I’ll be taking a short break from blogging and tweeting for a few days. For me, the events of the coming weekend (the 10th anniversary of 9/11) require a bit more thoughtful and reflective time, away from social media and all of its hip-ness and hype. (You know, it DOES get to be a bit much some times…)

While my family and I did not lose anyone in the horrors of 9/11, we have still been impacted by it. Like my parent’s generation, forever changed by Pearl Harbor, we have lost a sense of security and complacency. We have also been introduced to the painful reality of much of the rest of the world — that our world is not the safe cocoon we once that it was.

To those who grieve over these next days, I am praying for you. The anniversary of a death can bring back a swell of tears and sadness. The media hype must surely make it worse. So, I am offering to you a profound piece of music to acknowledge and perhaps minister to your grief. It is from the Requiem in D Minor, K 626 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The piece, Lacrimosa, expresses the tears and loss many are feeling.

Lacrimosa dies illa,
O this day full of tears,
Qua resurget ex favilla.
when from the ashes arises
Iudicandus homo reus:
guilty man to be judged:
Huic ergo parce, Deus.
O Lord, have mercy upon him!
Pie Jesu Domine,
Gentle Lord Jesus,
Dona eis requiem. Amen.
grant them eternal rest. Amen.