The Burr in the Burgh

As a parish pastor, I never "feel" more like a shepherd than when a member of my flock is dying.

It is a holy and solemn vocation to be able to give comfort to the dying man and his family from the Word of God at times when all other helpers fail.

Y'know, if I put up a sign in the front yard saying, "The Antidote for Death - Free - Inquire Within," or a full page ad in USA Today that announced,"New Discovery - Fountain of Youth Is Real - Phone 555-xxxx," people would be pounding on my door. The phone would never stop ringing.

But isn't that precisely what Christ's Holy Church does present to the world? The antidote to death. The source of eternal health. People will chase every bizarre promise. They will spare no effort or expense to achieve immortality by the craziest means. We live in strange days when the thing which gives real abundant life is scorned and all that brings death is embraced.