In today’s Gospel from John 10:27-30, Jesus is responding to the Jews asking Him if He is the Messiah.  Jesus explains that if they were among His sheep, they would not need to ask as they would know.  “Jesus said: My sheep hear My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.” (JN 10:27)  This image of Jesus as the Shepherd and His followers as sheep says a lot about the relationship we have with our Lord.  A shepherd is a protector of his flock.  The sheep in turn, develop a strong level of trust in the shepherd.  In order to develop this trust, they must come to know him.  Additionally, if a sheep were to stray from the flock, they would be in grave danger of becoming prey.

   As disciples, we are also called into this deeper relationship with our Lord.  We must come to know Him and look to Him for protection as well as His flock for strength.  Most of us would likely rate our relationship with our Lord as fairly strong.  But do we really know Him?  When we are in Mass, are we fully appreciating what is taking place?  Are we “actively” participating?  Are we attentive to the Word of God as being proclaimed by the Lector; the Gospel as proclaimed by the priest or deacon?  The Word “is”Jesus…are we listening?

   When we are “sent out” to “proclaim the Good News”, we are being asked to share our Lord with those whom we encounter in the world.  We must ask ourselves, once we leave Mass, do we even recall what we just heard or experienced?  If not, can we truly say, ‘We hear His voice?’