no doubt assuming that a male wearing a necktie was his doctor.

I took a deep breath and assured him I was his chaplain, not his doctor.

Arming himself again with a limited vocabulary, he fired another volley aimed at convincing me that he didn't care whether I was the pope; he wanted his drugs.

I nodded and left the room to relay his message to the nurse.

"Did you tell him that he shouldn't talk to a chaplain that way?" she asked.

My forthcoming answer seemed to shock her nearly as much as the patient's language.

"No. I think his language represents a kind of prayer."

"Prayer?" she asked, with a look that said she was questioning my sobriety.

I took her stance as invitation to say more. In the next few minutes, I sharedlike beating upon the chest of God, but "※ We beat on His chest from within the circle of His arms."

I came back to see the man a few hours later and found him apologetic for his language, but thankful that his nurse had heard his "prayer."

[ Norris Burkes is a syndicated columnist, national speaker and author. He also serves as an Air National Guard chaplain. E-mail him at ask@thechaplain.net. ]