Jesus is the good shepherd. When he left this earth, he desired that we his sheep would still be able to hear his voice. Actually, to be compared to sheep is not so flattering. Sheep are not very smart and are prone to getting lost and hurt on their own. We definitely need to hear the shepherd’s voice. This is why Jesus us left us his Church. He left us shepherds and he uses their voice to be his voice. For 2000 years, the Catholic Church has faithfully handed on everything Jesus asked his first appointed shepherds to do.
Today, we desperately need to learn to hear this voice. There are many voices of “strangers” that we are all too eager to listen to. Jesus continues to speak clearly through the voice of the Church. We hear him in the teaching authority exercised by the successors of Peter and the apostles. We also hear him in the powerful and merciful words of the sacraments. So don’t be embarrassed to be a sheep. There’s nothing wrong with admitting that we are like sheep, provided that we know the voice of our good shepherd and will follow him wherever he leads.