Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: Polycarp
Thank you for posting this.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

39 posted on 06/30/2002 2:21:37 PM PDT by ELS
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]


To: Polycarp; livius
In my effort to find a FR thread from September 2001 (which I haven't found, yet) I came across this page which has a letter from someone who knew Fr. Judge from the Flight 800 incident. The letter follows (emphasis mine):

This is a message I sent to our TWA Flight 800 Family Association regarding Father Mychael Judge.

Amongst the dead in the World Trade Center is at least one person with whom we in the TWA Flight 800 family group are well acquainted, Father Mike Judge, the New York City Fire Department chaplain. Mayor Giuliani reported last night that Father Judge was in one of the buildings yesterday when it collapsed. Bob Edwards on NPR this morning stated that Father Judge was confirmed dead. CNN lists him this morning as among the dead.

I met Father Judge the first day I got to NYC in 1996, after TWA 800; he was at the Ramada Hotel with the families. He was a Franciscan friar, brown robe, sandals and all. A peculiar sight for a country boy from Alabama. He has been at every TWA family event since and became a friend to many of us. He was always a comfort, as well as an inspiration. Father Judge was very down to earth, very personable, interested in each of us, interested in our stories and interested in our lives. He was very much a pastor in every regard. By all accounts, he was a beloved figure in the New York City Fire Department and reached out to victims of many tragedies in that area, not just TWA 800, as well as to the fire fighters themselves. He was in the tower yesterday ministering to the rescuers, to the wounded and giving last rites to the dead when the building fell.

I saw him on July 17th this year. He participated in the TWA 800 memorial service at the beach. I have a St. Francis prayer on my desk which he sent me after the 1998 TWA 800 memorial service.

Never before have I been guilty of sending out sappy, maudlin e-mails. But, I think that today it might be appropriate to send you the Prayer of Saint Francis, which Father Judge sent to me:

O, Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love: For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning, that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. AMEN.

May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

To all the wives, sons and daughter who lost a husband in the tragedy of 11 September '01: I hurt and feel the pain of deep sorrow with you. I also salute your husband or father as a true American hero. My most ardent prayers are with you that God's presence will give you strength and comfort. Be assured that his life was not given in vain, but will be honored and remembered for demonstrating to future generations of all God fearing persons that the spirit of America and sharing will always remain strong.

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." John 15:13

We enter into this career for one reason only: love and its byproducts are pride and fraternity. We are full of sorrow over the loss of our brothers and sisters in this horrendous act and at the same time, we are proud of the actions of brothers and sisters in selfless efforts. Our prayers, thoughts and wishes are with our fallen brothers and sisters and their families, their departments and comrades. We ask that God lift up his continence upon you and give you rest. We pray for strength and endurance for friends and families; discernment and wisdom for our leaders.

"To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children, to earn the approbation of honest critics; to appreciate beauty; to give of one's self, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived--that is to have succeeded." Ralph Waldo Emerson

My brothers and sisters, you have truly succeeded. God Bless.

Michael E Ayers,
Captain Tiburon Fire Protection District, Tiburon, CA


40 posted on 06/30/2002 3:08:50 PM PDT by ELS
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson