St. Dominic Catholic Church

Homilies

2019-5-12 Easter 4 Yr. C Fr. Roberto "Whose Voice Will You Listen to and Follow?"

Homily for 4th Sunday of Easter + Mother’s Day – Year C
Fr. Roberto Corral, OP
St. Dominic’s Church, Eagle Rock, CA
May 12, 2019

Title: Whose Voice Will You Listen to and Follow?
Theme: Of all the voices speaking to us, we must listen to and follow the voice of Jesus the Good Shepherd.
Readings: Acts 13:14, 43-52; Revelation 7:9, 14b-17; John 10:27-30

He was standing in line at Taco Bell. He was hungry, and he was mad. A woman in front of him, who was holding an out-of-control baby, was complaining about her order. But Kenny was not mad at the woman; he was mad at the young man behind the counter who was being impatient, sarcastic and rude to the woman. At that moment, a voice in Kenny Layton’s head said to him, “Take that punk kid out to the parking lot, beat the you-know-what out of him, and show him he ain't nothin’.” This is the voice that continually comes into Kenny’s head tempting him to go back to his old ways.

You see, Kenny spent nearly 40 years of his life in jail or prison; but 20 years ago he changed his life and has stayed “clean” ever since. For the last 20 years he has not shot, stabbed, robbed or fought with anyone. For these 20 years he has been married to his patient and loving wife, and he is living a good, productive life. But every day during these last 20 years, that old, tough-guy, criminal voice comes into his head tempting him to do something stupid that will send him back to prison. So, every day for the last 20 years, Kenny has had to decide if he is going to listen to that old criminal voice in his head or not.

This true story illustrates the dramatic struggle that many ex-cons, recovering addicts and others go through in dealing with their demons, trying to stay out of trouble. Now, hopefully, none of us here has this kind of serious struggle to deal with, but, in some ways, it is the same dynamic we all go through as we too try to decide which of the voices in our lives we are going to listen to, whether they are the voices “out there:” TV, radio, social media, Internet, family, friends, teachers, coaches, bosses, co-workers, neighbors, government, and the Church (including the voice that is speaking to you now) or the voices “in here,” in our heads. The voices in our heads are the most important ones because they are usually the voices we listen to and follow. Isn’t it amazing what goes on inside our head sometimes – the thoughts we entertain, the voices we hear?

In our Gospel today, Jesus tells us “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” It is a very simple but extremely important statement for all of us to understand and to try to live up to. First of all, it is truly amazing that Jesus loves us so much that he chooses to speak to us, not just once in a while, not just when we are good, not just when we are in church, but all the time! The question is, are you and I listening for his voice, the voice of the Good Shepherd? As I just said, there are so many voices “out there” and “in here” speaking to us; and of all those voices, the voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is the most important voice for us to listen to and follow because Jesus’ voice will always lead us to truth, goodness, healing, peace, joy and abundant life – amen? Amen! 

So, out of all those voices around us and inside of us, how do we know which is Jesus’ voice? Well, one of the blessings of being Catholic is that our Church has been around for 2,000 years, and there is some wisdom we have garnered during that time in regards to this issue. Here are some time-honored suggestions that we Catholic Christians can follow so we can hear the voice of Jesus more clearly. Jesus usually speaks to us in the following five ways:

1.    Prayer – This is a huge part of being Catholic and being a follower of Jesus. Prayer is as important for our spiritual lives as breathing is for our physical lives. We need to find some quiet time on a regular basis – every day if possible – not just to talk to Jesus, but also to listen for his voice speaking to our heart. Jesus very often speaks to us in silence. And praying for 30 seconds before we fall asleep, or making the Sign of the Cross when we leave the house or drive the car are nice things to do, but they are not enough. Give Jesus some quality time! 
2.    The Bible – The Bible is God’s word, and he speaks to us through his word. The Bible is filled with wisdom and insight; it is not always easy to understand, but it is important that we take the time to read and pray with the Scriptures. And listening to the readings at Mass is good, but it is not enough. How many of you have a Bible at home? That’s great, now pick it up and read it and pray with it often. And, in order to understand the Bible better, you might consider joining one of our parish’s Bible studies.
3.    The Church – In spite of the Church’s faults and failings, our Church is the one Jesus founded, and he still speaks to us and guides us through the teachings of the Church. The Church is not just the Pope in Rome, it is also our bishop, our Diocese, and our parish community. There is lots of experience and wisdom in our parish, so be part of the community, help us build it up and listen to Jesus together. Jesus speaks to us through the universal Church and through our local church.
4.    The important people that he has placed in your life – Very often Jesus speaks to us through people, especially those who really love us and those who will speak the truth to us, not just what we want to hear. Listen to those important people God has placed in your life. On this Mother’s Day weekend, I want especially to highlight the important role that mothers and other women can play in our lives. I realize that not all of us have had great relationships with our mothers, but, for many of us, Jesus speaks words of love, care and guidance to us through our mothers, grandmothers, godmothers and other special women in our lives. Listen to that wisdom and guidance.
5.    Circumstances – Sometimes, Jesus simply uses the things that happen to us to speak to our hearts – big things and little things; good things and especially bad things – all have the potential of showing us God’s will. 
In summary, the five most common ways that Jesus speaks to us are through prayer, the Bible, the Church, the people in our lives, and the circumstances of our lives.

Brothers and Sisters, the good news is that Jesus wants to speak to us every day: words of love, encouragement, challenge and guidance. So, we have to develop the habit of listening for his voice among all the others “out there” and “in here.” Like Kenny, the ex-convict, we have to decide which voices we will listen to and which voices we need to ignore. So let us listen for and listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd, and let us follow him.