In a digital era, as disciples of Jesus, we have a greater responsibility to bear witness to the truth and not falsehood since we profess Jesus to be “the Way, the Truth and the Life”. We must also become people who live by and bear witness to the Truth – to preserve the unity of the body of Christ.

To be authentic in love means to be able to empathise with others… to be able to experience the joy with and for others but at the same time to be able to feel the pain and struggles of others. To be sacrificial in love simply means to be able to walk the extra mile when it matters the most and not merely provide lip service of criticism and empty promises. To be inclusive in love means everyone is a friend, no matter what their preferred way of life may be and even when we may agree to disagree.

The Easter life that we are all called to live must be demonstrated in our love for God and for each other through deeds, a sign that we are united to Christ. There is great joy in seeing the love of God manifesting itself through our action for it is Christ who is glorified.

For most of us, the image of the Good Shepherd is linked to Jesus’ sympathetic and meek behaviour toward those who have strayed away from His path. The Jesus that we encounter in the Gospel today is not only about “the sheep” listening to the voice of the shepherd. We are the sheep of the Lord; however, let us remind ourselves that we are also His shepherds.

Jesus’ earliest message as He began His public ministry was repentance (Cf. Mark 1:15), and now the ministry of the disciples of Jesus must be founded on the same. The attraction to the early Church was that it was a community of forgiveness and reconciliation. The “terms and conditions” of being a disciple is to make one another feel welcomed, loved and forgiven.

The Church must be the doorway to God’s mercy and that is why Pope Francis says that “there is no Christianity without mercy.  If all our Christianity does not lead us to mercy, we are on the wrong path, because mercy is the only true goal of every spiritual journey. It is one of the most beautiful fruits of charity [love].”

For the disciples to understand this profound moment, one important thing needed to happen and that is, the stone had to be “moved away from the tomb”. As disciples, if we want to feel and experience the new life offered to us at Easter, each of us must have the “rolled away stone” experience.

The cross is at the centre of our Good Friday celebrations. Though it portrays pain and suffering, it also brings to focus some images of Christ. As we “venerate the cross” let the healing power of the cross of Christ become alive in us. For it is only then that we are able to fully share in Jesus’ greatest act of love – His self-giving for the well-being of humankind.

Many of us think that in order to trust, we need to fully understand but the evening before the Passover, Jesus teaches an important lesson not just to His disciples but also to all who call him ‘Master and Lord’ that the path of discipleship involves trusting Jesus now and understanding Him later – not something that many of us are comfortable to do because it involves making ourselves vulnerable.

"Jesus was not compelled to do it [accept the cross]. He willingly lowered himself in his birth, in his ministry, in his death. No one took his life from him. He freely laid down his own life (Jn 10:18). Others did not have the chance to humble him; he humbled himself.” This truly sets us on the journey to Golgotha with Jesus because He embraced this way of the cross for each of us.