 |
| The Good Shepherd |
In his lecture on the Voice of the Good Shepherd, Reverend Ronald Rolheiser talked about hearing God's voice in expected and unexpected places. Shepherds in the time of Our Lord pastured their flocks together in one fold at night and in the morning they separated their sheep from those of the other shepherds by calling them out by name. The sheep who heard the voice of their shepherd and followed him were safe but those who did not were likely to be slaughtered that day by whomever they followed. Rolheiser reflected on how in his own childhood he internalized the voice of his parents and that internal voice was confirmed by the media of the day, his pastor, his teachers and later in the seminary he learned to use that voice in teaching and preaching others. Today children often have conflicting parental voices and the media presents even more disruption, the voice of the pastor is just one in an array of discordant voices. By the time a child grows to adulthood in our culture today, it is a real challenge to find an internal voice that is a voice of trusted authority and young people lack the ability to build a positive sense of authentic self. Reverend Rolheiser went on to describe some of the false voices that distract young adults from hearing the voice of the good shepherd and the danger that places them in.
