The Voice of God > The Voice of the World

You may or may not know that for many years I owned sheep.  I didn’t have a lot of sheep, at the most only about sixty, but for those sheep, I was their shepherd. They knew my voice and would follow me anywhere, but there were times they either couldn’t hear me or simply refused to follow. Times like when a storm was brewing and the wind, the noise of the world, was howling and prevented them from hearing me. Other times, maybe, they were in a lush green pasture and liked being there so much that when I called, they heard me but just ignored me. I was calling, and they could hear me, but they wouldn’t follow because they liked where they were and didn’t want to leave. They didn’t understand or trust that I was calling them away from what they thought was the perfect place for a reason, to protect them and lead them to something better. They were fat, dumb, and happy, totally oblivious to the fact that eating too much of that lush green grass would make them sick and some may even die.  

So, the question Jesus is calling us to ask ourselves today is, who is our shepherd? Whose voice do we know, hear, and follow, and what things in our life may prevent us from hearing him, trusting him, and following him as we should?

St. Paul speaks of those who live according to the flesh and contrasts that with those living according to the Spirit. St. Paul says that the works of the flesh are obvious.  He’s right: everything he named, we know almost instinctually as evil, things like immorality, impurity, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, drinking bouts, orgies and so on. Even a person whose conscience is not well-formed or who grew up surrounded by these types of things, naturally knows that they’re wrong.  

I’m sorry to say that from a very young age I was exposed to many of the things St. Paul mentions, but there was never a time I thought they were okay. I knew they were wrong because of the negative effects they had on my family, and didn’t want to be a part of those sorts of things. I thank God for that gift. However, even when we know this, even when we know right from wrong, because of our own weaknesses, the lure of the enemy, and, let’s face it, our own self-interests, unfortunately, at some point in our lives, most (if not all) of us have become involved in at least some of the sins of the flesh St. Paul points out.  

These are the times in our lives when we are so wrapped up in ourselves or the ways of the world that we can’t hear the shepherd, Jesus, calling us away from danger. The noise of the world has drowned him out, or we may have chosen to ignore the sound of his voice on purpose. Much like my sheep, we like where we are, even if it’s bad for us, and we don’t want to follow him, at least not yet.

In contrast, let’s reflect on a time later in our life when, through humility and surrender, we have come to know the Lord and truly seek to follow him and live according to his will for our life. In these times, our spiritual hearing starts to grow sharper, and we can actually hear the voice of the Lord even through the noise that surrounds us. We want to do his will, even if we’re pretty comfortable in the nice green grass we’re grazing on. When he calls, we trust him and follow him because we know he wants the best for us and is leading us to something even better.

We hear his voice, maybe not in an audible way, but he often subtly communicates with us by a thought or a feeling, by that tiny whispering voice in our hearts. This occurs most often when we are sitting with him in silence listening to him, especially in Adoration. These are the times that lead us to desire and to experience more and more the fruits of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.  

By his grace, as our relationship with Jesus grows, we start to notice that many of the passions and desires that drew us away from him when we were involved in the works of the flesh are now fading away. This is how we know, this is our confirmation, that our surrender to the Lord, giving ourselves to him, body, mind, and soul, has been fruitful, and we now truly belong to him, who is our Shepherd.

Two saints who sincerely lived by the Fruits of the Spirit that St. Paul described are St. Hedwig and St. Margaret Mary Alacouque. Both of these saints were dedicated to serving God by serving others. St. Hedwig died in 1243 and is the Patroness of Silesia, where the Vaverek side of Father Timothy’s, came from. Today, Silesia is part of Poland and is only about 100 miles from the Czech border. St. Hedwig once said, “May I use all I have been given in life for God’s glory and never for selfish or vain purposes.” St. Margaret Mary Alacouque died in France in 1690. During her life, she had several visions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, for which she was greatly criticized. No one believed her, but eventually, she convinced her Mother Superior that her visions were authentic. St. Margaret Mary Alacouque once said, “I need nothing but God, and to lose myself in the heart of Jesus.” 
St. Margaret Mary Alacouque, Pray for Us. St. Hedwig, Pray for Us.