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Three Boston Deacons Serve in the Rescue Effort at Ground Zero

While I read the Gospel of St. Luke, 21: 5-19, for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, I couldn't help thinking about the tragedy of September 11th as Our Lord said: "All that you see here--the day will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."

On that fateful day 2 months ago that's exactly what happened. The "Temple" which symbolized our country's financial expertise was destroyed by an evil and unthinkable deed; and many had to be prepared to meet God that day. I'm certain that some were ready. But some may not have been ready. We will all remember what we were doing or where we were on that day. It reminds me of the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I remember, even years later, where I was, what I was doing, and the feeling of great fear and loss that I felt.

I serve as Chaplain to the Northborough Fire Department, and I am also a charter member of the Massachusetts Corps of Fire Chaplains, a unique and dedicated interfaith team of men and women who serve the Fire Service of the Commonwealth. We were commissioned by State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan in October 1999, less than 2 months before we were deployed to Worcester on the night of December 3, 1999, when 6 firefighters lost their lives in a tragic warehouse fire. Many of us stood on the fireground for days until all six men were recovered. Some of us were assigned as Chaplains for the Family Assistance Support Teams (F.A.S.T) which served the families during this tragedy.

God has a way of preparing us to do his work, and often times we don't realize how prepared we are until we are called to serve.Had we not had the experience of the Worcester tragedy, we could not have served the devastated and broken members of the City of New York Fire and Police Departments nor the families of those lost in the tragedy of 9/11.

Fr. Rich Uftring, the Chaplain at Massport, called for assistance on the morning of 9/11, after it was learned that both flights that were used in the horrific attack at WTC originated in Boston. I, along with a number of Chaplains reported the Hilton Hotel at Logan Airport to meet and minister to the needs of family members of the doomed flights, What do we say? How do we help? Well, we stand with the families and serve as a loving and supportive presence to them often times saying nothing but listening to them in their time of grief and need. We serve as a source of care and compassion; we offer to stay with them as they tell other members of their families of he loss of their loved one. I went with a young man, whose brother was a passenger on Flight 11, to tell his Dad that his son was lost. A Red Cross worker and I accompanied him to give support to him as he told his Dad the news that all parents dread: the loss of a child. This elderly man had lost his beloved wife just 6 months before and was still grieving her death.

In the days that followed, we continued to serve at Logan Airport, and on September 16 we were asked by the State Fire Marshal to deploy 10 of our Fire Chaplains to New York City, as Fr. Mychal Judge, the Chief Chaplain for F.D.N.Y. was lost just before the Towers fell. He was anointing a firefighter who was killed by the body of a person who fell from the first Tower that was destroyed. The New York Fire Department had 4 Chaplains. all for 13,000 Firefighters! We know now that this is certainly not enough. My assignment was to schedule the deployments for our Chaplains, to procure donated rental vans from the various rental companies, assign personnel and meet with the Fire Marshal and his Strike Force to assure that our need was met.

From September 16 until October 31, 27 of our Chaplains, various denominations, male and female, helped to served the spiritual and emotional needs of the people directly affected by this horrible tragedy. I was a member of the last deployment of 14 Chaplains, along with my classmate, Deacon Norm St. Hilaire, who was assigned to F.D.N.Y for the 2nd time. Together, we walked the Pile, listening and letting those affected vent their helplessness, their loss and their pain. Our Chaplains were assigned to the Morgue; they were assigned to accompany the families of the victims as they toured Ground Zero; and they were also assigned to visitation teams which reached out to the firefighters in the various stations who suffered loss of colleagues on 9/11. Each of these ministries, although very different, were, in fact very much the same: we are all experiencing a deep and hurtful loss!

Many of our Chaplains are Permanent Deacons, and I am blessed to know them and serve with them. Their sacrifice and dedication to God and to the Emergency Services (Fire-Police-EMT) helps provide for a comforting presence in the face of adversity. Those who served with me in New York hail from different dioceses in Massachusetts but we are one in our mission: - Deacon Rich Monroe '98 (Boston), Deacon Norm St. Hilaire '00 (Boston), Deacon Mike Murray (Fall River), Deacon Dave Akin (Fall River), Deacon Tony Surozenski (Worcester). I thank God for these men who are true examples of service to those in need, and I am grateful to them for going beyond the boundaries of our parishes to bring the love and the compassion of Our Lord to the battleground of terrorism while they minister to those who so badly are in need of his peace and tranquillity. How blessed we are to have servants such as these in our midst!

Deacon Dick Martino, 2000