Birds of a Feather Flock Together -- Especially Vultures!

Where the carcass lies, there
the vultures gather. (Matt 24:28)

There's a spot here in Woodstock near the local park where several large trees with spreading branches seem to attract legions of turkey vultures. They roost in the trees in a creepy Halloween-like setting. I always shiver a bit when we pass by and see them roosting there.

On the other hand, the vultures have an important role to play in cleaning up the dead things: the road kill, the sick and injured animals that die in the woods...they are, in a way, nature's morticians.

Sadly, however, we have our own vultures in the Church who feed, not on the dead, but on the living. Instead of cleaning up after dead things, their chosen role appears to be taking living faith, poisoning it and feeding on the dying souls of the scandalized.