The Great Gift of People with Down Syndrome

I remember in college listening to a talk that Fulton Sheen gave in his famous "Life is worth living" serious where he talked about what a gift the person with Down Syndrome is to the world, he said,"a child with down syndrome will go to his/her death as white as the day of their baptism, because they are really the perfect Christians, in that they bring out everything that is good in the world without saying anything. They make people more loving, more patient, they evoke joy- because without any of the gifts the world holds in high esteem, they are joyful, and then you see the celebrities with everything the world esteems, but no joy! Plus they speak to what God really values, because God does not make mistakes. If all God cared about is how productive we are, and how successful we are, then why would he create a whole group of people that finds their joy outside of the world of results and productivity! What a gift this witness is to the world. A down syndrome child speaks with total clarity that life is worth living, because to love is ultimately what life is all about!"

I thought about this spending time this Christmas with my cousin Michael, who has down syndrome, ever since I met him, his sheer presence has brought me incredible joy. I had to relate a story that makes my point perfectly. Over the summer, Michael and I went tubing together, and our uncle Tony already knew that Michael had arms of steel and could handle any twist and turn, so after 2 minutes I am begging for mercy, and I look over to see Michael full of perfect joy! And I thought to myself, that's it! That is what we are made for, that joy!

Last winter in February, Michael was down the shore for a basketball tournament in Atlantic City, so his dad and him stayed at Tony's shore house in Avalon. Avalon to Michael means Tubing and swimming. The temperature was in the 20's that night, and the first thing Michael said to his dad when they woke up down the shore, "Dad, Are you ready to go tubing". That is the only way to go through life, with adventure and joy in our hearts!

Amazing- Please Read

My wife and I were talking about what a gift we have in this Pope, read his homily below;


Saint Luke’s account of the Christmas story, which we have just heard in the Gospel, tells us that God first raised the veil of his hiddenness to people of very lowly status, people who were looked down upon by society at large – to shepherds looking after their flocks in the fields around Bethlehem. Luke tells us that they were “keeping watch”. This phrase reminds us of a central theme of Jesus’s message, which insistently bids us to keep watch, even to the Agony in the Garden – the command to stay awake, to recognize the Lord’s coming, and to be prepared. Here too the expression seems to imply more than simply being physically awake during the night hour. The shepherds were truly “watchful” people, with a lively sense of God and of his closeness. They were waiting for God, and were not resigned to his apparent remoteness from their everyday lives. To a watchful heart, the news of great joy can be proclaimed: for you this night the Saviour is born. Only a watchful heart is able to believe the message. Only a watchful heart can instil the courage to set out to find God in the form of a baby in a stable. Let us ask the Lord to help us, too, to become a “watchful” people.
Saint Luke tells us, moreover, that the shepherds themselves were “surrounded” by the glory of God, by the cloud of light. They found themselves caught up in the glory that shone around them. Enveloped by the holy cloud, they heard the angels’ song of praise: “Glory to God in the highest heavens and peace on earth to people of his good will”. And who are these people of his good will if not the poor, the watchful, the expectant, those who hope in God’s goodness and seek him, looking to him from afar?
The Fathers of the Church offer a remarkable commentary on the song that the angels sang to greet the Redeemer. Until that moment – the Fathers say – the angels had known God in the grandeur of the universe, in the reason and the beauty of the cosmos that come from him and are a reflection of him. They had heard, so to speak, creation’s silent song of praise and had transformed it into celestial music. But now something new had happened, something that astounded them. The One of whom the universe speaks, the God who sustains all things and bears them in his hands – he himself had entered into human history, he had become someone who acts and suffers within history. From the joyful amazement that this unimaginable event called forth, from God’s new and further way of making himself known – say the Fathers – a new song was born, one verse of which the Christmas Gospel has preserved for us: “Glory to God in the highest heavens and peace to his people on earth”. We might say that, following the structure of Hebrew poetry, the two halves of this double verse say essentially the same thing, but from a different perspective. God’s glory is in the highest heavens, but his high state is now found in the stable – what was lowly has now become sublime. God’s glory is on the earth, it is the glory of humility and love. And even more: the glory of God is peace. Wherever he is, there is peace. He is present wherever human beings do not attempt, apart from him, and even violently, to turn earth into heaven. He is with those of watchful hearts; with the humble and those who meet him at the level of his own “height”, the height of humility and love. To these people he gives his peace, so that through them, peace can enter this world.
The medieval theologian William of Saint Thierry once said that God – from the time of Adam – saw that his grandeur provoked resistance in man, that we felt limited in our own being and threatened in our freedom. Therefore God chose a new way. He became a child. He made himself dependent and weak, in need of our love. Now – this God who has become a child says to us – you can no longer fear me, you can only love me.

