The Holy Great Rulers Constantine (337) and Helen (330), Equals-to-the-Apostles
Galatians 1:11-19; John 10:1-8
Abstention from meat and foods that contain meat.
Read John 10:1-8
The world is a pretty noisy place. We are overwhelmed by the voices of mainstream media, social media, political voices, pop culture voices, angry voices, proud voices, and voices who have little or nothing to say at all. In such an environment are we discerning in who we listen to? Whose voice do we heed? As today’s Gospel tells us, we are to heed one voice, the voice of Christ the Good Shepherd. But what does this mean in practice?
To follow the voice of Christ means, at the most basic level, that we must strive to have a full and regular prayer life in which we can seek out the Lord’s voice. His voice can be found in our daily prayer, in our meditation with the Jesus Prayer, in our meditation with the Holy Scriptures, or perhaps in praying the liturgical hours of Matins and Vespers, or in silent attentiveness. The voice of God echoes powerfully in the Divine Liturgy and in the holy mystery of sacramental confession in which we must regularly and actively participate.
As we go about our daily lives in the world we must also seek His voice and how that divine voice is manifested in those who speak honestly; in those who seek to proclaim what is true; in those who do not put people down but raise them up; and, in those voices that speak of self-sacrificial love. These are the voices we must heed and follow. Everything else is just noise.