The Canessa Commentary
By KEVIN CANESSA Jr.
NEWTOWN, Conn. --
There's this photo -- I've searched near and far for it, but can't find it -- where the people seen in this photo, taken Sept. 11, 2001, were fused together with a facsimile of Jesus, with Jesus's hands and arms extended, as if he were welcoming them into his kingdom. In the days following 9/11, the photo made its rounds, then on e-mail, since there wasn't social media back then.
The symbolism was striking. The people were real. And it was a rallying cry for those of us who were in great emotional pain following the terrorist attacks of that awful day. The idea was simple -- and it was one we used, as teachers at a Catholic school -- to answer the question the teens were bound to ask us: "How does a good and gracious God allow such awful things to happen?"
