On its website, Our Lady of the Angels Academy, Lansford, proclaims, among other things, one of its goals is to meet the "responsibility of building a truly Christian community." So when the 10th anniversary of the terrorists attack on America rolled around, it was only natural the school's administration scheduled a prayer service as part of its ongoing mission.

With about 100 students, their teachers and a handful of parents and visitors present, OLOAA on Monday prayed together and publicly demonstrated their support for emergency responders, police officers and veterans during a brief but impressive gathering in St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church, adjacent to the OLOAA school.The youths, many of whom were not yet born when the terrorists' acted on Sept. 11, 2001, heard their school principal, Sr. Regina Elinich,

I.H.M., and fifth grade teacher, Sr. Judith Ann Geschke,

I.H.M., explain what transpired on that fateful day."Many people died in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and we're here to pray for them and their families," the principal started. "We are grateful for their sacrifices, and for those personally affected, especially our soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. Let us gather all of these people into our hearts and lift them up to God."Like the typical programs held around America, this one asked participants to pray for those attacked in New York, the first responders and subsequently the men and women who have volunteered to fight the war on terrorism "as a result of that dark day," the principal added.The program included patriotic music, scripture, a reading of Psalm 23 and prayers. In a message after a reading of the gospel from the writings of St. Matthew, Sr. Judith Ann addressed the student body, saying they are gathered for "a very special reason."Breaking down the otherwise complicated events of that day, the teacher explained, "People all over the world were sad. We hold them in our hearts. We human beings opened our hearts to them and to one another."She explained to the children that during the bombings, especially those of the Twin Towers in New York City, Americans came together. She noted people began immediately to help one another, including store owners, news reporters and others. "All over the country, people rushed to help," the sister said. "Sympathy and concern came to our leaders. people acted with kindness and compassion."Turning to the gospel reading, she told the youths, "In scripture, we hear God's call to love our neighbor and our enemies. God's love gives us the power and strength to love our enemies. We are here to pray for those who have died, and to pray for people who use violence to get what they want. We pray to God to use us as an instrument of peace to help build a world of justice and peace."