Patristic
“Or else, that seed is very small in fear, but great when it has grown into charity, which is greater than all herbs; for God is love, (1 John 4:16) whilst all flesh is grass. (Isa. 40:6 But the boughs which it puts forth are those of mercy and compassion, since under its shade the poor of Christ, who are meant by the living creatures of the heavens, delight to dwell.”
Catena Aurea: Gospel of Mark, as excerpted in the Catena Aurea on Mark 4:30-34
PD · J. H. Newman (Oxford, 1842) ↗