Bill Hao

Increase Our Faith! The apostles said to the Lord Jesus: “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5) In His response, Jesus confirms their lack of faith by telling them that if they only had the faith of a mustard seed, they would be able to command this mulberry tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it would obey them. Such are the wonders that faith can do! It is in this context that Jesus tells the Parable of the…

The Demand for Signs The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is a basis for the Catholic belief in the Particular Judgment: that immediately after death, the deceased person is judged by God for all its acts, and the eternal fate of the departed soul is decided. In the parable, Lazarus was carried by the angels to the bosom of Abraham where he is comforted, while the rich man ended up in the torments of the netherworld. And so,…

No servant can serve two masters In the Gospels, Jesus talks about how the desire for money is an obstacle to our path to God’s kingdom. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus said that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (Mk 10:25). In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said that the one who hears the word but is choked by the…

Lost but Found When the tax collectors and sinners were coming near Jesus to hear him, the scribes and the Pharisees began to complain about Jesus, saying: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:2) Jesus then began to teach them with 3 parables. All 3 parables speak of something or someone becoming lost but then was found. The lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son represent the sinner who had lost his way to God.…

The Cost of Discipleship In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us about the conditions of discipleship, and these words from the Gospel must be understood in the context of all the other teachings of Christ. It is true that “hate” is a strong word, and the way that we commonly understand “hate” as the opposite of “love” cannot be taken as what was meant by Christ, because He is the one who told us to “love our neighbor as ourselves.” On…

The Parable of the Invited Guests In the Gospel of Luke, one of the leading Pharisees invited Jesus to dine in his home. The people there were observing Jesus carefully, but Jesus was observing them too! After Jesus saw how the guests were choosing places of honor at the banquet table, He said: “Do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited…

Are you saved? By telling the people to strive to enter through the narrow gate, Jesus makes it clear that the path to salvation is not easy. The way to God requires our undivided attention because it consists of an ongoing conversion of heart. The grace of God is always present, but we must do our part to receive it. Many people seem to think that salvation is practically a given. It is not uncommon to find people who will…