Dai­ly Reflec­tion
May 13, 2025

In today’s gospel from John, Jesus tells those want­i­ng an answer from him about whether he is Christ; they want a plain answer. Jesus’s response gives me pause. He says that his sheep hear his voice. That’s my pause. I know Jesus’s voice is there, but do I let that voice get drowned out by the noise that sur­rounds me? Do I let my own ego, the clam­or of wants and mod­ern dis­trac­tions muf­fle the sound of what I should be hear­ing from Jesus? Am I real­ly lis­ten­ing to what Jesus says? Do I fil­ter the mes­sage through what seems con­ve­nient at the moment? I will be a bet­ter per­son lat­er. Tomor­row. I don’t want to think about the hard choic­es. I want to take the easy road.

I know Jesus loves me and for­gives me. Do I do the same for my neigh­bor? My fam­i­ly? My col­leagues? Do my actions in my every­day life serve as an echo of what Jesus says? Are my inten­tions good but are my actu­al respons­es weak?  What can I do today to fil­ter out the cacoph­o­ny of temp­ta­tions and dis­trac­tions that keep me from hear­ing in my heart what God wants from me? How can I brush aside my ego, my desire to be in charge and sur­ren­der to God? How can I be still amid the clang­ing and bang­ing of what seems impor­tant to real­ly hear that voice of God?

I pray that I find that still­ness today, that I lis­ten for God’s voice and that voice rever­ber­ates in my actions and my life.