Listening to the Voice of the Shepherd

Today’s reflection is from Fr. Paul Morrissey, D. Min., an Augustinian friar priest who was one of the pioneers of gay ministry in the U.S. Catholic Church. He has authored many magazine articles and three books, including Why I Remain a Gay Catholic: A Spiritual-Sexual Journey (Paulist Press, June 2025). His webpage, TouchedbyGod.net, intends to foster a dialogue about the gift of sexuality.

The liturgical readings for today, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, can be found by clicking here.

Occasionally during a phone call, I am struck by a person’s voice. The timbre of the voice on the line can speak volumes to me.  Some voices are soothing, some grating. Do you ever notice your own voice, perhaps when speaking to a pet or a baby? We instinctually drop our voices down to meet the little creatures and not scare them. “Hi, little doggie…little baby.” Maybe we speak to a lover that way too…though not always. Sometimes in an argument, another voice shows itself: “You, you..!”

A person’s voice is at times a window into their soul, their heart.

“The Good Shepherd” of Sieger Koger” by Sarah Hornsby

In the scripture readings today, voices are a key to their message: Peter raised his voice in the assembly and proclaimed:

“Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 

And when they heard this message, in Peter’s raised voice, they were “cut to the heart.”  

Voices can soothe us and cut us to the heart. “Whose voices are you listening to today? Do you listen to podcasts? Journalists? Which ones? Do you listen to homilies on Sunday? What do these voices do to you? And how is your voice responding?  In the synodal listening sessions at the Vatican, did they hear voices from the LGBTQ community? Don’t be afraid to speak in your own authentic voice.

In the Gospel of John today, we hear the familiar story of Jesus as the Good Shepherd:

 “The sheep hear his voice…he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”  

Jesus compares these strangers to thieves and robbers, coming only “to steal and slaughter and destroy.” Who are these strangers today? And how can we recognize them by their voices? 

Some voices would lure us away from Jesus. I have followed some of these voices in my past into sexual craziness and other sins. I look back now and say, “Oh God, you have searched me out like a lost sheep.” I have realized the forgiveness that even precedes repentance. Thanks, Lord, for never giving up on me. 

Some voices in the Church would have LGBTQ people considered as unique sinners, and in a castigating voice they want to put us outside the gate. This must be resisted, not by returning insult for insult. Jesus shows us how to nonviolently challenge voices inside us and outside us that are unlike Jesus’ voice to us. 

Other voices out there are loud and demanding.  These are power voices, money voices, voices that want to mock and control. They are in both the political realm and the ecclesiastical realm. They can even be inside of us, a condemning voice that we have learned long ago. We must discern these voices and listen to our own truest voice as we respond. To some of them we need to say, gently but firmly, “shut up!” 

Have you ever heard Jesus’ voice? Remember Mary Magdalene on Easter morning? She saw a man, a stranger. She thought he was a gardener and passed him by. Then she heard, “Mary!” and turned around. Ohmygod! It is the resurrected Jesus! “Rabboni!” she cried out. What were their voices like that Easter morning?  Not power voices, not money voices, not thieves’ voices. Rather, the voices of love.  “Mary!”… “Rabboni!” Can you let Jesus call your name in love today? You can do it. He wants to.

What is Jesus’ voice saying to you today? Can you hear him call your name? It is Eastertide, Resurrection time. That person whom you passed by may not simply be the gardener…”Mary!” Listen to hear your name now in our Good Shepherd’s soothing voice. Then follow him– baaah…baaaaah –with joy because you are his beloved.  Alleluia!

—Fr. Paul Morrissey, OSA, April 26, 2026