Matthew 13. (Mass of virgin-martyr; used to illustrate the importance of the second petition of Our Father) Parable given to the Apostles only. A rich pearl merchant comes to one of the pearl fisheries (Persian gulf, or Red Sea?) to obtain pearls. He finds a man who has a perfect pearl, but demands an exorbitant price for it. The merchant sells all his property and secures the pearl, expecting a great profit from its sale. The Apostles ought to learn the value of the new kingdom. It is worth to spend for it all one's goods and powers. Probably it is to counteract the impression that the parable of the sower might have created, as if the kingdom were a crop that grows of its own accord once it has been sown. The moral is: he, who seeking finally gets the call to the ministry must assume the duty of spending himself completely in it. It is a call to perfect self-denial and detachment from the world. Hence also the possibility of application even to the common Christian life.