Print Issue: September 19, 2002

Parishioners Urged To 'Continue To Pray' Introspective Mood Dominates Mass

By Gretchen Keiser, Staff Writer

ATLANTA - The quiet and haunting refrains of Gabriel Fauré's "Requiem" seemed to capture the essence of the mood, introspective and serious, as Catholics joined in a national prayer of remembrance on the first anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001.

The Latin words plead for mercy for those who died, seeking their eternal rest with the angels and saints. The music is ethereal, floating in the air and lingering, and whether listeners consciously lift up their heads or not, they sense higher realms, maybe even feel hope that what is unseen is poignantly beautiful.

Sopranos watch the conductor during the evening concert in Conyers remembering the victims of Sept. 11. Fauré's "Requiem," sung in Latin, pleads for mercy and eternal rest for those who have died and concludes with the prayer "may the angels lead you into paradise."

At St. Pius X Church in Conyers, a special choral union, under the direction of David Houston, formed over the summer and performed the "Requiem" on Sept. 8 as a memorial concert.

At the Cathedral of Christ the King, Atlanta, the choir sang portions of the "Requiem" within the Mass as Father Kevin Hargaden preached about the nearness of God in a time of darkness. When terrorists attacked and killed over 3,000 civilians in Washington, New York and rural Pennsylvania a year ago, God was present through the acts of love, courage and human kindness that poured out, the priest said.

"Even in that darkest of times, God showed his face as being with us," he said. "Millions were donated, thousands of meals were served, doors of homes were opened, bonds of love were forged."

Speaking to a capacity congregation at the Cathedral, Father Hargaden preached while Archbishop John F. Donoghue presided at the Mass.

Father John Howren, left, plays the violin during the memorial concert at St. Pius X Church, Conyers. One of 11 musicians accompanying 35 singers, he is pastor of St. Augustine Church, Covington. It was the first performance by the group, conducted by David Houston.

The parochial vicar recalled that he was in St. Louis on Sept. 11, 2001, preparing to fly back to Atlanta. As he turned on the television to check on the weather, he recalls feeling that "life couldn't be more ordinary, life couldn't be more wonderful."

"Now we painfully and poignantly remember where we were on nine-eleven," he said. "We are a people who remember the horrible and tragic events of a year ago today. A new word entered our language: nine-eleven . . . We remember the shock. We remember the grief. We remember the anger and the questions. We are a people who remember. And we remember that it was not only the tragedy of those days but the signs of hope. We remember how we came to church, sometimes spontaneously, to come together, to pray, to help those whose lives had been torn apart."

He encouraged people to remember that Jesus, when he was preparing to die, took bread and blessed it and broke it, and blessed a cup of wine, knowing that it would be poured out in his blood. Jesus wanted his people to remember "not only the mystery of life, but the mystery of death," Father Hargaden said.

"God is a God of life, who even in our emptiness, even in our pain comes to us in bread, blessed and broken, that we may be supported. Our God comes to love us . . . comes even in this time of trial to his people, his people who remember."

He encouraged people to "remember to continue to pray every day, that we may draw close to hear his consoling word, a word of mercy and hope, of resurrection and life, that we may come in times of quiet and touch this marvelous mystery of God's grace."

At the offertory, a book of remembrance was brought forward with the gifts of bread and wine that included the names of those killed in the terrorist attacks.

During the Mass, the beauty of the music, sung by the Cathedral Choir and accompanied by organist Timothy Wissler, and the Eucharist created a place of spiritual solace.

Yet several of those who came to pray, spoke of their sense of abiding anxiety about the national debate over the United States attacking Iraq.

Leaving the Cathedral, Lou Erbs, a father and grandfather, was asked what he has found to be a source of strength in the last year.

Parishioners of St. Pius X Church, Conyers, fill the church Sept. 8 to hear a memorial concert sung by the Summer Choral Union. The "Requiem" by Gabriel Fauré was the centerpiece of the concert.

"The quiet of relationships, the value of relationships, has been accentuated through this struggle of the past year," he said. "Community is the answer - roots, an anchor, in a time of great disruption."

But, he added, the dominating news of a possible United States attack on Iraq is always on his mind and heart. "It's just a constant uneasiness as you look at the future."

Gary Smith, 39, who works in sales, said he was also thinking of the people in the military and the possibility of a war with Iraq.

"There's an awful lot of troops overseas. I'm concerned for their well-being," Smith said. "I think Iraq is a wild card. That is what I'm really concerned about. It is an unconventional war. Back in the Gulf War, we had everybody and his brother on our side. Now we are having a hard time (getting support). We don't know what (Iraq) has been doing. We could walk in and have a decisive win or we could walk in and I don't even want to imagine how bad it could be."

Father Larry Bailey, an Air Force chaplain who is taking graduate courses at Georgia State University, concelebrated the Mass and recalled serving in tense situations, including in the Middle East after Desert Storm.

He was in South Korea a year ago and said the terrorist attacks on the United States created a poignant moment. All the U.S. troops and personnel were restricted to base for several weeks after the attack. "Korea is an extremely intense situation," the chaplain explained.

But in the loss, "there was a bonding."

"So many South Koreans were killed at the World Trade Center. Businessmen put up a huge banner outside our base expressing their condolences and solidarity," he said. "It was devastating for the South Korean people that this could happen and that this could happen in the United States."

Father Joseph Fahy, CP, who also was a concelebrant, found the Mass "very moving" and expressed hope that people would pray for the victims and pray for the terrorists who were responsible.

"We should pray for them and we should forgive them," he said.

In Conyers, singer Nancy Donovan-Watkins, who performed the "Requiem," said, "I am at peace, but I worry about the world. There are too many people who are not listening (to God)."

A truck freight dispatcher, who returned to the practice of her Catholic faith four years ago, she said a fellow dispatcher in Omaha, Neb., alerted her to the tragedy a year ago at work. "I came to church immediately after work."

Over the past year she said, "I think I may pray a little harder, work a little more intensely." When you return to your faith after many years away, "you try to make up for it."

She is concerned about the majority of young people in the United States, concerned that parents are not setting a good example for children and that they are not enforcing the rules they set.

Rosemarie Zivic, a grandmother of 15, who was one of the soloists at the Conyers performance, said singing the "Requiem" and recalling Sept. 11, makes her mindful of the uncertainty of our lives.

"It really gets a person thinking," she said. "We have to be ready (spiritually) at all times. We think if we go somewhere, we'll be back at a certain time, but we never know. It makes us think what life is all about."