Articles by Father Jeffrey Kirby | The Catholic Miscellany

Editor’s note: This is part of a series for Lent. The challenge to understand mercy and to forgive others can be daunting tasks. We are each called to be heralds of mercy, and yet this […]

Editor’s note: This is part of a series for Lent. The teachings of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church can sometimes seem abstract and removed from our lives. The questions surrounding human life, women’s issues, […]

Editor’s note: This is part of a series for Lent. Some years ago, an acquaintance told me that the Christian faith does not understand the horror of human trafficking or the enduring struggles of freed […]

Editor’s note: This is part of a series for Lent. Each of God’s holy ones stand with their own story. Imagine a friend of God who loses her son, suffers through her husband’s alcoholism, sees […]

Editor’s note: This is the first of an eight-part series of columns for Lent. The saints can be great friends to us. This assertion might be surprising to some people. It can seem that the […]

People are often curious or shocked when they encounter the Catholic custom of praying for the dead. They ask, “Why do you pray for them? They’re dead!” The question reflects some strongly held cultural beliefs […]

Editor’s Note: This column is part of a series on death and dying.Once, while in the parish, I was approached by a well-intentioned, non-Catholic funeral director who wanted certain things added to the funeral Mass. […]

Editor’s Note: This column is part of a series on death and dying.God’s judgment after our death is an uncomfortable subject. It’s a topic that many in our society just avoid or deny in some […]

Editor’s Note: This column is part of a series on dying. One summer, as a college student working at a department store, I was approached during my lunch break by a co-worker. He sat down […]

Editor’s Note: This is the second column in a series on dying. A few years ago, a friend told me that he wasn’t afraid of death. I was pretty impressed until he told me that […]