John had a vision of a great multitude, “which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue.  They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes... These are the ones who have survived the great time of distress: they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”  These men and women will be the real survivors!  Their recognition will not come from playing a game for a million dollars.  These are the ones who spend their lives in God’s will, living in the Father’s hand.  Will you be among them?  Would you want to be? 

            John had a vision of what it will be like in heaven.  There will be people from every nation.  Apparently, place of origin will mean very little.  Our final destination will be all we care about.  Citizens of heaven will come from every race.  Do you think you will be able to tell someone’s race in heaven?  Does it make a big difference to you?  Do you think it matters to God?   If God chose to make many kinds of people in His own likeness, are you the one to tell Him that He was wrong?  Do you think you will speak the language of heaven? What will the official language of heaven be? 

            Today John’s gospel speaks of Jesus our good shepherd.  Jesus said that his sheep will recognize his voice and they will follow him.  He will give them eternal life and no one can take them out of his hand.  This sounds like the place where we want to be, in the hand of Jesus.  What is required is to hear his voice and follow him.  Can we really hear the voice of the Lord over the din of our world?  Where can we go to hear the voice of the Lord?

            The Bible is the first place to search for the Word of the Lord.  Jesus speaks to his people through the proclamation of the Word.  Get out that bible and make Bible reading a regular part of your day.  In order to recognize his voice you must become familiar with his Word.  Purchase a Catholic Bible Dictionary.  It will help you understand what you read.  Join a Bible study group and discover the depths of the scriptures.

            Find the Lord in his Church!  Every Lord’s Day the people of God gather to celebrate Eucharist.  From the days of the first disciples, this is how they came to know the Lord Jesus, in the breaking of the bread.  Don’t miss a single opportunity to do this in memory of him.  “When we eat this bread and drink this cup we proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes in glory.”

            We find Christ in our personal prayer as well.  Only when we silence our own words and thoughts can we hear the Lord’s voice speak within our hearts.  Another wonderful place to encounter the Lord is in the service of his neediest people.  Whenever we visit the sick or the imprisoned, teach the young or the handicapped, serve the hungry or the helpless, we enter the immediate presence of the Lord.  Whatever you did to the least of my brother and sisters you did for me.

            To be among that great multitude in John’s vision, we need to recognize the voice of our good shepherd and follow him right into his Father’s kingdom.