"Dwelling upon a sheepfold secure within, and feeding on green pastures, the Lord underscores a stark contrast. On the one hand, he reminds us that thieves and robbers enter not through the gate, but "climb over elsewhere." The Gospel, found in John chapter 10, warns these strangers come "only to steal and slaughter and destroy" and are known by their call in a voice unknown to the flock and failure to call the sheep by name. On the other hand, the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd. The sheep hear the shepherd's voice and follow him "because they recognize his voice" when he calls them by name and walks ahead of them. The Lord then firmly identifies himself: "Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. ... I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly." 
ThiMichael Weights identification is ultimately a question for us: Do I actually believe the Lord? Indeed, do I trust that he is the way that I have life and have it more abundantly? Though an initially nice image, the Lord's reminder that all others are thieves and robbers whose only aim is to steal, slaughter, and destroy renders the question one of supreme and even mortal importance. How we respond is truly a matter of life and death.
One of the most important gifts a priest may impart is the Lord's voice to his sheep. These men themselves heard the voice of the Good Shepherd and were led through the gate. The men among us ordained to the priesthood have abandoned all else in life upon hearing the Lord's voice to cultivate intimacy with him. This intimacy allows them to speak with his voice so others may hear and know him; when the priest preaches, he simply echoes what he heard the Lord speak. In this manner we may trust that indeed the Lord is the way simply since the priest himself – through his Spirit-filled preaching, radical life and sacrificial work – is a tangible witness to, and irrefutable proof of, the reality of the Lord's presence among his flock. 
Our wonderful diocese is a rapidly growing flock that longs to hear its Shepherd's voice. Many of those among us are like sheep who have been running from the voices of thieves and robbers they do not recognize, but they do not know where – or to whom – they are running for rest. They long to enter through the gate but know not where it is. They seek good shepherds who may speak with the voice of the Lord; in other words, they seek priests who may speak in the voice of the one they heard and recognized. 
Are you one of these men? Prayerfully consider this Sunday the possibility that the Lord whose voice you recognize is calling you to speak on his behalf so others may receive what you have been given.