Discerning Voices:

In St. John’s Gospel (3:22-30) we read, “The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice.” Do we recognize the voice of Jesus speaking even in people we don’t like, or who are different from us?

Insecurity – Faith: If we want to be in the “limelight” and seek praises from others, then our good deeds will be tainted with ulterior motives. John the Baptist kept his focus on serving God fully. Our ulterior motives are often the result of our insecurities. Pray for the grace to serve others more genuinely.

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We therefore grossly deceive ourselves in not allotting more time to the study of divine truths. It is not enough barely to believe them, and let our thoughts now and then glance upon them: That knowledge which shows us heaven will not bring us to the possession of it, and will deserve punishments, not rewards, if it remain slight, weak, and superficial. By serious and frequent meditation it must be concocted, digested, and turned into the nourishment of our affections, before it can be powerful and operative enough to change them, and produce the necessary fruit in our lives.

- Saint Apollinaris (died c.175)