Project 2,996: In Memory of William Valcarcel

Project 2,996 was created to ensure the memory of those that lost their lives during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 would not be forgotten. I will never forget that day, it has effected me tremendously. It is the day I realized that evil really does exist, but also that in dire times there is love and hope.

The memorial below for William Valcarcel does not do him justice:

At the time William came to America from Puerto Rico he could not speak English. At 5 years old he contracted Polio and even though the disease kept him from attending regular schools, he learned to speak English and completed grammar school while in the hospital.

He did not let the fact that he needed crutches to walk, hamper his education. William completed high school and also college.

William was a dedicated employee, proven by his 34 years of service at the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. This had to bring it's share of headaches and frustration. Anyone that has dealt with a government bureaucracy when getting a building permit or driver's license has experienced first hand what William dealt with on a daily basis. He had to deal with it from the customer's side, but also from the inside of the government. I can only imagine how many times he had to live through office re-locations, memorize new tax codes, or slog through a mountain of paperwork to get a sick-day.

Mr. Valcarcel was a family man. He was married to the same woman for 31 years, and he and his wife had 3 children - two daughters and a son. They raised their family in the Bronx, living on the same street for 24 years, which has been renamed "William Valcarcel Place". Marriage is one of the hardest things we will ever do, but also the most rewarding. Sharing your life with another person, knowing that each day you may hurt or be hurt by that person, but still remaining together is a sign of true love.

On September 11, 2001, William was in his office on the 87th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. At 8:46am the North Tower was truck by American Airlines Flight 11. He spoke to his wife on the phone and told her that it wasn't his building that was hit and he was getting out.

The South Tower was struck by United Airlines Flight 175 at 9:03am. The plane hit somewhere between the 85th and 77th floors. Fifty-six minutes later, at 9:59am, the South Tower collapsed to the ground.

The word HERO literally means protector, defender, guardian, but also refers to the character that will display courage when faced with adversity. Mr. Valcarcel met all these qualifications.

William Valcarcel is a true HERO!

Godspeed.

NOTE: I purposely did not use the names of Mr. Valcarcel simply out of respect for them. Below is a list of the websites I used to gather information on Mr. Valcarcel's life.

http://project2996.wordpress.com/
http://www.sept11thmemorial.com/last_name.asp?Letter=V
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/05/04/opinion/schieffer/main552220.shtml
http://www.unityinamerica.com/faces/display.asp?id=5

Salvation

Salvation

When I think of Jesus, many different images come to mind. Jesus the teacher - he taught us to love one another as we love ourselves. Jesus the redeemer - he came to redeem mankind.. Jesus the savior - "The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world". As you read through this, please to think in the back of your mind "Who is Jesus to me".

From the book of Genesis, we know that God created Adam and Eve in his likeness and image. Our pastor, Father Ed, uses the phrase "He loved them into existence". The first man and woman lived in the Garden of Eden and walked and talked with God. It was paradise.

One of the greatest gifts that God gave them (and gives us) is free will. They were free to follow God's will or their own. In other words, they could chose who to love more, God or themselves.

Unfortunately for us, they chose to follow their own will and we are forever stained by Original Sin. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, at that moment; sin, evil, sickness and death came into to world. We are all created by God loving us into existence, but we all have the tendency to sin - to choose our will over God's will - to remove God from our lives.

We can look at the world as two kingdoms - the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. The kingdom of darkness is filled with evil and sin. It exists when God is absent. The kingdom of light is filled with joy and goodness because it is where Jesus is found.


First we can look at personal darkness. To name a few: hatred & anger, arrogance - pride - vanity, gluttony & selfishness, intolerance & prejudice, lust & jealousy. Sometimes we mention these in the confessional booth - other times we convince ourselves they are not sins at all!

But sin leads to more sin. There are also societal sins. For example: Greed, pornography, materialism (things are more important than God), relativism (there are no universal sins), alternate life styles, and abortion. Our world is full of these sins and more.

