Hearing a voice

Jesus simply states in this Gospel from St. John that “my sheep hear my voice, and they follow me.” These words are to strengthen us as we move into spring and to be willing to stop and listen to the voice of Jesus in prayer.

We are to notice the new life all about us and the great Easter Message of Peace, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice in it.” This is the time to deepen our relationship with the Lord.

Our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles has Paul and Barnabas speaking to crowds in the synagogue of Antioch, saying that Jesus came to bring salvation to all. The final book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, tells us that the Lamb shepherds all people to a place of life and joy. This lamb is Jesus, the lamb slain and risen for us.

The first voice that most of us heard daily was that of our mother's, there to get us up, give us direction, breakfast, love and send us with loving arms on our way that day. Compare our mother, grandmothers, aunts and all the women who have spoken and guided us to the Risen Lord, that we are to hear in this Easter season. Then we give special prayer and thanks today, to these women through the Risen Lord. Most of us were blessed, and we pray for those not so fortunate, that they may this day in a special way know that loving voice and leadership of Jesus for them.

This Mother's Day observance began in 1914 as a civic holiday. It is a day, when we Catholics often observe the crowning of Mary; she who led the Son of God and was with Him till the end, to truly lead Him to be the Good Shepherd! Hence, we pray that the inner peace and love of Mary may touch us and all women on this Mother's Day.

In honor of both the Good Shepherd and our mothers, let us try during this week to follow these three lessons.

1. Look at a problem but don't linger over it. Pray or ask for positive thoughts or directions to learn from the problem.

2. Keep a determined positive attitude. Few problems or issues deserve to set us back and make us negative and angry at ourselves and others.

3. Turn to the Good Shepherd or ask Mom. Darkness will never overcome the light. Remember the light at the end of the tunnel.

At the dawn of a new day, at the end of a sudden spring storm there is always light, and often that light is our Mother. This is the promise of Easter, in both the risen Lord as we hear his voice, and the challenge of living Easter joy and hope, in thanksgiving and love, for the women who have been like mothers to us.

Remember when Murphy fell from a high scaffold and lost his life?

The foreman at the construction site was puzzling and lingering over the formal papers to be filled out for the undertaker, government, doctor and insurance on the details of this casualty.

One line in particular stumped the foreman: a section headed, “REMARKS”.

The foreman wrote that he made none.

So, listen more to God and Mom and don't worry about your REMARKS.