This is also the message that I took home from my encounter with Pope Francis at the multi-religious gathering at the 9/11Museum. On this holiday we commit ourselves to the vision of a world at peace, in which all people learn to understand each other, to respect each other, and to love each other in all our diversity. He spoke to us in Spanish- simple words expressing basic truths-the beauty of people from so many faith traditions praying together, the sadness that the memorial expressed, our pain at the loss of so many souls, and the fact that all the people who perished on that day were represented by the various religious traditions that were gathered that morning at the Memorial Museum.Īlthough I cannot remember the Pope’s exact words, the message that I heard was that peace for which we so earnestly seek can only grow out of a celebration of our unity as members of the human community-all children of God and of our wondrous diversity-testimony to the power of the Creator. When he speaks, he speaks from his heart, in his native Spanish. His magnificent voice filled the room, but under his voice and unheard by those watching TV was the quiet undertone of the entire congregation of religious leaders singing softly with him-a quiet prayer for peace.Īnd then Pope Francis rose to speak. Then, Cantor Azi Schwartz, of the Park Avenue Synagogue chanted a special version of the Jewish memorial prayer, “The One Who is Full of Compassion,” for those who died on and all the victims of terror-people who died at the hands of people blinded by hate.Īt the end of prayer, the cantor sang “Oseh Shalom,” a wellknown Hebrew melody asking God to grant peace to the world. Each tradition presented a reading on peace from its sacred scripture, first in the original language and then in English translation. On the bima, the podium, were representatives from all the major traditions. The hall was full of faith leaders from all world religions, many dressed in their traditional vestments-Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Christians, Muslims, Jews and Native American spiritual leaders. What was said was beautiful, but the symbolism of the event was far more powerful. This beautiful service expressed the Sukkot message that we can all gather to worship and celebrate our unity and rejoice in our diversity. Approximately 600 representatives of all the religious traditions in the United States joined Pope Francis in an hour in prayer and reflection. 25, at the site of the World Trade Towers, at the Ground Zero, in the Foundation Hall of the 9/11 Memorial Museum. This vision became a reality, at least for a moment, at the gathering of the religious leaders on Friday morning, Sept. That day will be moment when in the words of the Prophet Zachariah, “God will be one and God’s name one.” We will all be together and will love, respect and honor each other and rejoice in our diversity. Rather, the dream is that in some wonderful way each of us will come and celebrate God and creation in our own language and according to our own way. The hope is not that everyone will become Jewish or that everyone will be the same. In the vision of our prophets, Sukkot will be the day when all people will come to worship in Jerusalem, each in their own language, each according to their own custom each acknowledging in their own way the sovereignty of God, envisioned traditionally as “the King of the King of Kings”- the one before whom even emperors submit. Jews envision Sukkot not only as a holiday for the Jewish people but it is a holiday for all the world. Being at the 9/11 Museum, listening to the Pope, meeting people who have dedicated their lives to this great hope, motivated the following response taken from my Sukkot sermon to my congregation at Lions Gate, a continuing care retirement community in Voorhees: The message of the gathering, in fact, one of the powerful themes of Pope Francis’ visit to the United States, complimented the message of Sukkot-the vision of a time when humanity will be come together in all its diversity out of a sense of love and respect for each other and their Creator. The prayer service took place on the Friday morning before the Jewish festival of Sukkot. I felt incredibly grateful that I would be sharing prayer with inter-faith leaders from America at a service in which the homily was to be delivered by the Pope, himself. I was beyond excitement when I opened the invitation I received from Cardinal Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, to attend the interfaith service, “A Witness to Peace,” with Pope Francis on Friday, Sept.
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