# A Prayer for 9/11: Remembering, Healing, and Hope
*2015-09-11*

> On the 14th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Bill Young offers a heartfelt prayer for the victims, their families, and the nation, invoking the intercession of the Virgin Mary and St. Cyprian, and asking for peace, protection, and conversion of hearts.

## Remembering the Tragedy

Good morning. This is Bill Young, and welcome to Prayer in Lunch podcast. Today is September 11, 2015—14 years since the great tragedy in New York, D.C., and Pennsylvania, where over 3,000 lives were lost. Today we pause to remember and offer a special prayer for the victims of 9/11, for their families, that they may go on stronger, and for the protection of our country and its people from those who seek to do us harm.

## Honoring St. Cyprian and the Queen of Heaven

Today is the feast day of St. Cyprian, a bishop in the third century and a martyr. Please pray for us—and again, we ask his intercession for the victims of 9/11. We also turn to our Queen, the Virgin Mary, and ask her to protect us.

## A Prayer for Healing and Peace

Dear Lord, as we remember the evils of September 11th, let us turn our hearts and minds toward the good found only in You. Be close to those who mourn—the parents who lost children, the children who never knew a parent, and all who lost loved ones. Embrace this grieving nation, and let time never lessen the impact of this day. May we never forget. Protect those who go in harm’s way to save others, and those who suffer and die to safeguard our nation. Give wisdom to our leaders that they may make choices that prevent another such day as this. Convert the hearts of those who seek our destruction and banish from the world the darkness that allows such hate to fester and grow. Yet let Your love rain down upon us. Let Your peace flourish on earth. All these things we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

*In the face of tragedy, our prayer turns to God—not only for comfort and protection, but for the conversion of hearts and the triumph of His peace.*