Childlike Faith and what makes Christmas Great!

GK Chesterton wrote that what makes children so great, "is that they are serious, and that they are always happy," What could be more serious that believing in Santa Claus, talk about a serious and daring venture, to give gifts to children throughout the world in one night, now that's serious! But its so important to learn from that, because we need hearts that are that big, because what we believe as Catholics is actually larger. Children put the world on trial, they stand in utter amazement at every star, every blue sky, every storm, because its the first time they have ever seen it. Everything is seen with wonder, they actually really do live in a constant state of wonder. Everything is made new! Because for them it really is new.

That's the thing about Christmas for me, it always seems like a moment of new beginnings, its positioned at the perfect time of the year, the light begins to get longer, if you look for it, you can actually see the increase in light everyday. Therefore, the perfect way to celebrate Christmas is not gifts and music, its really confession. Going to a priest and in a spirit of humility, stating, "I have done these things, but this is not me," and begin again with the heart of a child.

There is so much to learn from children, but the biggest thing for me, is how naturally joy comes to them. I think it all starts with humility and trust. The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem has a door that is intentionally too small, so that visitors must bend down and lower themselves to enter. What a great reminder, in our prayer we should go to the cave in Bethlehem, and be reminded of the two things that lead to happiness, humility and simplicity. All the things that pull us away from these two pillars must be rooted out, and there's no better time to do it than Christmas!

Bono and Pope Benedict on Christmas

“The idea that God, if there is a force of Logic and Love in the universe, that it would seek to explain itself is amazing enough. That it would seek to explain itself and describe itself by becoming a child born in straw poverty, in shit and straw…a child… I just thought: “Wow!” Just the poetry … Unknowable love, unknowable power, describes itself as the most vulnerable. There it was. I was sitting there, and it’s not that it hadn’t struck me before, but tears came streaming down my face, and I saw the genius of this, utter genius of picking a particular point in time and deciding to turn on this.” Bono!

“To many people, and in some way to all of us, this seems too beautiful to be true. In effect, here it is reaffirmed for us: Yes, there is meaning, and this meaning is not an impotent protest against the absurd. The Meaning is powerful: It is God. A good God, who is not to be confused with some lofty and distant power, to which it is impossible to ever arrive, but rather a God who has made himself close to us and to our neighbor, who has time for each one of us and who has come to stay with us.
Thus the question spontaneously arises: How is such a thing possible? Is it worthy of God to become a child? To try to open one’s heart to this truth that enlightens all of human existence, it is necessary to yield the mind and recognize the limits of our intelligence. In the cave at Bethlehem, God shows himself to us as a humble “infant” to overcome our pride. Perhaps we would have submitted more easily before power, before pride; but he does not want our submission. He appeals, rather, to our heart and to our free decision to accept his love. He has made himself little to free us from this human pretension of greatness that arises from pride; he has incarnated himself freely to make us truly free, free to love him.
Dear brothers and sisters, Christmas is a privileged opportunity to meditate on the meaning and value of our existence. Approaching this solemnity helps us to reflect, on one hand, about the drama of history in which men, wounded by sin, are permanently seeking happiness and a satisfactory meaning to life and death; on the other hand, it exhorts us to meditate on the merciful goodness of God, who has gone out to meet man to communicate to him directly the Truth that saves, and make him participate in his friendship and his life.” Pope Benedict

Its a Wonderful Life

My wife and I watched "Its a wonderful life" for about the 100th time over the weekend, and every time its seems we find a new gem. The key word is perspective, how we see the world. A great attitude is one thing, and so important. But perspective is really about how we see things, how we see the world, and how we see others. The best part for me is at the very end, when he realizes what a wonderful life he had, and he runs in the house looking for his family, he bumps into the bank examiner and someone from the government, and they say, "we are here about a certain debt," to which he replies, "I know I am going to jail, isn't it great!" The experience he went through changed none of his problems, all of the problems were the same, but he saw the world totally different.

