In the Center of His Will: The Safest Place on Earth

Transcript of A Shepherd's Voice: July 21, 2025

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Thank you for joining me for another episode of “A Shepherd’s Voice.”

Today I want to speak to your heart – not just your mind. I want to speak to the weariness, to the uncertainty, to the ache that many are feeling in these times. I want to speak to the place within you that longs for safety – not merely the safety of body, but the safety of soul.

There is only one such place. And it is not found in circumstance or comfort. It is found in the center of the will of God.

Let us anchor this message in sacred Scripture:

“And the world passeth away, and the concupiscence thereof: but he that doth the will of God, abideth forever” (I John 2:17).

Let us begin:

I. The Will of God is Not a Plan – It is a Person

Often we think of the will of God as a map, or a puzzle to decode. But God’s will is not a secret to unlock – it is a union to embrace. His will flows from who He is: all-wise, all-loving, all-holy.

Jesus Christ, in His earthly life, gave us the perfect model. In the Gospel of John, He declares:

“… My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, that I may perfect his work” (John 4:34).

And in the agony of the garden, when the weight of the Passion pressed upon Him, He said:

“Father, if thou wilt, remove this chalice from me: but yet not my will, but thine be done” (Luke 22:42).

This is the first truth: to be in God’s will is not always to be free from suffering – but it is to be one with Christ.

II. The Will of God is Our Sanctification

St. Paul writes with piercing clarity:

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (I Thessalonians 4:3).

The will of God is not first about our career, our possessions, or our comfort. It is about holiness. It is about becoming saints.

St. Alphonsus Liguori teaches:

“The greatest glory we can give to God is to do his will in everything” (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Uniformity with God’s Will, p. 6).

Not just in some things. Everything. The small, the unseen, the bitter, the joyful – all can be acts of holy obedience.

III. The Safest Place on Earth

Many seek safety in politics, in institutions, in wealth or medicine. But the saints knew better. St. Francis de Sales writes:

“The will of God is the most safe and secure path that anyone can follow” (St. Francis de Sales, Treatise on the Love of God, Book VIII, Ch. 10).

We often say, “God’s will is hard.” But in truth, it is rebellion that is hard. It is sin that brings torment. God’s will is not always easy – but it is peaceful.

St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina once said:

“The will of God is the paradise of the soul” (St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Letters, Vol. 3, 1949).

Even in pain – if you are in the will of God – you are in a hidden paradise.

IV. In the Will of God, All Things Work for Good

St. Paul writes:

“And we know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints” (Romans 8:28).

This does not mean every event is good. It means God can use every event for our good – if we love Him and seek His will.

St. Augustine said:

“Nothing, therefore, happens unless the Omnipotent wills it to happen: he either permits it to happen, or he brings it about himself” (St. Augustine, Enchiridion on Faith, Hope, and Charity, ch. 100).

Even persecution. Even loss. Even death.

V. Discerning the Will of God

You may ask, “But how do I know His will?” The answer lies in humility and fidelity.

We begin with Scripture, with the teachings of the Church, with prayer, and with obedience to our duties.

St. John Eudes writes:

“The will of God gives to all created things their existence, being, and life; and it is the rule and law of all their actions” (St. John Eudes, The Kingdom of Jesus, Part II, Ch. 1).

And Our Lord tells us:

“Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).

Seek Him, and His will becomes clear.

VI. Mary: The Yes That Changed the World

No human being ever surrendered more perfectly to God’s will than the Blessed Virgin Mary.

At the Annunciation, she said:

“Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38).

Pope St. Pius X declared:

“She consented to the immolation of her Son, so that mankind might be saved. Thus, she offered Him to the justice of God and, dying with Him in her heart, was pierced by the sword of sorrow” (Pope St. Pius X, Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum, Feb. 2, 1904).

Mary teaches us: to surrender is not weakness – it is power. It is how God enters the world.

VII. The Cross and the Will of God

God’s will led Christ to the Cross. It may lead us there too.

St. Louis-Marie de Montfort warns:

“Let us not be like those cowardly souls who do everything they can to avoid the Cross. The Cross is the surest path to Heaven” (St. Louis de Montfort, Letter to the Friends of the Cross, #15).

And Our Lord says:

“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

The will of God is often paved with sacrifice – but never without grace.

VIII. Final Words: Heaven Begins Here

To be in God’s will is to begin Heaven on earth. It is to rest in divine order. It is to be aligned with the infinite wisdom of the Creator.

St Catherine of Siena said:

“All the way to Heaven is Heaven, because Jesus said, ‘I am the way’” (St. Catherine of Siena, Letter T368, to Friar Raimondo of Capua).

Closing: A Prayer of Abandonment

Thank you for listening to this episode of “A Shepherd’s Voice.”

Stay faithful. Stay rooted. And stay in the center of His will – the safest place on earth.

Let us close with a Prayer of Abandonment which was inspired by the writings of Blessed Charles de Foucauld:

“Father, I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will. Whatever you may do, I thank you: I am ready for all, I accept all. Let only your will be done in me and in all your creatures –

I wish no more than this, O Lord. Into your hands I commend my soul: I offer it to you with all the love of my heart, for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself, to surrender myself into your hands without reserve, and with boundless confidence, for you are my Father” (Prayer of Abandonment).

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Bishop Joseph E. Strickland