Thursday, May 03, 2007

I wrote a new song this week

Just wanted to share a new song - it's the product of some inspiration from looking at a hymnal I found in the pew at St. Anthony's a while back, along with some thoughts from the Holy Thursday liturgy where we hear about Judas year after year. Here it is:

Said Judas

Said Judas to Mary, “About that perfume –
It’s an extravagant waste, and you shouldn’t assume
that you’ll impress Jesus by filling the room
With the thick, heavy scent of expensive perfume…
True holy women, they think of the poor –
They keep to the background and don’t act like whores.
The Master’s saving the world – he doesn’t have time for just one.”
She stood back embarrassed, but Judas wasn't done.

Said Judas to Peter, “I know what you want -
to be right-hand man in the Kingdom of God.
Your “humble fisherman” act is a transparent fraud –
To condemn and control people – that’s what you really want…
You don’t understand what real people go through,
and I won’t be led by a coward like you.
Neither would the rest, if they’d seen what I’ve seen.”
Then Peter went out, and he wept bitterly.

Said Judas to the chief priests, “What can I say?
Jesus spoke of a Kingdom, like we had back in the day,
But he’s misused his power and made some bad plays –
And it’s looking like time for a full expose’...
And I just want my share of the credit, you know –
I think I deserve a little quid pro quo.
I’ll sell you my story for the going market rate.”
They shook on the deal, then Judas went out to celebrate.

Said Judas to Jesus in the garden that night,
“Dear Master, I’ve come to help you see the light.
Don’t look at me like that – you know that I’m right!
Just go with us now, and it’ll all be over by tomorrow night...
I realize my actions might be misunderstood
But you know that I love you – it’s for your own good.
You would have been a great king, how could you let it come to this?"
Then Jesus said, “Judas, you’ve betrayed me with your kiss.”

Said Judas to the children of God in that place,
“Beware as you contemplate my fall from grace –
You never can tell just when I’ll show my face.
You’ll never be rid of me, ‘cause you stand in my place...
You’ll hear me speak through your brother, or maybe see me in the mirror.
Whether your heart’s free with love, or shackled by fear,
it’ll scream who you are without making a sound.
Remember you’re headed my way, to a hole in the ground.”

- © KJL April 2007

Monday, April 23, 2007

Couldn't resist this

I saw this on some friends' blogs this morning and had to find out...

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Venerable Lady Kathleen the Sonorous of Londinium-le-Thames
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title


Very nice. Any and all tributes to secure my good graces will be now be accepted.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Assisted suicide debate rears its head again in California

Last month, California legislators once again introduced a bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide. This is a very bad idea, for reasons I previously described here.

The LA Times article speaks glowingly about the report published several weeks ago by Oregon's Department of Health and Human Services that ostensibly describes how the "Death with Dignity"/assisted suicide law is being used. (Click here to see the report, and here to read an Oregonian article covering its release.)

The DHS report is very short compared to the ones done initially in the '90s, when the law first went into effect - there's even less information and documentation than the (minimal) amount in the first ones. Nevertheless, here are some questions that come to mind:

First, the report states that "forty physicians wrote the 65 prescriptions." Hm. That means the docs who wrote them and the folks who took them don't map one-to-one; i.e., the prescriptions weren't written by each patient's regular doctor. This also means there were some physicians who wrote multiple lethal prescriptions. Are suicide-minded patients are starting to seek out doctors they've heard are sympathetic to the cause?

Further down: "Complications were reported in four patients during 2006; they all regurgitated some of the medication." What happened to them? Did they recover? Did they die of natural causes? Did they try suicide again? Did they "need help" to make sure they died? The report doesn't say.

And, "During 2006, 10 referrals were made to the Board of Medical Examiners (BME) for incorrectly completed reporting forms. The BME found no violations of “good faith compliance” with the Act..." What the ____ happened here? What sorts of errors were on these forms - incomplete/omitted information? Information that could shed some light on who did what in the patient's room on the day of death, perhaps? If medical records are legal documents (which they are), why was no one disciplined for poor medical recordkeeping? Are we playing a game of "don't ask, don't tell" here?

Whatever your opinion may be about physician-assisted suicide, you should realize the medical aspects of this stink to high heaven. And they attack the senses of the spirit, just like the stench of abortion.

For more information, visit the website of Physicians for Compassionate Care.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Pray for Stephen Colbert today


Just a quick note to encourage you all to send up a shout to Jesus on behalf of Stephen Colbert, host of "The Colbert Report" on Comedy Central.

He's discovered that he's today's pick in the 2007 list of Praying for the Worlds 365 Most Influential People: 5 Minutes a Day to Change Your World, published by Harvest House. On his show this week, he's been calling up other people listed in the book to ask if anything's happened to them as a result of being prayed for. Check out this clip of him talking to Candice Bergen...



For those of you who aren't familiar with his schtick, "The Colbert Report" is a fake news show on which Colbert does a send-up of the blustery pundit and interview style of Bill O'Reilly. The unique things about Colbert are:

1) He's a cradle Catholic and admits in interviews to being a true believer in the Church, though he doesn't support the Magisterium on the usual pelvic issues - par for the course for an American cradle Catholic, I suppose.

2) He retains some respect for God and the Church in his act. He was the host of the "God Stuff" segment on "The Daily Show" for a time and kept well clear of the line between ridiculing those who practice the faith in strange ways and the actual content of the faith.

3) He's amazingly fearless in his satire of the political scene. When I watched his speech to the national press in front of President Bush about a year ago, and watched the broad, open smile on the president's face fade as Bush realized he was being poked fun at, I thought the next scene we would see was Colbert's head rolling down the front steps of the White House. It was unbelievable - and though I didn't agree with all his points, I thought it was brilliant.

4) He's blisteringly funny.

In the Candice Bergen segment, he seems terrified of what's going to happen to him today. But that's a good thing, I think - it shows how much he believes in his heart that something will happen.

So, pray for him and his family today. Let's see what happens!