded and pre meditated massacre committed by some evil people. It is sinful. It cannot be justified. Injustice cannot be justified no matter how great the motive might be. I know the end does not justify the means. Some people might think that no mater what we try as long as the end result is good, that is ok. For such people to see this brutality in New York and Washington and Pensylvania might be enough to open their eyes. For me the end result cannot justify the means that could be employed to achieve the end. This human error could be retaliation or this could be the result of anger and hatred. I think similar things trigger another world war could happen . All because of anger and hatred in people. All because of our dysfunction. If we dont manage anger, that would mismanage our lives and that could destroy the whole world. The dead people are gone but the living people, that is us live in the shadow of death as we read in psalm 23 which was reiterated by president Bush. God alone is our refuge and in Him we find hope. I think it is helpful to recite the Psalm 23. I think none of the people who died or lost their limps and permanently disabled, crippled, due to this accident were aware of this kind of a disaster as they left home. Think about the hundreds of innocent passengers on board the jet liners who were also sacrificed. The agony those passengers and the crew members suffered seeing their friends stabbed to death and their fear as the jets loosing altitude and horribly hitting the towers and the ground. They were not able to say goodbye to their families and friends. I am sure there were many unsettled matters in the minds of many of them. When some of them left home, they may have painful agendas in mind. Some of them might have been harboring anger, even hatred, and I wonder how many of them got a chance to talk with their opponents and even family members whom they loved or hated or were angry at. Everyone perished. This morning I was talking to Mr Paul Cyriac, a good friend. Mr. Paul mentioned to me we need to give flowers when we can. But often we offer flowers in the cemeteries not to the people when they are alive I do appreciate the commend of my friend Paul Cyriac. I do appreciate Matt who was unhappy at his mom as his mom seemed to be insensitive to his pain. Matt remembered even the venders and he carries the pen that automatically lights up as he writes. His memory is fresh because he had been to the World Trade Center recently. He said I am going to keep this pen forever as a memory of the center Forgiveness and justice. This deplorable, tragic event that struck America could have been avoided if there was forgiveness in the mind of a person who is behind the seen. Many of us might be going through similar events in lives. We might be angry at each other. I am sure that many of you may remember cold-blooded murder as a result of hatred. Jesus invites us to forgive each other and to forgive unconditionally. Forgive so that peace might reign in our hearts. When we forgive, our children like Matt wouldnt hurt. Often times children learn from parents. If we teach them to harbor hatred, sooner or later they will take out that anger at us. In our families parents might be angry at one another and they might be using the children to vent their feelings, being they themselves are unable to vent their feelings of anger, frustration etc. I think such parents will be answerable before our Dear God for intention! ally or otherwise polluting the minds of the innocent children, inflicting severe wounds in them. I will invite all those who read this, to spend a moment in silence and say a short prayer with me. It is a[rayer for the people who perished in the mishap. Eternal rest grant unto them Oh Lord, Let Perpetual light shine on them May they rest in peace? May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed Rest In Peace. Amen ---- God Bless you. Fr.Thomas Mathew California, USA September 11/2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ********************************************************************** This mail is generated from JOYnet, a Jesus Youth mailing list. To unsubscribe, send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For automatic help, send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In case of any issue related to the mailing list contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] To know more about Jesus Youth, visit http://www.jesusyouth.org **********************************************************************
