By: Fr. William Patrick Casey, C.P.M.
Years ago, someone sent me a copy of this poem that had been posted on the intemet.
I have no idea who wrote it. It was, I understand, written by a senior in one of our public high schools on the west coast. The writer is obviously a Christian. One can find a certain perverse humor in it only because it rings so pathetically true. It is yet another dismaying sign of the times we live in. It is called “The New American School Prayer.” It goes like this:
“Now I sit me down in school.
Where praying is against the rule .. .
For this great nation under God, Finds mention of Him very odd … .
If Scripture now the class recites It violates the Bill of Rights ………
And anytime my head I bow, Becomes a federal matter now …
The law is clear, the law is precise,
Prayer aloud is a crime of vice.
For praying in a public hall,
Might offend someone with no faith at all ……
In silence we must meditate,
The name of God banned by the state … .
We can cuss and swear and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks …………………
They’ve outlawed prayer, but first the Bible,
Quote the Good Book and you’ll be liable …..
To drugs they tell us “JUST SAY NO”
But sex? “BE SAFE AND THEN YOU GO”
Elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
But chastity is a distant dream …………………
They dare not teach us right from wrong,
They say those judgments don’t belong …………….
We get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, New Age and totem poles … .
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No Word of God can reach this crowd … .
It’s scary here, I must confess,
Where chaos reigns …the school a mess … .
SO LORD, THIS SILENT PLEA I MAKE, SHOULD I BE SHOT, MY SOUL PLEASE TAKE!”