As part of Trinity's ongoing commitment to foster the spiritual growth and development of our students, each Wednesday morning a faculty member or student leads the entire school in a prayerful reflection. Today's reflection is from Mr. Mike Domzalski, Class of 1986, and is especially significant because it marks the one-year anniversary of the UPS place crash at Louisville's Muhammad Ali International Airport that took the lives of 15 people including Trinity Alum Matthew Sweets, Class of 2006.
"Good morning, Trinity. This is Mr. Domzalski and I have the honor of leading us in a few minutes of prayer this morning.
As some of you know, I am an aficionado of Thomas Merton, the namesake of our own Merton House. Thomas Merton was a catholic monk who spent his monastic life at the Abbey of Gethsemani, just south of Bardstown, Kentucky. In 1948 he published a book called The Seven Storey Mountain, a spiritual autobiography detailing his journey from a carefree man of the world to a monk living in a monastery in Kentucky spending most of his time in silent prayer. He would go onto write several more books and is one of the most widely read Catholic writers of the twentieth century. Since I was introduced to the writings of Thomas Merton as a student at Bellarmine, he has been one of my main spiritual mentors and influences. I visit the Abbey often, walking the grounds and joining the monks for prayer at one of their seven daily prayer times. Every time I visit the Abbey I am struck by how quiet it is. The monks embrace silence as a means to open their hearts to be able to listen to God. It is in stark contrast to the noisy world many of us inhabit in our society of cell phones, air pods, tvs, and electronic devices.
As I mentioned earlier, the monks at the Abbey gather seven times a day for prayer. They begin their day with prayer at 3:15 in the morning and then meet 6 more times throughout the day in the church where they sing from the Book of Psalms. It is a beautiful experience to join them for one of these prayer times. About 10 minutes before each prayer time, the church bells ring to call the monks to prayer. When the bells ring, the monks stop whatever they are doing and head to the church to pray. When you are at the Abbey and the church bells ring, it is a spiritual experience, a reminder that we are all called to a relationship with God. Thomas Merton wrote about the ringing of church bells. He wrote,
Bells are meant to remind us that God alone is good, that we belong to Him, that we are not living for this world.
They break in upon our cares in order to remind us that all things pass away and that our preoccupations are not important.
They are the voice of our alliance with the God of heaven.
They tell us that we are His true temple. They call us to peace with Him within ourselves.
The bells say: business does not matter. Rest in God and rejoice
The bells say: we have spoken for centuries from the towers of great Churches. We have spoken to the saints your fathers, in their land. We called them, as we call you, to sanctity.
I mention the ringing of church bells because you are likely to hear church bells today. Today is the one-year anniversary of the UPS plane crash at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport that took the lives of 15 people, including Trinity Alum Matthew Sweets, Class of 2006.
Louisville’s Mayor Craig Greenberg has declared today a day of remembrance to memorialize the 15 people who lost their lives on that tragic day one year ago. There will be memorial services throughout the city, and tributes to those who lost their lives will be shown on local media outlets.
At 5:14 p.m., the moment of the crash, Mayor Greenberg has asked local churches and places of worship to ring their bells to call of us to remember the lives lost on this day. The bells will ring for one minute followed by a minute of silence at 5:15 in honor of those lost.
If possible, try to be outside this afternoon at 5:14. When you hear the bells, remember that Thomas Merton said the bells call us to God and remind us that God is always with us. Let the bells remind us to pray for the families of the victims who lost their lives in the plane crash a year ago. We pray that the family members and the loved ones of those who lost their lives find some peace and comfort in the healing love of God. Let the bells remind us to always be open to the presence of God in our own lives. If possible, observe the minute of silence at 5:15 and pray with our entire city for the people who lost their lives and the loved ones they left behind. In solidarity with the entire city of Louisville in support of the victims of this tragedy, I ask everyone to observe a moment of silence. Please be silent.
Thank you, Trinity. Have a blessed Wednesday."