Sunday Reflection | Learning the Voice of the Shepherd

Learning the Voice of the Shepherd

The idea of learning a foreign language can seem like a daunting task for many people. If communication in one language is difficult enough, trying to navigate another one can understandably be intimidating. Still, there are a number of benefits to learning another language - the ability to understand, help, or form meaningful connections with a whole new group of people. With the knowledge of another language, you have the ability to enter another person’s world and experience something you would never have been able to otherwise.

Knowing the benefits of learning a new language, many programs have been developed to help people learn new languages. Some connect you with tutors who work with you personally, some utilize an application on your phone to do exercises, and some even use artificial intelligence to simulate a conversation. Everyone has their preferred type of learning experience, and so having this variety can appeal to a wide group.

While these programs can certainly be useful, the consensus as to the truly best way to learn a language is immersion. Programs and classes can give you exposure for some time, but to be completely immersed in another language gives you the total experience. In an immersion experience, you hear the language being spoken in real situations by real people. You get to see the connections between language and culture on the streets, in media, and in everyday interactions. At first, it can be quite difficult. You don’t know what anything means and you don’t know how to navigate anything. But, after some time, you start to pick up on things. Words start to sound familiar and you start to make connections. For instance, I once spent a week in El Salvador on a mission trip. The last time I ever formally learned Spanish or spoke it was probably twelve years prior. Just in that week, I went from a few words to simple conversation, preaching off the cuff, and offering advice in the confessional. Even without formal instruction, you can pick up on much just from being around it.

In our Gospel reading, Jesus says that He is the Good Shepherd, and that His sheep know His voice. Let’s not undersell the power of that statement. The ones whom Jesus calls dear actually know His voice. It can seem like a nice line, but it also raises a good question - do I actually know God’s voice? A common sentiment that is shared is that hearing God is a difficult thing. It can so often seem like God is just silent. I pray, I talk to God, but I hear nothing back. What am I to do if my prayer feels like I am talking to a brick wall? We all face that to some degree - it is indeed difficult to listen to God and to know His voice. But what is even more true is that He is speaking. He has never stopped speaking. We just have to get better at listening to Him.

God does not typically speak to us in the same way that another human person does. With the exception of divine intervention, we cannot hear God physically with our ears. Yes, we have the Scriptures in which we can read and hear what God speaks to us in one way, and praise God for that. However, God also communicates with us in a more personal way, in the depths of our heart. This “heart language” is difficult for us to understand because it is not something we are used to understanding. Yet, this is how God speaks to us. If we want to better know His voice and to better hear and understand Him, we need to learn this language.

There are many things that can help us in our effort of learning this language - a bible study program, a podcast, a spiritual book, even a good song. These can be amazing tools to get us started. But, nothing is going to substitute total immersion. What does total immersion look like for learning God’s voice? Developing a good interior prayer life, regular reception of the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist, and plunging into a Catholic ethos where everything and everyone around you is helping you grow closer to God. If God speaks to us in the depths of our hearts, then we need to dispose our hearts to be able to hear - being in His presence, using the things around us as fuel for prayer, and inviting Him to lift our hearts. Over time, the more we step into God’s world, the more that voice will become familiar.

God is speaking to us and calling to us. One particular way He calls to us is our particular “calling” or vocation. God is the one who created each and every one of our hearts, and therefore, He is the one who knows how that heart is best called to love. We all have a vocation to be a saint, but the particular path that may take is set forth by God. Our particular vocation, whether it be to the priesthood, consecrated life, or to holy marriage, is an invitation to become the saints that He created us to be. But, we can’t hear His call if we don’t know His voice. To know how we can best love and serve and become a saint, we need to know His voice.

We are all likely familiar with the global decrease in vocations. This decrease is not because God isn’t calling anyone - He is certainly calling many. This decrease is because people are not hearing His voice. Because they don’t know His voice, they have not been able to experience God’s world - a world more incredible than we can imagine. Jesus is the Good Shepherd - he desires the good of His flock and He is calling them to this goodness. I would like to invite us to pray in a very particular way for an increase in vocations, that those whom God is calling may be able to hear His voice and respond generously to it. Perhaps there is someone that we know who might have a particular vocation to the priesthood or consecrated life - let’s invite them to truly pray about it and ask what God may be calling them to. It may take time for them to learn God’s voice, but when they do, they will experience a life like no other, in the heart of the Good Shepherd.