Friday of the Third Week of Ordinary Time Gospel: Mark 4:26-34 Mustard Seed: The Precursor of the Kingdom of Heaven
Today is Friday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time. In the liturgical calendars published by the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong and the Catholic Diocese of Macau, as well as the one compiled by Chinese Regional Bishops’ Conference Commission for Liturgy and Sacraments, today is specially noted as the Memorial of Blessed Father Gabriele Allegra.
In today’s Gospel according to Saint Mark, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed. Indeed, the seed of God’s Word, like a mustard seed, is sown in our hearts. When we hear God’s Word from our neighbor or at some unexpected moment, this seed of God’s Word sprouts and grows in our hearts. When we resolve to follow Christ, the seed of God’s Word slowly bears ears. When we follow the teachings of the Savior and receive His instruction, offering to God the prayers that are due, this seed of the Word then yields fruit in our hearts. At the time of harvest, God Himself comes to reap, and gathers the wheat into His barn.
Here, I wish to make special mention of Blessed Father Gabriele Allegra. Vatican Radio (now Vatican News) in a program broadcast in September 2012, enthusiastically introduced this new blessed to its global audience: Born in 1907 in the Province of Catania, Sicily, Italy, Father Allegra was ordained a priest at the age of 23, becoming a Franciscan friar. During his missionary work in China, he founded the “Studium Biblicum Franciscanum” in Beijing, which was later moved to Hong Kong, where he remained until his death in 1976. Father Allegra also dedicated himself to assisting the poor, lepers, and other sick people. Cardinal Amato called him a “priest of outstanding virtue.” Cardinal Amato said: “Faith was the strength of the new blessed. In his memoirs, it shows his firm and ardent faith. His faith is also revealed in the spirit of compassion of his mercy. His visible examples were his fervent dialogue with the Most Holy Eucharist, his short prayers and the Rosary, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. His profound faith is even more evident in the way he venerated the Word of God. He worked with great effort in translating the Bible, striving for perfection, often discussing for days with his assistants to find the most appropriate translation for a single word.” Father Allegra’s work was accomplished under the impetus of a spirit of love for service to the Church. Cardinal Amato emphasized that Father Allegra was so humble, “Those who do deep work may not win fame like some contemporary theologians, but in my view, they are of greater benefit to the Church of God.”
Blessed Father Gabriele Allegra was like a mustard seed sown by God in the missionary region of China, enabling the Chinese mission to have an accessible Chinese Bible, namely, the Studium Biblicum Version. Today, let us imitate Blessed Father Gabriele Allegra, courageously accept the mission entrusted to each of us by God’s Word, generously fulfill God’s holy will, and become the chosen sowers whom God delights to select.
God, Father of light, you aroused in Blessed Gabriel Maria, priestly friar, an ardent dedication to the divine Scriptures, so that the Gospel of your Son could resound to the ends of the earth,grant us too, through his intercession, to nourish ourselves assiduously with the Word of life, and always testify to it in words and deeds. Through our Lord Jesus Christ your son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
全属于祢 
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