By Father Paul Kam Po-wai
On June 11, I attended the funeral Mass of Father Pietro Galbiati of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions [PIME]. Father Galbiati arrived in Hong Kong from Italy in 1961 to carry out his missionary work. He served here for 65 years and passed away aged 95.
I recall that during the liturgy, Father Franco Bellati, the regional superior of the PIME, shared in his homily what Father Galbiati’s parents had spoken when they brought him to be baptised: “This grace is received without cost, and it must be given without cost.” Listening to Father Bellati prompted me to reflect deeply.
As I listened to accounts of Father Galbiati’s lifelong devotion to God, the Church, the Diocese of Hong Kong, and the faithful, a wave of profound emotion welled up within me. I am deeply grateful to God for calling this missionary, who brought the Gospel to us in Hong Kong through his very life. His missionary spirit is truly admirable and profoundly worthy of our emulation: “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give” [Matthew 10:8].
Speaking of this selfless attitude, the Diocese of Hong Kong was blessed this June with a new deacon and four new priests. On June 6, a Trappist monk was ordained deacon at Our Lady of Joy Abbey on Lantau Island. This was followed on June 13 by the ordination of three diocesan deacons to the priesthood at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, and on June 21, a Vietnamese Jesuit was ordained priest at St. Ignatius Chapel.
They discerned their vocations and entering the seminary, then underwent at least seven years of formation, and finally being ordained and promised to dedicate their entire lives to God and the Church. I believe every brother and sister who attended these ordinations was deeply moved. As we thank them for their generosity in consecrating their lives to serve the Lord and the Church, they also express gratitude for God’s blessings, the Church’s nurture, the companionship of the faithful, and the support and upbringing of their families. They, too, embody the spirit of “received without cost, giving without cost.”
Alongside the selfless devotion of these ordinands, I also see the greatness and love of their parents, especially those who do not yet share the faith. These parents might not fully understand their sons’ choices, what faith is, or why they choose a celibate life to serve the Church. Yet, out of pure love, these parents are willing to make this sacrifice. I wonder if they realise that they, too, are living out the spirit of “received without cost, giving without cost”? As children are gifts from God, in a sense, they may be regarded as “received without cost.” Thus, offering one’s own children to God and the Church can be seen as “giving without cost.”
“The harvest is abundant but the labourers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out labourers for his harvest” [Matthew 9:37-38]. Let us pray that God grants each of us, as Christians, this spirit of giving without cost. May he send forth more missionaries so that the Church’s evangelisation efforts may continue to flourish. May he inspire more young people to respond to his call, offering themselves to become priests, brothers, and sisters, dedicating their lives to serving the Lord, ministering to the Church, and spreading the Gospel through ordained ministry or consecrated life.
