A Calamity Breeds Courage

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By Alonzo L. McDonald
(2002)

Racing on the treadmill of modern life, we long to encounter some live heroes. We search for fresh examples of noble character in the midst of the cynicism and selfishness in today’s secular world. We need heroes to help inspire us to our own heights of integrity and purpose.

One obvious example of such character was exhibited in September 2001 in the heroic actions of the New York firefighters. This fraternity is committed to duty, understands loyalty and sacrifice, and serves others daily in ways that ignore their immediate self-interest. Never was this commitment more clear than when 343 gave their lives in the dramatic rescue of so many at the World Trade Center.

In this Trinity Forum Briefing (Fall 2002), Founding Chairman Alonzo McDonald shares from his personal visits to the firehouse on East 29th Street, focusing on six remaining firefighters. Their experiences from 9/11 have forever changed their lives, giving them a new appreciation of life’s preciousness, their own need for love, and a desire to examine more deeply the meaning of life and their relationship with their Creator.

These stories of courage bred by calamity will inspire you to reflect more profoundly about your own life’s priorities. (CD Audio, 40 minutes.)

Category: Briefings (No. 5)

Deny a fact, and that fact will be your master.

Russell Kirk

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