Saint John Bosco Gospel: Mark 4:35-41 Saint John Bosco: Father and Friend of Youth
Today is the Saturday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time. The Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint John Bosco today.
The Gospel passage from Saint Mark tells us: After dismissing the crowd, Jesus got into the boat with His disciples and sailed across a sea stirred by a fierce wind. The boat was being battered by waves and was already filled with water. The disciples were terrified and thought they were perishing. So, they woke Jesus, crying out for Him to save them.
We often face challenges brought by this world. As students, we endure pressures of studies and entrance exams; in our work, we confront competition from colleagues or within the same profession; in family life, conflicts arise from disagreements among loved ones, sparking strife. We also encounter temptations from the prince of this world and his minions: when we offer prayer to God, he tries to turn our inward hearts toward outward worldly concerns; when we participate in the Mass, we sometimes focus on ritual rather than on all that God reveals to us through His ministers in the Sacred Liturgy of the Mass.
In Saint John Bosco, we see the image of a servant of Christ who walked through storms.
Saint John Bosco (August 16, 1815 – January 31, 1888), a renowned Italian Catholic priest and educator, founder of the Salesians of Don Bosco, is honored as “Father and Friend of Youth.” His life overflowed with selfless love for impoverished youth, yet it was marked by multiple storms and trials.
As his biography recounts:
Bosco’s life began amid “storms”: He lost his father at age two, leaving his family in dire poverty. His elder brother obstructed his pursuit of education, declaring, “A farmer’s son is not worthy of studying,” while the Piedmontese countryside was ravaged by famine due to war and drought. This mirrored the urgency of the Gospel scene—“a boat tossed by a sudden storm”—as he struggled from childhood on the brink of being “overwhelmed.” His mother Margherita’s resilience and faith were his first “lamp of faith.” At age nine, a dream like a call from Jesus showed him direction amid the storm: A noble man urged him, “Win your friends not with blows, but with gentleness and kindness. Show them sin is ugly and virtue beautiful.”
As an adult, Bosco faced fiercer “waves” in Turin. He founded the Oratory to shelter orphans and street children, yet neighbors complained of “noisy disturbances,” and authorities expelled them, deeming the gatherings “dangerous” and fearing revolution. The orphans he took in once stole blankets and destroyed haylofts; the number of residents grew from 36 in a few small rooms to 800, straining resources like a “ship about to sink.” Worse, the anti-religious policies of the Kingdom of Piedmont swept over him like a “fierce wind”: confiscating Church property, suppressing religious orders. He wrote to King Victor Emmanuel II to protest but was ignored. Interrogations and assassination attempts followed—knife attacks, clubbing, shootings. Traditional clergy accused him of “stealing faithful from their parishes”; nationalists viewed his youth groups as “breeding grounds for revolution.”
Yet Bosco never allowed fear to consume his faith. Recalling the exhortation of the “noble man” from his nine-year-old dream, he took “gentleness and kindness” as his oar: teaching youth trades, protecting them from abusive employers (drawing up contracts to forbid corporal punishment and ensure rest), sleeping on straw mats with his mother, sharing meager meals, and persisting despite repeated expulsions. Facing political pressure, he stood firm in his mission like Jesus rebuking the winds and waves: “I live not for myself, but for these children forgotten by the world.” This faith gradually calmed the “storms”—the king’s tacit protection with the order “do not disturb him,” Prime Minister Cavour’s intervention, even the “divine warning” of successive royal deaths (though unproven).
Ultimately, Bosco’s faith, like Jesus calming the storm, turned the Oratory into a “safe harbor” for youth. He founded the Salesians of Don Bosco, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, and the Salesian Cooperators, institutionalizing “gentleness and kindness” to restore dignity and education to thousands of orphans. Before his death, looking at the youth filling his courtyard, he smiled: “I once feared they would perish, but now they have become my ship.”
I wish to take this opportunity to say to the superiors of the Bosco family, all Salesians, communities under the patronage of Saint John Bosco, brothers and sisters in Christ, and those discerning a vocation to the consecrated life: Saint John Bosco is Father and Friend of Youth, and above all, our model. When we face storms, let us imitate Saint John Bosco, entrust ourselves courageously to the Lord Jesus Christ with full faith, and fulfill the mission He has entrusted to each of us.
O God, who raised up the Priest Saint John Bosco as a father and teacher of the young, grant, we pray, that, aflame with the same fire of love, we may seek out souls and serve you alone. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen
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.
Thursday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time Gospel: Mark 4:21-25 Christians: Lamps Set on a Lampstand Reflecting the Light of Christ
We are often attracted by alluring things—such as delicious food crafted by human hands, social fame, or status—and become deeply entangled, unable to extricate ourselves. When we harbor such thoughts, we neglect God. We forget how He has guided us step by step, drawing us to Himself; we even forget that we were once Christians, sometimes overlooking how God called us. In truth, God constantly reveals His mercy in our lives. Through all that we encounter, He helps us discern His holy will and allows us to experience His infinite love at every moment, like the oxygen that sustains our life, the sunlight, and the clear spring water—always present.
We often experience God’s love as we listen to the Gospel proclaimed to us by our elders, relatives, friends, and even unknown brothers and sisters. Gradually gaining a deeper understanding and knowledge of faith, we develop a desire to establish a closer relationship with God. We wish to receive the Sacrament of Baptism instituted by Jesus Christ, being washed of original sin once and for all in the Most Precious Blood of Christ. Through anointing with the Holy Spirit, we are freed from sin and death, no longer called children of darkness or of the devil, but children of God. When we receive the initiation sacraments, the ministering priest (bishop, cardinal, or Pope) takes fire from the Paschal candle blessed for the celebration of the glorious Resurrection of the Lord. A candle lit from this sacred flame is passed to us through our godparents, so that through the light of Christ we receive, we become children of light. By these sacraments, we are consecrated and share in the triple ministry of king, priest, and prophet. Thus, we are called to proclaim all that Christ taught to the world, sharing the light of Christ with our neighbors, that they may live in the light as we do, through all that we do.
Today, let us pray to Jesus, asking Him to grant us wisdom and understanding, to fill our hearts with the Holy Spirit in communion with Him. May we bring the true light that enlightens everyone to those living in darkness, the love of Christ to those forgotten by all, and let the comforting light of Christ be present in every corner of the world. Amen.
全属于祢 
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