by Matthew Archbold
This is one of those stories that'll make you feel good about humanity. So if you don't want to restore your faith in your fellow man you should stop reading now.
Fr. Thomas Vander Woude of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Gainesville, Va was talking to a few people who knew a couple who were planning to abort their unborn child because the child had been diagnosed with Down Syndrome.
Fr. Vander Woude told me he did something he’d never thought of before. He responded by getting a promise from the couple that if he could find a family that would adopt their child they would allow the child to live. But he had a very small window to act. The mother was quickly approaching the last days she could legally procure an abortion. He was told plainly that if he couldn’t find adoptive parents, they would abort. He didn’t know what to do next. So he did all he could do. He prayed. And then he had an email sent out to a small homeschooling group and he posted his plea on Facebook on Sunday night, saying that a child diagnosed with Down Syndrome needs parents.
He did this without knowing what the response might be. He did this without knowing there would even be a response. “I figured I would just put it out there and see,” he told me. “I was clueless as to what would happen next.”
The following morning Fr. Vander Woude said morning Mass and then he walked into the rectory. When he walked in, the three ladies who work in the office were all answering phones.
God certainly works in mysterious ways! Praise the Lord that a child’s life was spared because Fr. Vander took action.
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