William Cardinal Goh The Shepherd's Voice CatholicSG Radio

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.