One day while praying in the Basilica of the Divine Mercy in Krakow, Poland, I witnessed a beautiful interaction between a mother and her son who had Down's Syndrome. People with Down's Syndrome have a special place in my heart, as throughout my life, I have been blessed with their unique joy and friendship. Whenever I see them, I cannot help but smile and be filled with joy. And this son and his mother were no exception; I could not keep my eyes off them and I could not stop thinking about them.
But after a while this initial joy subsided and I started to get cynical. I thought,
"Does he know why he is kneeling? Does he know where he is? Does he know what any of this means?"
And then I dared to question:
"Does he know God?"
This troubled me for a bit, but then I felt in my heart,
Has he been loved?
Does he love?
Has he been taught to love?
If I know anything about love from my own life, what I saw between this mother and son was most definitely it. The patience, grace, and mutual joy between them was so obvious and so beautiful, so natural. And I cannot imagine what sacrifices this mother has made for her son, and the great trust, joy and love the son has in and for his mother.
Then he has seen God; he knows Him.
Filled with great peace, I pondered this and realized: it is we [people with "normal" mental capacities] who make knowing God and His love too complicated. It is we who let our hearts and minds get so distracted by our lives that we do not know God because we do not always love, choose love, or choose greater goodness in our every action. Perhaps the more important question is: Do we know God? Do I know God?
If you've been blessed to know anyone with Down's Syndrome, you know that their actions may be simple, but are most often done with amazingly great love. We must love like them in order to show them God. But they show us God infinitely more by causing us to be merciful, to be patient, and to trust --- in this way, they know God infinitely more than us. They are His special missionaries, His angels on earth, sent here to teach us to live simply and act with great love.
But after a while this initial joy subsided and I started to get cynical. I thought,
"Does he know why he is kneeling? Does he know where he is? Does he know what any of this means?"
And then I dared to question:
"Does he know God?"
This troubled me for a bit, but then I felt in my heart,
Has he been loved?
Does he love?
Has he been taught to love?
If I know anything about love from my own life, what I saw between this mother and son was most definitely it. The patience, grace, and mutual joy between them was so obvious and so beautiful, so natural. And I cannot imagine what sacrifices this mother has made for her son, and the great trust, joy and love the son has in and for his mother.
Then he has seen God; he knows Him.
Filled with great peace, I pondered this and realized: it is we [people with "normal" mental capacities] who make knowing God and His love too complicated. It is we who let our hearts and minds get so distracted by our lives that we do not know God because we do not always love, choose love, or choose greater goodness in our every action. Perhaps the more important question is: Do we know God? Do I know God?
If you've been blessed to know anyone with Down's Syndrome, you know that their actions may be simple, but are most often done with amazingly great love. We must love like them in order to show them God. But they show us God infinitely more by causing us to be merciful, to be patient, and to trust --- in this way, they know God infinitely more than us. They are His special missionaries, His angels on earth, sent here to teach us to live simply and act with great love.