"THE WAR PRAYER"

I came across an excerpt of Mark Twain's "The War Prayer" while reading Lewis H. Latham's Essay entitled "The Road to Babylon". According to Latham, "The War Prayer" was written by Twain in 1905 as his protest to the American Occupation of the Philippines. (I promise to read more of Twain).

"Objecting to the fraudulent piety of a statesmen who don't know what they are saying, Twain wrote a story, 'The War Prayer,' in which and 'aged stranger' enters a church where the congregation has been listening to an heroic sermon about the glory to be won in the battle by young patriots armed with the love of God. Motioning the startled minister to stand aside , the aged stranger improvises a bitter peroration that makes the true meaning of the prayer."

This "prayer" has become more meaningful as President Bush and his allies are bent on going to war with Iraq. I suggest you also read Latham's "The Road to Babylon" and Conrado de Quiros' February 19 column at the Philippine Daily Inquirer, entitled " Cost" Here's the "prayer":

O Lord of God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated lands in rags and hunger and thirst, sports the fun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for refuge of the grave and denied it -- for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the source of love, and who is the ver-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset an seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen.