Luis Morales, age 46 and a native of Honduras, was the 2646th victim of the 9/11 terrorist attacks five years ago. Sr. Morales was reported missing at or near the World Trade Center. He was a resident of New York City. As far as I can determine, his body was never recovered.
Internet searches failed to turn up even a photograph of Sr. Morales, much less any additional biographical information on him. I also contacted the Honduran embassy and requested information on Sr. Morales, but I have yet to hear back from them.
I cannot let Luis Morales be forgotten today.
I know nothing about Luis Morales, but being the old-fashioned romantic that I am, I like to imagine that he still had to catch his breath every now and then as he looked out the tall windows of the World Trade Center at the sprawling metropolis below, like a little boy studying the ants scurrying in and out of the holes that perforate a backyard anthill. Life would have been tough, for certain, but ... life in New York City!
I also like to think that someone in Honduras prayed for him every day and often told their neighbors, "Luis lives in New York City, you know."
Now it is my turn to pray:
Heavenly Father, I bring before you a fellow man, known to only a few, a fallen victim of the terrible evil that mankind inflicts upon himself simply because he chooses to separate himself from you.
I pray that the soul of Luis Morales is heavy on the hearts and lips of the saints, and that your mercy and grace has guided him home to everlasting life with you.
I pray for Luis Morales' family, that The Comforter will descend upon their hearts and bring grace and peace to them in their time of grief and mourning.
I also pray for the men who committed evil on that day. I pray that their souls would also be remembered and that your grace, which is sufficient for all of us regardless of what we have done, has somehow ministered to their hardened hearts.
In your gracious name, amen.
...
Psalm 10
Why Do You Hide Yourself?
1Why, O LORD, do you stand afar off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?2In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
3For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD.
4In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;
all his thoughts are, "There is no God."
5His ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high, out of his sight;
as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
6He says in his heart, "I shall not be moved;
throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity."
7His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
8He sits in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
9he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;
he lurks that he may seize the poor;
he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
10The helpless are crushed, sink down,
and fall by his might.
11He says in his heart, "God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see it."12Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand;
forget not the afflicted.
13Why does the wicked renounce God
and say in his heart, "You will not call to account"?
14But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,
that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless commits himself;
you have been the helper of the fatherless.
15Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
call his wickedness to account till you find none.16The LORD is king forever and ever;
the nations perish from his land.
17O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
18to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
(Psalm 10 quoted in the English Standard Version.)
__________________________________________________
This tribute is part of The 2996 Project, a blog tribute to the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks.
Comments