William Cardinal Goh The Shepherd's Voice

While salvation is a gift from God, there is a part for man to play. Today, let us ask Our Lady for the same grace to co-operate with the will of God, with the role He has given us to exercise in the salvation of humanity and our own salvation.

In today's Gospel passage, we read of how Jesus related to a deaf man with compassion, sensitivity, and respect. Like Jesus, our model of evangelisation, we too are called to proclaim the Good News with such loving actions and touch.

Today’s gospel reading tells us that we need stability in our faith by finding strength in the authority of Christ. Relying on Jesus, we can be certain that what He says is true. Finding faith in our Lord is to recognize that we have been reconciled to God "by Christ's death in his mortal body.". Justification is the work of God in us. What is required on our part to be reconciled with God is to h...

To call Christ the image of the invisible God, we are also reminded of our calling because in Genesis we are told that we are created in His image and likeness; which is Christ Himself. We are created to be the image of God and that is our calling. We are called to be children of God. Christ is the first-born in the sense that He holds the highest honour in creation. Jesus is therefore not just th...

To discover and do God's will, we need to pray for perfect wisdom and spiritual understanding. Only the Holy Spirit can enlighten our minds. When we are doing God's will, the fruits of the Spirit will be evident. We will carry out our duties and responsibilities joyfully even in the face of difficulties and opposition.

In the work of evangelization, we must reckon that people would come to faith in God in various ways, through preaching in faith, through the sharing of the gospel, through good works and works of mercy, or through the search for meaning and purpose beyond this life. Jesus did not just worship the Father, but after worship and prayer, He expressed His faith in His Father through works of mercy and...

We are called to accept and live out the laws in child-like faith, even though we might not fully understand or be utterly convinced by them. In time and on hindsight, we will personally discover the wisdom behind them. As we read in today's first reading: "Keep them, observe them, and they will demonstrate to the peoples your wisdom and understanding."

Making full use of our talents and working for the Kingdom not only benefits our recipients but also ourselves because God will grow our knowledge, talents and experience, and we are empowered to do more so that we will always be living to our optimum level. However, those who are afraid to take up the challenge to grow the gifts that God has given to them, will eventually stifle themselves to dea...

Unless we have deep faith in Jesus, it is difficult to live out the doctrines and moral teachings of the Scriptures. Falling in love with Jesus, believing in Him and accepting His Word is key.

The principle of arriving at our goal or destination is always to put the “last things first.” The Church tells us that the Last Things consist of death, judgment, hell and heaven. These are the four last things. Death is not the end but the prelude to judgment and hell or heaven. In today’s gospel, Jesus spoke of the responsibility of God’s servants. The parable today is addressed to the disciple...

Unlike any other form of leadership in the world, a Christian leader is expected to not just do well in the ministry and produce results, such as conversion rates and increased membership, but he is expected to be a role model in the way he lives his life, and conducts his relationship with God and the community. The moral conduct of a religious leader is paramount in all that he does. Even if he...

Today, we are called to make a radical choice for God.  There is no question of compromise. In the light of what God had done for them, Joshua said to all the people: "If you will not serve the Lord, choose today whom you wish to serve, whether the gods that your ancestors served beyond the river or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are now living. As for me and my House, we wil...

Today's Gospel passage reminds us that we have "only one master" and "one Teacher, the Christ". We are but servants of the Lord, representatives who are called to walk in humility and lead others to Him.

In many families, there are uneasy tensions between the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, leading to resentment, competition and anger. Of course, we have many families where the daughter-in-law and the mother-in-law are great friends and confidante, regarding each other as mother and daughter. Whilst love and relationship take two hands to clap, the mother-in-law, being the elder, must take the...

Today's readings speak of commitments that are made and subsequently broken, resulting in serious consequences. In order to make our vows count, we need to deliberate and consider seriously, and make them freely.

Good leaders with integrity and wisdom, and most of all, with a genuine heart to serve the community are rare. Whether it is religious, political or corporate leadership, there is a dearth of good leaders with strong moral principles and selfless service. Political and religious office demands much sacrifices, not just in terms of privacy but often financially as well, especially if they conduct t...

Since the beginning of time and of our Lord, the Church has been warned that the journey before her is one of persecution and opposition. There is this constant battle between truth and falsehood, love and selfishness. Today, because of relativism, falsehood and selfishness are often masqueraded as truth and love. What Satan wants is to destroy us all, first by leading us to hopelessness, meaningl...

It is important for us not to reduce faith into a rationalistic faith. It is our personal relationship with God in prayer, and a belonging to a faith community, that makes the real difference.

When we have discussions on various issues, we need to go back to the very beginning - the foundations - to consider God's plan. We also need to consider our history, and build on the foundations that have been laid already. In this way, we know we are on sure ground.

People often lose sight of the wonders of God at work in their lives.  We are constrained by our intellectual capacity to dream beyond what we can do. we literally walk by sight, by what we can see within human reasoning and not by faith.  Today's scripture readings invite us to go beyond our human limitations to trust in the amazing works of God in our lives, and allow Him to act in and...

While most leaders, when they finish their term of office, are given big farewells with much fanfare, long recitations of the good works they have done, and their achievements, Moses’ last days was modestly recorded. Indeed, seeing the Lord face to face was enough reward for Moses. He saw himself as a servant of God. He was a faithful servant right to the end. Despite all the great things he had d...

We must attend to the soul that is crying for the touch of God.  When we have used up all our strength, and exhausted ourselves, our energy and resources, are tired and burnt-out, we need to find peace in God. We must withdraw, just as Elijah did to be alone with God in the wilderness. It is in the quiet of our hearts that God will speak to us deeply, not in the harried activities of lif...

To remember God's Word, we must first memorise some significant scripture texts so that they become part of our thinking. Secondly, we remember by teaching and sharing about Scriptures with others. Third, we remember by publicly witnessing our faith. The more we remember God's Word, the more our faith is strengthened.

It takes time to fully understand the meaning of mountain-top experiences. Like the apostles Peter, James and John who understood the Transfiguration event only after Jesus' resurrection, may we too be patient to what God is revealing to us through our religious experiences.

Quite often leaders do not only have to manage the affairs of the organization or the community they are leading, but they have their personal and domestic issues to contend with. And yet in public, they have to put on a brave front, act normally and not impose their pain or sadness on others but quietly carry the burden in their hearts. It is important that as leaders we do not take our frustrati...