Bill Hao

Avoiding Scandal In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus said, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe [in me] to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” (Mark 9:42) The Gospel of Luke contains a similar saying; there, Jesus said to His disciples, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur. It would be better…

Humble Service In the Gospel according to Mark, Jesus asked the disciples what they were arguing about on their way to Capernaum. But they remained silent, for they had been discussing among themselves on the way who among them was the greatest. (cf. Mark 9:33-34) Jesus called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Then Jesus placed a child in their midst, and…

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…