There’s an old hymn that begins like this: “All creatures of our God and King, lift up your voice and with us sing.” These words are inspired by an even older hymn written by St. Francis of Assisi called “The Canticle of the Sun.” It is a song about the unimaginable assortment of God’s creation, and the way in which the life of every creature is an offering of praise to the Creator. From the tiniest grain of sand to the tallest mountain, each creation praises God simply by being what it was created to be.
Just as nature in its great variety praises God through all its manifestations of God’s goodness, the Church praises God through the uniqueness of each of its members. Each and every human person was created with a special soul, infinitely loved into existence by God. Accordingly, all of us are called to discover and use our distinctive gifts, and to offer our lives as an act of praise.
However, the world does not always encourage us to see it that way. The world values some gifts while ignoring others. It often elevates those who have money, power, and influence, and casts aside those who do not. A hefty financial portfolio, a prestigious degree, a large home or a great accomplishment make a person seem more valuable, while other gifts — patience, kindness or joy — are overlooked or even disdained.
Against the tendencies of the world, the words of St. Paul point to a divine perspective. God sees each of us through the eyes of love, and love values every gift. Love never ignores or diminishes, but instead, celebrates every expression of goodness, beauty and virtue in creation. Love sees that each and every person has a purpose to serve in the Body of Christ. And love welcomes, supports and values each person’s contribution.
God invites us to adopt this perspective, to perceive all people through the eyes of love. In a special way, he also invites us to awaken in ourselves this kind of loving attention to those whom the world is most likely to overlook — persons with intellectual, developmental, physical or mental disabilities. Dec. 3 is International Day of Persons with Disabilities. This is an occasion to remind us that we are one body, one family in Christ. An important part of sharing in the life of this family — as well as our entire human family — is ensuring that each person is noticed, welcomed and valued.
God calls us to build communities, parishes and schools illuminated by his light. When we marginalize those with disabilities, that light is dimmed. For as St. Paul reminds us: “God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended.”
Being a faithful community means making space for the gifts of each person — regardless of ability. It means opening our minds to a perspective informed by love and making space for gifts the world tragically overlooks. When we do so, the whole body of Christ is illuminated, for the light of Christ shines brightest when the light of every member is permitted to shine.
That is why we have established and are continually growing the Options Program in our diocese, a program that aims to fully integrate students with disabilities into our Catholic schools. Our goal is to make every place of learning in this diocese an environment that welcomes and supports those with disabilities. In addition, in recent years, we have sought to expand the spirit of the Options Program into our diocesan workplace by providing professional opportunities to those with disabilities in our diocese. Through the SPRED program, we seek to do the same with our religious education. It is a profound act of mercy to help parents secure religious education for their children with a disability. And in each instance we ensure those with disabilities are included, we realize that, as much as we helped them, their presence lifts our hearts and brightens our spirits. This further shows that when you serve God’s will, his grace will abound.
We are leading the way on how to be more supportive of those with disabilities within our diocesan family. But there is more work to be done. As a family, we all have a part to play in supporting each of our members, especially those who are disabled. We must learn to be attentive to their needs, but more importantly, we must also learn to be attentive to their gifts, the light they bring to our community and what we can learn from them.
