Fr. Jeffrey Kirby: The Shame of the Cowardly Shepherds (Has the White Flag of Surrender Been Raised by Bishops?)

Ultimate Clericalism: Not What You Think, by Dr. Jeff Mirus

November 8, 2023

Daily Scripture Readings and Meditation: The True Cost of Discipleship

November 8, 2023

*Image: The Faithless Shepherd by Pieter Brueghel the Younger, early 17th century [Aberdeen Art Gallery, Aberdeen, Scotland]

By Fr. Jeffrey Kirby, The Catholic Thing, July 30, 2023

Father Jeffrey Kirby, STD, is a moral theologian and the Pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Indian Land, South Carolina. He is the host of the daily devotional, The Morning Offering with Father Kirby. Father Kirby has written several books, including Sanctify Them in Truth: How the Church’s Social Doctrine Address the Issues of Our Time.

There is a spiritual battle going on within the fallen heart of humanity. We have been created by and for God. Our soul naturally longs for him and the things that surround him. Our fallenness, however, desires the passing things of “the flesh,” the disordered love for pleasure, comfort, and power. The battle rages within us.

The battle reflects the two roads described by the Lord Jesus, one leading to eternal life and the other to perdition. (Matthew 7:13-14) It’s the tension behind the way of the Spirit and the way of the flesh described in many places by Saint Paul. It lies behind Saint Augustine’s two cities, Saint Ignatius of Loyola’s two standards, and – more recently – Pope Saint John Paul II’s two cultures. The battle is real, tangible, and observable. …

Continue reading >>>>