Recently, the story of a pair of friends in Vietnam went viral on Vietnamese social media because it was as extraordinary as it was profoundly touching. For the past 10 years, Hieu has been carrying his friend Minh on his back to school every day without fail.

It began in the second grade when Hieu volunteered to take Minh on his back to school because Minh was born with a disability in both his legs and one of his arms. Seeing himself and others able to go to school, Hieu could not bear to see Minh unable to get an education because of his disability.

In today’s Gospel (Lk 11:5-13), the theme of friendship is prominent. The Gospels are rich in examples of Jesus approaching others in friendship.