John 10:22-30
At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Hearing God’s Voice
Today’s Gospel challenges us to consider how attuned we are to hearing Jesus's voice.
We might initially shake our heads at the temple crowd’s question, “How long will you keep us in suspense?” As Jesus reminds them, he has not only spoken openly of his identity, but shown it again and again through his works. He responded to their petition, but they failed to hear his voice. How often have we similarly failed to hear it?
To hear the voice of Jesus our shepherd, we must both attune ourselves to it and take dedicated time to listen for it in prayer. St. Ignatius’s wisdom on the discernment of spirits offers practical help here.
Where have you encountered an inner voice that is gentle, that brings authentic joy, that moves you to embrace greater love? That is the voice of the Good Shepherd.
How is the Good Shepherd calling you?
—Brennan Dour, SJ, is a Jesuit scholastic and social studies teacher at Loyola High School of Detroit.
Prayer
Grant me, O Lord, to see everything now with new eyes,
to discern and test the spirits
that help me read the signs of the times,
to relish the things that are yours, and to communicate them to others.
Give me the clarity of understanding that you gave Ignatius.
—Personal Prayer of Pedro Arrupe, SJ