January 15, 2011

Religious twits running loose in the world

When I lived in Manhattan, I was once a patient at St. Vincent's Hospital in the Village. While there, I saw an appalling thing. Even today I shudder to think of it.

There was a knock at my door one morning and a priest stuck his upper body into my room. Ugh. He had a rosary dangling from one hand and some sort of spooky religious "vestment" in the other. Ugh.  And he said, in a sweet voice:

"Would you like a prayer?" 

Ugh! It was like he was some kind of mad cigarette girl at an old-time nightclub, but marketing prayers instead of smokes. I looked at him with open disgust and said, in my best Bea Arthur voice, "No! Get out."

What is wrong with these people? They should hide in darkened churches and leave normal people alone. There are a lot of sick people in hospitals and not one of them is in need of a prayer.

"Would you like a prayer?" Ugh!

4 comments:

Anna Guess Pick said...

And probably when the priest left his church to make his 'do you need a prayer' rounds, he made sure the front door of the church was securely locked.

That's one of MY pet peeves, that church doors are not always open for people to enter if they are in need of a haven.

I would think god could find time to protect his own houses without need of locks.

writenow said...

You remind me that there are good priests, those who truly try to help people, and provide sanctuary.

Annie, have you ever seen "The Apostle"? It's one of my favorite movies and it's about a very religious preacher, played by Robert Duvall (who also directed). It is so heartwarming and it reminds me that there is such a thing as "good" religion. Mind you, it's still nonsense -- but it's kind and good-hearted.

Anna Guess Pick said...

I may have, but I will put it on my Netflix list. I like Robert Duvall.

In my childish ideals I always felt if you were in need of help you could run into a church or up to a policeman, now the churches are locked and we too often fear the policeman. It's a shame. I also thought when I was little I could run to a nun for help since they were so identifiable - alas I miss the old habits. lol

writenow said...

We tell children that if they're lost, they should look for an old woman and ask for her help. They don't say go find a priest or a policeman. Old women are the only reliable people on this Earth anymore. It's sad but true. It's also a good thing to remember to tell kids. I did it with ours. Churches, no; old ladies, yes.