If we could focus on one central truth of our faith, that we are children of God, beloved of the Father. Our whole perspective would change, we would view all parts of our life as part of His loving plan. Joy would flow naturally! It really starts with choosing Faith. Every time we are tempted to think, "I will never overcome this problem," We have to, in our thoughts and actions believe immediately, "God will work this out,", or add your own words of trust, "Today, with Gods help is going to work out great, " "This time its all going to work," Changing our attitude takes time, but slowly if we are faithful, our hearts and our minds can change!

To Whom Much is Given: Surviving the Massacre in Mumbai

This is a perfect post for Our Lady's Feast day of the Immaculate Conception, this man was a hostage in the Taj Hotel when it was attacked last week by terrorists, its an amazing story of faith, and how with prayer, anything is possible;

"As the hours passed, the mood inside the room remained tense but controlled. At one point the tiny red corner light on my Blackberry began to flutter. It was a colleague in my firm’s corporate security operation informing me that I should leave the premises immediately, as the terrorists were searching the hotel floor-by-floor looking for Americans and Brits to kill. I’m 6′4″ and an obvious Yank, particularly in a place like Bombay. Once spotted, I’d be a dead man for sure.
Just then a very loud bomb detonated and small arms fire rang out in one of the stairwells. I assumed the end was near.
I hurried off an email to my Mom and Dad, thanking them for my life and everything else they’d given me. Then I emailed my dear wife and sons: “Thank you, Celeste, for being my best friend and soul-mate. I love you!” I wracked my mind and heart for a few pearls of wisdom to leave my three small boys that would edify and sustain them in a life without their father. Asking the Holy Spirit for guidance, I explained to them that life was a gift, and that they should do their best to enjoy that gift. I urged them to take care of their mother, each other, and their community — and not to be afraid to discern their vocations. I counseled them to keep a daily prayer life and live the norms of piety we’d taught them. “Live life to the fullest, boys, and stay in a state of grace.”
My heartache (and heart-rate) increased as the AK fire drew closer. I approached the headwaiter and quietly asked him if I might slip out the back stairs, as my corporate security indicated I should leave the building immediately. The man assured me that we were secure, but the look on his face betrayed his fear and uncertainty. He then huddled with his two busboys while I positioned myself by the back stairs.
A moment later, the busboys announced that they would begin allowing some folks to slip out. This instantly created a mad rush toward the stairs. Though I was positioned near the doorway, a lovely Indian-accented chorus arose, saying, “Women and children first!” Ah, but of course! I gulped and stepped aside.
The women and children began exiting in groups of eight. After about a minute, men began cutting the line. After some dozen men had cut in front of me, at a point when most of the women had gotten out, I joined the outflow and was able to escape.
I am obviously very lucky — and very blessed. I learned later from our corporate security, who were monitoring my emails, that the business center was attacked by gunmen some five minutes after I was able to escape. I also learned that my friend Eugene had been shot in the lobby, but thankfully will make a full recovery. (Eugene told me the next day that I’d sprinted right past the terrorist who leveled his gun and shot him in the hip. Fortunately he was dragged into a security room, from which point he was able to escape the hotel a few minutes later.)
Colleagues and friends have asked how I feel after experiencing such a trauma. I tell them I am fine — shaken but fine. At the end of the day, I am convinced that “bona omnia fecit” (all works for the good). I will forever be inspired by the staff of The Taj, who were polite, courteous and courageous throughout the ordeal. They saved hundreds of lives, many sacrificing their own in doing so.
Agnostic and atheist friends have told me that they’d be a wreck if such a thing had happened to them. But my feeling is that the Lord, for some reason, put His protective hands around me. I had little to do with my deliverance; He was and is in control, and that is fine with me.
What good can come out of this dreadful experience? Hopefully a more widespread recognition that the power of prayer and an unshakable faith in God’s loving plan can get us through anything. That is why I am offering this account to Catholic Exchange. I want others to pray and draw closer to Christ and His Mother, especially in these uncertain times.
Why God has allowed me to live on? I have no idea. But at this point, the thought that will not leave my mind is, “From him to whom much is given, much is expected.”
I pray that I can live up to His expectations.
Copyright 2008 Catholic Exchange"
Peter O’Malley is a managing director with Deutsche Bank. He currently lives with his family in Hong Kong.