Pope Regina Coeli: God's voice brings true peace

By Vatican News

On this the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Pope Francis delved into the Gospel of the day which is dedicated to Jesus the Good Shepherd.

Speaking during the Regina Coeli, the Pope recalled that the reading says that, “the sheep hear His voice, as He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out” (Jn 10: 3).

Pope emphasized that “The Lord calls us by name, He calls us because He loves us. But, the Gospel then tells us, there are other voices, not to be followed: those of strangers, thieves and brigands who want to harm to the sheep.”

Voices of good and evil

“These different voices resonate within us”, said the Pope.  “There is God’s voice, which speaks kindly to the conscience, and there is the tempting voice that leads to evil.”

Pope Francis underlined the importance of be able to distinguish “God’s inspiration from the insinuation of the evil one.”

He pointed out that “one can learn to discern these two voices. They speak two different languages, that is, they have opposite ways of knocking on the door of our hearts.”

“God’s voice never forces us: God proposes Himself, He does not impose Himself. Instead, the evil voice seduces, assails, forces: it arouses dazzling illusions, emotions that are tempting, but transient”, the Pope said.

He noted that, the voice of the enemy distracts us from the present and wants us to focus on fears of the future or sadness about the past.

The voice of true peace

The Pope continued by saying that “God’s voice, instead, never promises cheap joy. It invites us to go beyond our ego to find that true good, peace.”

In the end, emphasized Pope Francis, “God’s voice and the tempter’s speak in different “surroundings”. The enemy prefers darkness, falsehood, and gossip; the Lord loves sunlight, truth, and sincere transparency.”

Before the recitation of the Regina Coeli, the Pope invited the faithful to ask for the grace to recognise and follow the voice of the Good Shepherd “who brings us out of the enclosures of selfishness and leads us to the pastures of true freedom.”