Normally, I like to turn on a podcast when driving in the car. Even when I am doing chores around the house, I might pop in my AirPods and try to keep up on the latest of what is going on in the world. Yesterday, I did something different. Although I had a couple of significant drives, I traveled in silence. I wanted to have some extra silence in my day, and the silence helped me listen to Jesus.
Today, we are celebrating Good Shepherd Sunday. The psalm, the second reading, and the Gospel are all centered on the image of the shepherd. Jesus talks about the sheep recognizing the voice of the shepherd. They follow him because they trust him. They know his voice because they can pick it out among all the noise and distraction of the world.
We need silence to learn to listen for Christ’s voice in our lives. We want to listen to Jesus and follow him. This allows us to grow in our interior life.
One easy mistake to make as a Christian is to focus too much on externals. We fail to live up to “Be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt. 5:48), and instead fall into perfectionism.
Rather than trying to follow Christ, we try to be perfect because we don’t like being substandard. We make it about us instead of simply trying to be like Jesus.
We need to recognize that Jesus wants to give us everything we need to follow him faithfully. Mother Teresa famously said, “God has not called me to be successful. He called me to be faithful.” We can learn to be faithful by growing spiritually.
We grow in our interior life through the sacraments, prayer, contact with Scripture and spiritual combat.
God wants to give us his grace and the most ordinary means of doing this is through the sacraments. The sacraments we participate in most frequently as Catholics are the Eucharist and Confession. As we move into summer break, don’t take a break from Mass. There is Mass and Confession available at parishes all around the world. So whether you are working, studying, or on vacation this summer, look for a church where you can go to Mass every Sunday. And, why not, plan for a time to go to confession. My challenge to you is to go to confession at least once over the summer before coming back to school in the fall.
We need prayer if we want to grow close to God. Hopefully, we can find time every day to dedicate to God. We need this daily contact with him, and he gives so many graces during prayer. It is not always easy. And here is the thing: prayer doesn’t have to be fun, exciting, or easy for it to be good. If you dedicate time to God, he is going to bless you. Make sure to give prayer its place in your daily schedule.
Go to Sacred Scripture every day. Sometimes, the easiest way to do this is by reading the Scripture passages prepared for the daily liturgy. God’s word is living and active (cf. Heb. 4:12) and always enlightens our minds. By spending a few minutes every day with Scripture, you will come back to campus renewed in your mind and soul.
The Christian life also requires spiritual combat. We have to fight against sin and strive to form virtue in our lives. God wants to be close to us, but sin, especially mortal sin, drives us further from God. In Confession, Christ helps us rise when we have fallen, but the good Christian tries to avoid sin. We can’t deepen our life with God if we are ambivalent about the place that sin has in our hearts and minds. “Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things” (Col. 3:2). Spiritual combat helps us to make sure we are striving to establish Christ’s kingdom in our own hearts and minds.
These four means help us to follow the voice of the Good Shepherd. I would encourage you to seek moments of silence, even as your daily routine changes dramatically over the next few months. Maybe you have a lighter routine than during the year, but don’t abandon it outright. Christ is speaking this summer: in silence, in prayer, in Scripture, and in the sacraments. Make room to hear Him.
Very poignant and inspiring. Helpful concrete things to do to keep us active and growing in our faith