Bill Hao

The Presentation of the Lord The Gospel of Luke 2:22-40 contains two pairs of things. The first pair is the two religious obligations fulfilled by Mary and Joseph: one for Jesus, and one for Mary. The second pair is the two oracles spoken by Simeon: one about Jesus, and one about Mary. 2 religious obligations: (1) The consecration of the firstborn is based on the Book of Exodus chapter 13 verses 11-15. In commemoration of Passover, when the angel of…

Happy Chinese New Year! Happy Chinese New Year 2020! Since its inception 4,000 years ago, the Chinese Lunar calendar has a 60-year cycle which consists of five 12-year segments. The year 2020 repeats another 12-year segment with the year of the rat. And with the beginning of each New Year, there comes a great sense of joy and hope for what the New Year brings. At the Holy Name of Jesus Chinese Catholic Mission, our Chinese New Year celebration begins…

The Holy Name of Jesus The Church reveals to us the wonders of the Incarnate Word by singing the glories of His Name. The name of Jesus means Savior. Persons who played prominent roles in the history of salvation received their names from God Himself. Adam means “man of the earth”; Eve means “mother of all the living”; Abraham means “father of many nations”; Peter means “the rock”. Even the Savior’s forerunner (John the Baptist) was given the name which…

Sacrament of Baptism There are three places in Sacred Scripture whereby Jesus Christ instituted the sacrament of baptism. The first is when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22). The second is found in the Gospel of John 3:1-6, when Jesus spoke to Nicodemus and affirmed the necessity of baptism for salvation. The third is found in the Gospel of Matthew 28:19, when Jesus commanded his disciples to baptize in the…

Herod and the Magi The Epiphany story is about a search and a discovery. Having the intention of paying homage to the newborn king of the Jews, the Magi went off on their search, but what they discovered was something quite unexpected. From all accounts, they never expected to find a baby lying in a manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes. On the other hand, the Epiphany story is also a story about defiance and treachery. When King Herod heard…

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph The Feast of the Holy Family is a liturgical celebration in the Catholic Church in honor of Jesus, his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his foster father, Saint Joseph, as a family. The purpose of this feast day is to present the Holy Family as a model for Christian families. The Holy Family is basically a human family. They would have had to fulfill daily chores, earn a living to put…

Joseph’s doubt   In the Gospel of Matthew 1:18-24, Joseph thought of abandoning Mary after finding out that she was with child. Since he and Mary have not yet lived together, Joseph was sure that the child wasn’t his. Such was his plan, when and angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit…

How great is John the Baptist?   Among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. (Matthew 11:11) There are two parts in this statement. The first part is: among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist. When Jesus said this, he was talking to the people about John the Baptist in relation to the prophets; He…

Repent! The Kingdom of God is at hand!   Why do we need to repent of sin? The sinner wounds God’s honor and love, his own human dignity as a man called to be a son of God, and the spiritual well-being of the Church, of which each Christian ought to be a living stone. (CCC1487) To return to communion with God after having lost it through sin is a process born of the grace of God who is rich…