Bill Hao

Disciples of the Messiah When Jesus asked His disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” Peter spoke up and said, “You are the Christ.” (Mark 8:29) Peter thought of Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah, the one anointed by God who would liberate the Jewish people from oppression. But Peter was only half-right; Jesus was indeed the Messiah, but not the kind of Messiah that he and the other disciples expected. Therefore, Jesus began to teach them that He must…

Ephphatha! In Mark’s Gospel, the way in which Jesus healed the deaf man with a speech impediment was quite different from other healing miracles. Jesus took the man aside from the crowd, put His fingers into the man’s ears, spat and touched the man’s tongue, looked up into heaven and then said, “Ephphatha!” (Mark 7:33-34) The healing of the man born blind in John’s Gospel is quite analogous. There, Jesus spat on the ground, made clay with the saliva, smeared…

Disciples of Rules In the Gospels, the scribes and the Pharisees have tried many times to entrap Jesus with questions so that they could accuse Him of false teaching; they also watched closely the smallest actions of Jesus and His disciples so that they could accuse Him as a false prophet. Thus, the evil intent of the scribes and Pharisees form the backdrop of Mark 7:1-23, where the scribes and the Pharisees confronted Jesus on the subject of ritual purification;…

I AM the Bread of Life What exactly did Jesus say that is so difficult for His disciples to accept? Let’s take a look back at the things that Jesus said in John 6: “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Fa-ther gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (John 6:32-33) “I…

My Soul Magnifies the Lord The Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus, defined the Dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In English, Munificentissimus Deus means “God Ineffable” or “God Indescribable.” The actual event of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not recorded in the Bible; however, the feast of the Assumption has already been celebrated since the times of Pope Sergius I (pontificate from 687-701) and Pope Leo IV (pontificate from 847-855). It…

The Bread of Life Jesus said to the crowd that was following Him: “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” They asked, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered: “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one He sent.” (John 6:27-29) When the crowd asked Jesus what they must do to perform the work…

5 Loaves and 2 Fish Why was the miracle of the Feeding of the 5000 so significant that it was mentioned in all 4 Gospels? Some people say that it was the miracle was a sign that Jesus is the Messiah; others say that it showed the great compassion of Jesus; still others say that it was the greatest public demonstration of Jesus’ power and authority. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “the miracles of the multiplication of…

Divine Consolation The Gospels tell us that when Jesus saw the vast crowd, His heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36, Mark 6:34) If we look back at the Old Testament, there were three prophets who prophesied in regards to how the leaders neglected the people, and how God Himself will shepherd the people. Jeremiah prophesied to the leaders of Judah: “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the…