The voice of the Lord is the voice of the Shepherd calling his own by name. These hear his voice and answer him. They know him and he knows them. The voice of the Lord is the voice of a Father to his child, correcting but not condemning. Or the voice of the Mother who wants to caress the child even when it is wayward. The voice of the Lord is the voice of the lover calling to the beloved.

He calls us in order to share life with us, to share fellowship, to share a meal, Eucharist, to share intimacy, calling us to holiness.

We have to acknowledge that as God calls us by name to open our hearts to him, another voice calls us to remain closed to the Lord. The voice of the evil one is not the voice of Truth but an angel , disguised as an angel of light to deceive us and to misdirect us and to block any positive response to the Lord's voice. For to respond positively to the Lord would mean to close our ears more tightly to the voice of the deceiver and father of lies.

He speaks half truths to us; he says that we are unworthy and no good and unlovable; He makes us feel that we are not capable of responding to the Lord. he says we have time.(To be continued)