Everybody is Special

In Mark 8:34 Jesus says, “If anyone wants to be my follower, he must deny himself, shoulder his cross and follow me.” Christ’s words were addressed not only to the people of his time, but also to us today: each of us who desires to follow him must be willing to carry the burden laid on us by God. Because the cross each person carries is different, we sometimes tend to look at others and compare our lot with theirs. When envy makes us dissatisfied with ourselves, we look at others and think, for instance, “He (or she) is so athletic” — or articulate, or musical, or easy-going — and we begin to wonder whether the person we envy has any cross at all to bear.

We cannot understand the mystery of life and death; we do not know why one baby is born mentally or physically disabled while the next is perfect and healthy. Yet we do know that everything that happens, good or evil, has a purpose. And we know that God can turn any affliction into a blessing if we humbly accept whatever he sends.

Today, with the wide availability of sophisticated prenatal tests, fetal abnormalities are often discovered early in pregnancy. More and more, doctors subsequently advise abortion, arguing that this is in the best interest of both child and parents and that, even if such disabled babies are carried to term, their survival may not be guaranteed.

God has a specific purpose or task in mind for every person born on this earth. Everyone, even if he or she lives for only a few minutes, brings us a certain message from God. None of us can presume to know exactly what this message is. All the same, the message is there, if only we open our hearts to it. Jean Vanier points out that the weak “seem to break down the barriers of powerfulness, of wealth, of ability, and of pride; they pierce the armour the human heart builds to protect itself; they reveal Jesus Christ…. God hides himself in them.” He goes on to say that handicapped children especially have a mysterious power: with their tiny hands they can “slip through the bars of the prison of egoism.”