I recently came across a picture of Father William Judge, a Catholic priest.

His lifeless body was being carried out by four firefighters at the World Trade Center on that fateful day we call 9/11. He was giving last rites, which is a Catholic tradition, to a firefighter who had just died. And I began to wonder, why did he put himself in harm’s way? Did he not know the risk, or did he know the truth?

I believe he acted out of love when he put himself in harm’s way. He helped ease the pain so that person wouldn’t die alone. What courage that must have taken — or was it something or someone else at work during that fateful moment?

Often, people pass by others who need help, and they just go about their daily routine as if nothing happened. Something did happen: Everyone had a choice to ease another’s pain, and you said no. But why?

We live in a society that doesn’t care about the unborn, so why should they care about the person lying in the middle of the road?

Dr. Martin Luther King said: “Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.”

I have had the opportunity to help those in pain. Did I do it because I was running for sainthood? Hardly. I did it for selfish reasons. I remember someone holding out a hand to help me up, saying it would be OK. During that moment of grace, I silently pledged to myself I wouldn’t walk by and not return the miracle that happened the night I became a victim of urban violence.

I am a Catholic. My god and my religion are very demanding. They demand that I pray for those who spite me, and those who criticize me. I am commanded to forgive those who have done me wrong, and how often should I forgive 70 times 7?

Sometimes the last thing I want to do is forgive. That is why religion is not for the faint of heart. It is for those who believe that there is a higher purpose than buying the latest gadget, or buying a bigger house.

Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II talked about America and its culture of death. We are the most violent country on the face of the Earth, but also the richest country. It seems like such a contradiction.

It is because we have our priorities wrong. We make excuses about not having enough money to fund education, feed the homeless and clothe the naked. We have corruption by our politicians in Washington, and the American people know we can do better. But we remain strangely silent.

We shouldn’t be surprised by the rise in gangs because we have lowered the level of hope. We have settled for mediocrity in our major cities, and we wonder why things are the way they are.

However, I remain an optimist. Most people of faith are, except for the crazies who use religion for their own selfish purposes.

I salute those people who put themselves in harm’s way, who say they believe and remember that love is an act and not a feeling.

No excuses.

Walter Backstrom is a Federal Way resident. Contact: wkbackstrom@aol.com.