The archbishop said he asked the girl if she loved her brother; she said yes. That’s when he added, “One thing we know we don't have to ask is that you and I will be changed because of the love we have for our brother.”
“That's a gift you can already begin to say ‘thank you’ to God for,” he stressed.
The archbishop spoke from personal experience. His older brother, George, lived with Down syndrome. He’s also the primary reason why the archbishop serves as episcopal moderator for the National Catholic Partnership on Disability today.
“I can't imagine two brothers that got along better than the two of us did,” Archbishop Kurtz said. “One of the things I learned is, as I've said before, is that ‘life is not a problem to be solved but a mystery to be lived,’” he added, citing 19th century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.
The archbishop highlighted that those who spend time with people with disabilities receive more than they give.
“The reality is that when we linger with someone, and especially with someone who labors under a disability, that person has a lot to teach us,” he concluded.