Today is the 5th day of remembrance of the events of 9/11. I remember exactly where I was when I heard what happened. It was my first year in seminary as well. I would hope that we all pause from our busy schedule today and say thank you for the brave men and women of the fire, police, EMT’s ect. as well as your troops still serving in the Middle East. We owe them that much.

Two years ago I became a Fire Dept chaplain for many reasons. One of those reasons was the example of Fr. Mychal Judge. Fr. Judge, a Franciscan Priest, was the chaplain for Engine Company 1/Ladder Company 24 FDNY and was the first casualty. Fr. Judge ran to the be with his guys in their moment of need. Now I serve a small town, and we don’t have any large buildings like the World Trade Center, but my guys put their life on the line everyday to keep the citizens of our community safe. I would like to think that I would have the same sense of duty that Fr. Judge had and run to be with my guys in their moment of need. I wear a silver bracelet on my wrist engraved with the name of Fr. Mychal Judge and he is constantly in my thoughts as I hear to “tones” go off and I rush to be with my guys.

This is sad to see!

Fire heavily damages Russian cathedral

By Irina Titova, Associated Press Writer August 25, 2006
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia –A fire raged through a 19th century cathedral in this former imperial capital Friday, collapsing the main rooftop dome and sending clerics scurrying to save treasured icons.
The fire erupted in the early evening and burned through scaffolding outside the soaring blue central dome of Trinity Cathedral, a duty officer at the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said.

The central dome collapsed and one of four smaller cupolas surrounding it — painted a striking light blue and in some cases spangled with gold stars — was also destroyed, St. Petersburg emergency department spokeswoman Lyudmila Rubasova said. There were no reports of injuries, she said.
Firefighters battled to save the other three cupolas as emergency workers and church employees removed icons and other religious articles. A helicopter brought in to fight the blaze dumped water on the historic structure.
About four hours after the blaze broke out, Rubasova said one of the three remaining cupolas had been damaged but that the fire was contained. A department spokesman later said the fire had been extinguished.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but acting St. Petersburg emergency department chief Leonid Belyayev said the blaze apparently started on scaffolding on the outside of the church, which was undergoing restoration.
He said the most valuable icons and other items had been saved, and that structural damage beneath the roof area was minor.
The cathedral was consecrated in 1835. State-run Rossiya television said the main dome was the second-largest wooden cupola in Europe, and Channel One said that writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky was married there.
It was used as a storehouse during the Soviet era and was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1990.