William Cardinal Goh The Shepherd's Voice

Today’s reading is an important lesson for us to learn as well because many of us are blind to what the Lord had done for us in the past and what He is doing for us in the present, and thus we do not surrender our future into His hands, and walk by faith, not by sight. If this God has met our needs in the past and our needs today, why do we doubt that He will provide for us tomorrow? This is why i...

When we do not rest in God's love, and allow Him to work in us, we become restless. We look for external things to fill our emptiness within. Greed and seeking the approval of others are some examples. May we seek God, the bread of life, the bread that lasts.

Sustenance of planet earth is not just about man’s relationship with the environment, with plants and animals. Ecology must also deal with right relationships among nations, peoples in each country and community, workers and employers; family and marriage. There is an unequal distribution of wealth and resources. On the family front, we do not protect the right relationship of family life and marr...

The liturgy is not static, but dynamic. What is important is that when we evolve our liturgy, it must be faithful to the theological meaning of the celebration. The Church wants to ensure we are always faithful to what we are celebrating. Let us thank God for all the rites that we have, which allow us to encounter God.

We live harried lives because of the demands that are made on us. The world moves rapidly with technology and so people have become more demanding of our time and the speed with which we accomplish the tasks assigned to us. This leaves us very little time for silence and prayer. Although we may not feel that prayer is a waste of time, yet we do not put it as a priority. We pray only when we can fi...

As Christians, we are called to give glory to God by our lives, especially in our service to Church and society, beginning in our own homes. But many of us have lost the glory in us. We have not encountered Him personally, spoken to Him like a friend, basked in His love and presence. We have not spent time with the Lord sufficiently to allow Him to speak to our hearts and reveal His love and mercy...

The greatest miracle of Jesus anticipated in the multiplication of loaves is the Eucharist, His body and blood that He would be giving to His disciples at His death so that our lives would be transformed into His when we eat His body and drink His blood. More than just physical and material food, Jesus quenches our thirst and satisfies our hunger for God, for life and for love. For us Christians,...

Our life is a constant struggle against sin and the temptation of the Evil One. Sometimes we will overcome the temptation to sin, sometimes we will succumb.  But whenever we fail, the Lord understands us.  He knows how weak we are.  He showed the same compassion for Peter and the apostles. However, judgement will come. Of course, God does not judge us based on one single act in...

When observed in a legalistic manner, the laws and Commandments can enslave us. However, laws are actually meant to protect true freedom. They are principles for right living, so we will not be enslaved to our fears and passions.

Like the reading from the book of Song of Songs, can we truly say that ‘Jesus is the One whom my heart loves’? The truth is that we love our friends, our spouse, our children more than we love Jesus. We would even give up our faith in Christ just to marry someone whom we love, especially when the person is of another faith. We would sacrifice our prayer life, our time for prayers and worship, for...

When things go wrong, we lament the good old days. We forget the sufferings that we had then, and the complaints we made. We never learn our lessons. We are just escapists. Instead of looking at ourselves, we find scapegoats for our sins. Those of us who are in leadership will know that we please no one. No matter what we do, we will displease them. No matter what we provide for them, it will neve...

Jesus, our Good Shepherd, offers us a model of leadership: a clear vision of uniting people into the family of God, a heart of compassion, and a spirit of self-sacrifice. He also demonstrated integrity, and was rooted in prayer. What do we need to do to be leaders like Him today?

The scripture readings today offer us some food for thought on patience as the key to winning victory in battles. Jesus was very much aware that He was not yet ready to fight a direct battle with the religious leaders as His mission would be short-circuited. Even in calling sinners to repentance, Jesus was not harsh with them. He did not condemn them or humiliate them before others. Rather, His ap...

Jesus was concerned more about the spirit of the Law. That true spirit is captured in Hosea's words: "What I want is mercy, not sacrifice." And so, ethical consideration and charity take precedence over any ritual laws. After all, what God desires of us is kindness and compassion.

Confident of our Lord who is the revelation of God in person, the revealer, the Lord invites us, “Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.” When we know the love of God for us, we will be able to carry the yo...

A leader without faith cannot lead his people. We cannot accomplish the work of God by our own strength and our own ingenuity. The account of Moses’ call today makes it clear that God’s sovereign grace triumphs over man’s inadequacy and mistakes. God uses ordinary people like us, just as Jesus in the gospel chose ordinary fishermen to be His apostles. God would use our broken history and failures...

Like the apostles and the prophet Amos, we are called to go beyond our comfort zones and respond to what calls us to. When we give ourselves to God - our weaknesses included - we will experience the power of God working in us.

Quite often forgiveness is never complete, not so much because our sins or mistakes have not been forgiven.  Rather, it is the inability on the part of the sinner to receive that forgiveness because of the lack of faith and trust. Even though the Confessor on behalf of God has forgiven the sins of the penitent during the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the penitent only hears the words...

When sending the apostles out on mission, Jesus forewarned them about the trials they would face. Persecutions would come from four main groups of people, namely, the State, businesses, their own people, and their family members. These are the same groups of people that continue to persecute the Church today. How can we stand firm in the face of persecution?

Whenever we think of the suffering and shame we endured due to betrayals and injustices, we feel angry.  At the same time, we know that unless there is closure, especially with our loved ones who have hurt us deeply, we will have no peace. Forgiving is not easy, but it will be made much easier when we know that the person has learnt from his mistakes and will not cause harm to others as they...

The gospel is not about building churches and establishing our mini-kingdoms.  It is about mission beyond our churches. Evangelization requires direction and strategy, otherwise we will fail in our mission. Of course, at the end of the day, we must be led by the Holy Spirit who is the sole agent of conversion and mission. We must also know our limitations so that we can direct our energy to s...

The world measures success by Key Performance Indicators. It is concerned with tangible results, which are externally observable. On the contrary, success in God’s eyes is measured by our fidelity to Him. Today's readings feature 3 characters - Ezekiel, St Paul and our Lord. They, while in the eyes of the world were seen as failures, are successes in God's eyes. They were faithful and obedient to...

God is patient with us in our growth in faith. There is a dynamism in spiritual growth. We must not forget that our faith in God, just like any relationship, is dynamic. Some days it grows, other days, relatively stagnant and at times, we retrogress. Our faith moves up and down, high and low. Faith is not something we secure once and for all, just like any relationship. This same faith in Jesus as...

Miracles happen every day. If we walk by faith and not by sight, we will see them in little ways such as words of kindness and encouragement, and thoughtful actions. The biggest miracle of all, though, is conversion of hearts. How can we bring miracles to people today?

Faith, like trust, takes time to build up. It is said that faith increases when we exercise it through the trials of life. In today’s readings, Abraham passed the ultimate test of surrendering his entire life and all that he cherished to the Lord, which was his only son, Isaac. This was the ultimate act of faith for Abraham, even to not withhold his only son from the Lord.  This foreshadowed...