Print Issue: September 19, 2002

Patriotism, Prayer Chains Help Students Remember

The student ambassadors of Christ the King School, Atlanta, stand at the base of the school's flagpole holding the prayer chain of petitions made by the families of the school in preparation for the Sept. 11 school Mass. (Photo by Michael Alexander)

By Erika Anderson, Staff Writer

ATLANTA - The pure voices of young children singing "God Bless America" could be heard inside the Cathedral of Christ the King.

Outside the Cathedral, a city of Atlanta fire truck, with its flashing lights, slowly pulled out of the school driveway, followed by students in their navy and light blue plaid school uniforms.

As the fire truck stopped in front of the Cathedral, the firefighters got out and offered their greetings, celebrities to the children, heroes to the rest of the adults.

As they entered the Mass held Sept. 11 to remember those who died one year ago, students sang "America the Beautiful."

It was a mixture of emotions - younger students, such as kindergartners, fidgeted in their seats and were hushed by their teachers as they giggled with their friends-most of them too young to understand the significance of why they were there. The older children were solemn and prayerful, Sept. 11, 2001 obviously having left an indelible mark on their memories.

The Mass at the Cathedral was one of many held at Catholic schools throughout the archdiocese. From St. Mary's School in Rome to Marist School, Atlanta, students and faculty reflected on the events that changed the face of America.

On display outside the Cathedral was a 14-foot replica of the Statue of Liberty made of paper. The statue was held up by a stand made up of hundreds of paper bricks with each of the students' names written on them.

In his homily, Father Roy Lee spoke of the significance of the Statue of Liberty.

"That statue stands for freedom, for justice, for peace and for love," he said. "And your name is written on the bricks. You're holding up peace, you're holding up freedom and justice."

Father Lee also spoke of the steel cross that was found among the rubble of ground zero.

"As we remember one year ago, lives were taken by someone who decided to do something very bad to all of us . . .," he told the students. "But something stood in the midst of all the bricks and steel . . . God was assuring us all that he was with us. In spite of it all, he was reminding us that we have to hold up peace and justice and we still have to love those who do not love us."

As a saxophone played a haunting rendition of "Amazing Grace," students came forward with their prayer chain and linked it around the altar. Eighth-grade students, dressed as those who had lost or shared their lives on Sept. 11 - businessmen and women, firefighters and police, doctors, tourists, construction workers and military personnel, priests - came forward and laid objects - cell phones, stethoscopes, hats, a Bible and cameras - at the base of the altar.

Lt. Keith Shumaker, president of the Atlanta Firemen's Emerald Society, and Brendan Cassidy, a junior fireman, laid a flag at the altar and another student brought forward a plant, a symbol of hope and life.

Susan Lembo, whose son, Nicholas, is an eighth-grader at CKS, said that she came to the Mass because she believes "God is our source of strength," and she hopes that her son will believe that too.

"I hope he knows he can always turn to God as his source of strength," she said. "I am a big believer that God has a plan for all of us. It brings me a sense of comfort."

Eighth-grader Katie Sullivan, dressed as a doctor, said that she thought it was important to come to Mass to "honor God and all of the people who died." She said that despite the thousands killed, God's presence was evident.

"He saved a lot of lives, too," she said. "There were a lot of people and firefighters that came out of the building."

Second-grader Sarah Fristoe said the Mass was held "because the twin towers fell down when the plane crashed into them and because a lot of people died."

Despite the events of Sept. 11, Sarah said, "I think God is really good."

Peggy Warner, principal of Christ the King School, said that she thought it was important her students reflect on the anniversary.

"I felt very strongly that we should focus on respectful remembrance. This was not a celebration. This was a ceremony," she said. "And faith needed to be the basis of what the children were honoring today. For children, it's hard when bad things happen, and we needed to show the role that God plays - to show that he's always there. I hope that's what we did today."

The reason for the Mass was two-fold.

"We want to engender in them that freedom in the United States should be appreciated, but there is a certain risk that comes with that freedom," she said. "Today was as much training as it was prayerful."