By Father Joseph Chan Wing-chiu
This past Friday, I was honoured to join the supervisors and headmasters of various secondary schools, primary schools and kindergartens in the diocese to participate in the Lunar New Year celebration-cum-education seminar organised by the Hong Kong Catholic Diocesan Schools Council. This year, we invited Li Xiaoyi, the founder of the Lee’s Pharmaceutical Holdings Ltd., as our guest speaker to share his expertise and innovation in this field. The topic of his speech was “Biotechnology Development”.
One of the points he shared was that recently, it took the company 10 years to develop and successfully register a biotechnological drug. However, this is only the time required in general, because it took 20 years for another recently released drug to succeed and be formally produced for use. Moreover, he also pointed out that it had taken 30 years for the Nobel Prize winner in the field of biotechnology research to develop the mRNA vaccine.
As I listened to the messages he shared, I couldn’t help but be struck by the thought that, as servants who have committed to serve the Lord for 20 or 30 years, how do we know the fruits of our mission or contribution? Has anyone “reached heaven” as a result of our preaching, service or caring?
In the midst of these thoughts, I realised that I was caught up in doubt and my mind was flooded with the many laity, religious, priests and bishops who have received a calling from the Lord.
In the midst of my lost thoughts, I was once again awakened by Li’s sharing. Although the development of drugs can only help to prolong the life of patients, it is like providing an opportunity for patients and their family members to cherish the important moments in their lives in the face of the inevitable death.
An extended life allows them to participate in their children’s graduation ceremonies and witness the important moments when their grandchildren enter the Church and start a family. All of these are worth the time and effort to keep the team involved in research and development.
I may not be able to tell who has entered the gates of heaven as a result of my service, but I can still hear about the experiences of brothers and sisters who have met the Lord in their life’s journey, and how they have become more committed to Jesus Christ—how they have been called by the Lord, how they have experienced his blessings, how they have been forgiven by his infinite mercy, and how they have been blessed to be free from the bondage of sin.
This may be the encouragement and support that my brothers, those who come after us, and I need so that we can continue to hold on to the truth, remember our first missions, and follow the Lord’s guidance with perseverance.
You too have had encounters with the Lord, haven’t you? Share it in whatever way you can with the religious or clergy you know or have met!
