Bill Hao

An Easter Message of Hope The past year has been a difficult year for most people. Last year at Easter time, most churches were closed to the public and priests were offering private Masses. Life was seriously disrupted by a global pandemic, there was deep antagonism in society with a polarized election, natural disasters occurring in many places around the world, and a sharp increase in violence and hate crimes against innocent victims. And yet, despite all that has happened…

Passiontide Passiontide refers to the last two weeks of Lent; it begins on Passion Sunday until the Easter Vigil. Passion Sunday is the Sunday right before Palm Sunday in the Traditional Latin Mass calendar. During Passiontide, the practice of covering crosses and other sacred images in the church may be observed. Crosses are covered until the end of the celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday. Other sacred images remain covered until the beginning of the Easter Vigil. The…

Dear Parishioners, With the rise of hate crimes and incidents targeted against Asians in the past year, the Asian American communities have an additional heavy burden to carry, in addition to the pandemic. As a faith community, I enjoin all our parishioners to pray for the victims of hate, and in addition, for the protection of the innocent, the healing of the wounds of racial hatred, and an end to racial violence. If you have experienced or witnessed hate, and…

Jesus and Nicodemus In Chapter 3 of John’s Gospel, Nicodemus came to see Jesus under the cover of night. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin, but unlike other Pharisees, he knew and secretly admitted that Jesus came from God. Unlike many people, Nicodemus did not come to see Jesus to ask for a miracle; neither did he come to spy on Jesus either; rather, he came to talk with Jesus. There is something about Jesus which compelled…

Cleansing the Temple The cleansing of the Temple happened just around Passover – the feast of the Jews which was kept on the fourteenth day of Nisan, in commemoration of the Lord’s passing over the dwellings of the Israelites, as the Lord struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:29-30) We can just imagine how busy the Temple area must have been; according to the Jewish historian Josephus: no fewer than two hundred and fifty-six thousand five…

The Old Law Made Perfect Peter, James and John witnessed the Transfiguration of Jesus, where His face shone like the sun and His clothes became dazzling white as light. But that was not all. A voice from a bright cloud said: “This is my beloved Son.  Listen to him. (Mk 9:2-8; Mt 17:1-8; Lk 9:28-36)” The light emanating from Jesus and the voice coming from the cloud revealed the divine glory and beauty of Jesus Christ. The sequence of events…

Lead Us Not Into Temptation Temptation is one of the things that many people struggle against. For Christians, temptation is an attraction to act contrary to right reason and the commandments of God. Jesus Himself was tempted during His life on earth; He was put to the test, in order to manifest both the opposition between good and evil, and the triumph of His saving work over Satan. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer and say “lead us not into…

Happy Chinese New Year! Chinese New Year officially began on February 12, 2021 with the year of the ox. At the beginning of each New Year, there is a great sense of joy and hope for what the New Year will bring. At the Holy Name of Jesus Chinese Catholic Mission, the Holy Mass for Chinese New Year will be at 10:30am on February 14, in lieu of the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time. This Eucharistic celebration gives our community…

Looking for Jesus The disciples looked for Jesus and when they found Him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.” Indeed, everyone was looking for Jesus because even after Jesus had cured many who were ill and drove out many demons, there were still many more who were sick with various diseases and possessed by demons. In this day and age, where and how should we look for Jesus? A number of the faithful have a tendency to be drawn…