But all is not lost! From the book of Revelation we know who wins in the End. We have Jesus on our side. He created this church to help guide us through the darkness; he gave us the sacraments to provide us grace. We have faith in God, which allows us to look beyond the secular world and know that God is here for us. We have hope that God provides us the strength to not despair.

We know that only through Jesus can we find our salvation. He died for our sins, to allow us to be with God. He could have chosen to not die, but because he loves us so much - he allowed himself to die for our sins. He showed us how much he loves us by accepting the Father's will by dying on the cross and defeating death. He is divine, yet he died for us.

Jesus is not just divine, he is also human. If he was only divine his death and resurrection would not mean anything to us. We would conclude that his divinity allowed this to happen and since we aren't divine it cannot happen for us. If he was only human, his death and resurrection would appear as a unique event. We would think it was only meant for those selected by God, and there is no hope for the rest of us.

But by his being both divine and human, we know that his death shows us how much Jesus loves us, and his resurrection shows that there is hope for man to live with God in eternity.

I may not have this entirely correct. One of the things I love about being Catholic is the mystery of things. I may not have the theology correct, but I know if I keep trying to understand it, the closer I get to Jesus - and with him all things are possible.


I want to end with this portion of the talk with a reading from Phillipians, chapter 2, verse 5-11. This is St. Paul speaking about the joy that Jesus brings. To set this up, we need to realize St. Paul was in prison when he wrote this. He was in chains, in a dark, cold, wet cell:

Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

God working through others

I fretted all night, waking up after 20 minutes of sleep at a time. Saying a brief prayer for the person I was to fire today. "Your position has been eliminated!"

I kept asking for God's grace upon this man. The one I had complained about for years, to my boss, to my co-workers, to my wife. Now it was time to let him go. Dear Lord, please have mercy on him.

Then it happened. He looked me in the eye and said he has glad to have worked with me and hoped to see me in the future. God working through him, to me!

God is good.

Giving into temptation...and paying for it

Heading out the door this morning, I was completely rude to my beatiful wife. She asked a simple question and I acted like an inconsiderate jerk.

As the day progressed, I was confronted with issue after issue. Each challenging me in my faith. Was I to give in and spiral downward into despair? Foolishly I thought my lapses into anger/self-pity/anguish were a result of fasting. HA!

After lunch I realized what was happening...an attack! The dark one is sneaky, but I realized what was going on. 

I called my wife before leaving the office and apologized. She is a true gift from God, and I have no right being married to such a giving person.

Bless you Gladys Marie, and praise be to God for bring her into my life.

Salvation

Salvation - To be saved from sin

Jesus came to save us from ourselves and the sin of the world. Where God is not present, evil exists.

A prayer for Gladys

Almighty God,

I am forever in debt to you for you brought Gladys into my life.
You have given me someone to love unconditionally.
She is ever on my mind, just as you are.
When I think of her, I cannot forget that without you, I would not have her in my life.

I pray that she listens to your calling and lives in your light.
May she always look to you and seek your grace,
Seek your healing love,
Seek your forgiveness.

I pray that you will let her be by my side on this day for she is beautiful.
Her voice brings joy to my heart, because you gave her that voice.
Her touch is warmth.
Her smile is true.
Her laughter is pure music to my ears.

Thank you Jesus
Amen.

How do I save...someone I love?

Only with the strength gained from Christ's love can we accomplish anything. This is so true. I have heard that the way to salvation is to go to the deepest darkest areas in your life. The times you don't ever want to remember or speak of. In there you will find Christ.

The only way to go to these places is to ask for help. Pray to Christ for his guidance and strength. Let his will take you there.

How do you save someone you love? When you find out someone from your inner circle of family and friends has given up on God or is lukewarm, how do you save them?

I don't think you can. Only the Triune God, Father-Son-Holy Spirit can bring salvation to someone. But this doesn't mean we shouldn't pray. Pray ceaselessly. Pray for their soul. Pray for intercession. Pray for light!