I grew up on a farm. One of the unwritten rules is about gates; if you come to a gate that is closed and want to go thru it you make sure it is closed after you have passed to the other side. Of course that is so any livestock that may be enclosed by the gate do not escape. As I write this, I cannot think of any times that I made the mistake of leaving a gate open; I could be wrong.

As we go thru life, there are many times that we have changes as though we are going from one stage of life to another. Sometimes the change is fast and we can notice, like having a child for which we have responsibility, and sometimes the change is so slow that we do not notice, like getting older and finding out that we cannot move as fast as we once could. In any of these changes it does us good to follow the voice of our shepherd, that is the true shepherd who is the Son of God. We know the voice of our shepherd because he has presented himself in the Word that we read in Scripture. Peter, in the first reading tells the people to ‘not pay attention’ to the corrupt generation that was around them. In today’s world we still have that corrupt attitude that can pull us away from the voice of God. It does not matter how many times we go from one stage of life to another, how many gates we pass thru, we still need to remember the voice that will not lead us astray.

In my priesthood, every time that I have tried to ‘steer’ my own way, I have not always liked the path; however, when I allowed the Holy Spirit to guide the way, I have received many blessings. May we all allow the Lord to bless us as we listen to His voice.