A fellow Catholic dad, Dadwithnoisykids, from Scorpion Stalking Duck has had some tragic news. His 15 year old son Theodore Gerard died suddenly.
While I have only met Dadwithnoisykids through the Internet (in fact he was one of the first on Catholic Dads - a group site I administer), he and his family have been an inspiration to both me and my wife. I have no words to express the sadness I feel nor can I say anything to relieve the pain that he and his family must be going through. I can and do offer my prayers.
Here is what Dadwithnoisykids writes about Theodore’s death:
Theodore was autistic and mentally retarded, and functioned at the maturity level of a toddler. As such, he was not capable of committing any sin any more than a toddler would be. But he had received the Sacraments: Baptism, Holy Communion, Confirmation, and Anointing of the Sick. Add onto these graces the many he would receive any time he received Our Lord at Mass, or those which came from praying with us. He was unique in the world of teenagers in that he still had all those graces intact in his soul when he died. In short, he died a holy death and went to Heaven - not stopping in Purgatory - after his death. So rather than pray for the repose of his soul, I would recommend instead that one consider the tremendous blessing we have received: knowledge that one of our children is in Heaven.
I ask all who read this to remember in a very profound way this family and their son in your prayers.
