I am embarrassed to admit that I did not realize today was World Down Syndrome Day until I noticed the brightly coloured, mismatched socks my wife was wearing this morning. The Down Syndrome community is close to my heart, as it was a dear friend, a woman with Down Syndrome, who first suggested to me the name that my wife and I would ultimately give to our daughter. So I was deeply heartened to discover that our local high school was marking World Down Syndrome Day.

However, in our complex times, our Western culture finds itself embroiled in a place of deep contradiction. While we rightly celebrate the contributions of people with Down Syndrome, at the same time through genetic screening many Western societies are selectively screening out children with Down Syndrome before they are even born. (See for instance this article on Healthline; or this pointed editorial in Psychology Today.) It may be our lot to live in such a time of contradiction amid the crumbling of Christendom, but I pray there may be people who have the courage to rightly name the contradictions that threaten to disintegrate our lives.