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!