William Cardinal Goh The Shepherd's Voice

Listening to the Word of God, Christ our light will enlighten us in the truth about life, about ourselves and about God. Walking in the way of our Lord, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, we will find life to the fullest, on earth and in heaven. If Christ is the light and the Way, as Christians, we do not seek any other way, certainly not the ways of the World to find true happiness.

The rejection and condemnation of Jesus continues today even in our hearts on this Good Friday. Look at Christ on the cross and allow the power of the cross to reign in our hearts as God's grace, mercy and love are poured into our lives.

The deeper meaning of the washing of feet is the total self-emptying of Jesus in love. When we truly love, we need to empty ourselves of pride, honour, ego and recognition. This is what we are called to imitate today so that we can feel with our brothers and sisters, identify with each other and share in the same humanity - for that is the perfection of Love.

Christian Joy does not mean a joy without suffering. Christian joy means we are joyful in suffering; joyful in bearing the cross of Jesus, because of love. When there is love, there is joy in suffering. Without love, suffering will cripple us.

God does not exercise His power like worldly kings. He does not command His creatures to serve Him because He wants to make use of them. He does not impose rules on them for His sake but for their good. Jesus comes to bring us peace. But we must be ready to change our expectations of God. We must not expect God to fulfil our images of Him. Rather, we must accept God on His own terms. We must accept the gospel and the hard teachings of our Lord as taught and not twist the gospel to suit us. We must accept the way to peace and unity on His terms, not ours. Unless we are open to change, we cannot find peace within ourselves and unity with our fellowmen.

To celebrate the dedication of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, is really to celebrate our own dedication to God. We are the living temple of God. No matter how beautiful the temple, or the Church is, what is most important is what about the living Church, the people of God. That should be our focus. If the people are vibrant and full of faith, you can be sure the temple will be great. But if people have lost their faith, the temple will deteriorate.

As we journey into a new year, let us turn to our Blessed Mother, because she is the one who will lead us and show us how to make a journey of faith. Mary will show us the face of our Lord Jesus if we journey with her. Let us also support one another, just as Mary supported Jesus all the way to the Cross.

The Good News that we proclaim and celebrate at Christmas is that the Saviour has come. Jesus and His love for us is freely given and without exception, even though we are unworthy. God has become man in Christ Jesus to assume our humanity, so that we in turn can share in the divine life of Christ.

The kingship of Christ is not a matter of space or territory. The only space Jesus as King wants to occupy is our hearts and minds. We need to ask ourselves how we are going to extend the rule of Christ, through the vocations we choose and how we use our talents.

Our position in society, our role in life and in the community, our talents and our skills are all given by God in accordance with His plan. We must never think that we are the best person, the smartest and the best leader in our community or in the world. God chose us in very mysterious ways, often surprising the expectations of the world.

When we know our ultimate goal is to be with the Lord - to share in His glorified life - then we will take this life seriously. Our lives will already be a reflection of the life that is to come. Mary lived that glorified life, always in union with Christ.

Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. This feast focuses on the Eucharist as the greatest gift our Lord bequeathed to the Church before His death. Unfortunately, many of us lack appreciation and understanding of the Eucharist. Whilst the Church professes our faith in the real presence of our Lord in the Eucharist and celebrates the Eucharist daily in our churches, and most of us receive the Eucharist when we attend Mass, how much faith and reverence do we have in this exercise? More often than not, we receive Holy Communion without preparation, or are even conscious of what we are receiving. For some, it is just a wafer, for many, they know intellectually it is the body of Christ, but their actions do not seem to show that they are convinced because they lack devotion and love when they receive the Eucharist. Do you know what you are receiving and the implications of receiving Holy Communion?

Our mission is to bring unity among all men and women. But this unity is only possible if man is reconciled with God. Our mission is one of communion, and if the mission is to be accomplished, it must be accomplished in communion. The Holy Spirit has bestowed on us different gifts, talents and charisms. Each of these charisms is important for the growth of the community and for the service of the mission. Every charism should be received with gratitude and every charism must be promoted, so that the face of God is seen in the lives of the people.

Today, as a consequence of a relativistic, individualistic and materialistic world, it is hard to know exactly how we can respond to the challenging trends that are happening today. Many of us are confused as to what direction we should take. And we cannot agree on moral principles, moral values. The Holy Father in his recent World Communications Sunday message urged us to “Listen with the Heart”. We need to learn to feel with people who are sharing, and at the end of the day, in the context of Prayer, we ask the Lord, where and how we should respond.

On the feast of Pentecost, we are given the power of the Spirit to live out our new life. For us to remain in communion with God, we need to put sin to death in our lives, and express our obedience to Him out of mutual love.

Communication is a two-way process. Speaking and listening. But the one who speaks often is not given adequate listening. Most of our conversations are monologues. We are more interested in being heard, to have our ideas accepted, and our demands fulfilled. We tend to be more on the defensive. Instead of listening, we are preparing our defences, finding fault with the other party’s proposition. This is why there is a communication breakdown not just between individuals, organizations and society, but the world at large. Listening requires tremendous effort, emptying ourselves of our concerns, preoccupations, and strongly held convictions, and listening with the ears of our heart to what the person is saying and not saying. It requires humility and self-emptying to listen with compassion and with love.

Even with challenges and difficulties, we can have peace if we are in union with God in love and truth. It is our union with the Father, in the Son, and through the Spirit that gives us true peace.

Like Jesus and his community of 12 apostles, we need to build and be part of faith-loving communities centred in Christ. Such communities help us to persevere and grow our faith, as well as find fellowship and love.

A beautiful hymn in the Divine Office contains the following lyrics: "Paschal triumph, Paschal joy, only sin can this destroy." Indeed, only sin can take away our Easter joy. So if we want to live in Easter, then let us keep dying to our selfishness, sin and fears, and instead walk in His light.

When Jesus was on the cross, He was carrying upon Himself the sins of the world and, most of all, the rejection of man towards God. He bore the silence of God, which is what atheists experience, without God! Only when Christ was hanging on the cross and said, “into your hands I commend my Spirit” did the Holy Spirit take over the mission of our Lord and complete it through the ages. The victory of Jesus was complete when the Father raised Him from the dead. But the ultimate victory would be won by the Spirit of Jesus at work in us. Only when we surrender our plans, our life and our vulnerabilities to the Father, will He then work in us and through us.