“The sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.” ~John 10
We find much comfort in a familiar voice. An infant is already aware of its mother's voice. And a child quickly responds to his father's voice. We immediately recognize the voice of a favorite song artist when it comes on the radio, and it brings us a lot of joy to hear our favorite songs, doesn't it? When we receive a long-awaited phone call from a friend or a loved one, we take great delight upon hearing their voice, don't we? And if you’ve read C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, you may recall how touching a scene it is when Aslan’s character appears, as he is literally singing the world of Narnia into existence.
Recently, I was fortunate to spend a few days visiting parochial school children, as well as young adult groups. The theme of how one becomes a Sister was a prominent question and topic among the young people. And our response typically begins something like this: First, one must listen to God, be attentive to hearing His voice, to come to know if that’s what God is calling you to. A vocation is a call. When you call a friend on the phone, there is a mutual back and forth of talking and listening to each other. And so it is with vocation. This process of speaking with God and listening to God is called discernment. The more we listen, the more attuned we become to hearing God’s voice in our hearts, and then, the more we long to hear it–that true voice of Jesus, the Bridegroom.
I like hearing the voice of the One I love. But I need to also keep vigil in order to hear that sweet voice through the cacophony of life’s distractions. It’s not always an easy task, but that’s the voice I really want to hear–the one that loves me, that knows what is good for me, who feeds, forgives, provides for and takes care of me. I choose my Shepherd’s voice above all the rest.
