My blog entry about suffering has generated much interest. I have received emails from as far away as France and India. Much to my happy surprise, the speaking notes of my address to Saint Joseph’s Basilica Catholic Women’s League have been distributed across Canada and the U.S.
I want to share something that happened after my presentation in the question and answer period. A young woman asked me about a predicament she is facing. She and her husband want to start a family. Unfortunately, she was recently diagnosed with a crippling disease with a genetic origin. Her children will have a 50 per cent chance of inheriting the disease.
Should I have a baby?
Her question was simple: “Do you think I should have a baby?” Tough question. If I were in her position, I would have a family. I told her, “Always be open to life.” There may have been people present who disagreed with me. However, she asked for my opinion and I gave it.
The purpose of life
After nearly a quarter of a century living with aggressive and degenerative multiple sclerosis I have become convinced humanity’s highest ideal should not be physical or mental perfection. I believe God created us for love — both human and divine — and that is the highest human ideal.
Choosing to have a child that may be disabled affects neither of these forms of love for the parent or the child. In fact, it may enhance that family’s capacity for human and divine love. God calls us to a higher standard of love.
Perhaps the real question the young woman should ask is: “Can I love a disabled child?” Looking into her eyes when we talked I suspect her answer is “yes.” But the question has a broader application.
In a time and culture where many disabled children are either aborted or allowed to die shortly after birth, are we able to love the handicapped child? Can we honour the natural dignity of a profoundly disabled child in our midst?
What about the profoundly disabled adult, the demented senior? How about the deranged person meandering through the streets of the inner city?
WWJD
The popular slogan asks, “What would Jesus do?” We know what he would do. That is the queue that we must take as his followers. The servants are not greater than the master.
Mark Pickup
For further reading about suffering, see my recent columns in Canada's Western Catholic Reporter:
- "Know that Jesus would choose life" http://www.wcr.ab.ca/columns/markpickup/2008/markpickup102708.shtml
- "Our suffering opens us to God's light" http://www.wcr.ab.ca/columns/markpickup/2008/markpickup110308.shtml
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