(After book sharing of a story told by Dr. Au Lok-ma’s 我是醫生，又是學生…)
This month’s theme is Option for the Poor — an idea rooted in Matthew’s Gospel: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
The Option for the Poor is not sentimental pity. It is a deliberate ordering of priorities: when resources are limited, time is limited, and attention is limited, we choose to care first for those most easily overlooked, least able to ask for help, and most lacking in support. In the story, Mr. Chu was an elderly man living alone with a serious illness — yet he was treated with genuine warmth and respect. Dr. Au’s gift of that novel set was a concrete act of “putting the most vulnerable first.”
At a deeper level: we help others not because they have earned it, but because they are human — and that alone gives them dignity and worth.
As the late Pope Saint John Paul II said: “No one is so rich that they do not need another’s help. No one is so poor that they cannot give help to others.” What weighed most on Mr. Chu before he died was not his own condition, but whether his granddaughter would graduate. And his final gift — the wallet and the message — was not a transactional thank-you. It was his way, with what little he had left, of blessing and affirming a doctor’s heart. This reminds us: even the most vulnerable among us has the capacity to love, to give, and to bless others.
Today, I invite you to think: in your classroom, in the corridor — is there a classmate who really needs to be seen? Is there one small act of kindness you could offer today — a word of greeting, an invitation to join your group, or even just a nod and a smile? Perhaps simply saying hello to a teacher or classmate as you pass by?
Friday, 3 April 2026