The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-06-20
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A PAIR OF BROWN BEADS.

A tired droop in the little figure that
had been standing at his chair re-
called him from his reverie. But al
though he still held the beads he had
utterly forgotten her errand.
Poor Margaret. You are very tired.
Let me carry you upstairs"
mo, daddy. I haven't said my
prayers yet. You say them too, on
mothers beads"
mot tonight, dear. Some other time
will do quite as we'll Perhaps to-
morrow night Hannah can"
"But tonight's beads can't be said
tomorrow night, daddy dear. We must
recite them tonight. We can offer
them for mother to get well. If we
waited until tomorrow to ask it, there
would be long time wasted. If we
don't ask and ask for what we want,
God may think we don't care much
for it, so we must keep on asking, you
see. And then if we pray to Our
Blessed Mother"-he didn't vince this
time-"she will ask for us, and He
never refuses anything she asks. You
ask ner TOO, QadQy.
"She wouldn't hear me, Margaret.
She doesn't know me. And" with a
newly acquired sense of humility as
he looked at his wifes beads. Il don't
know how these are used"
ooh, that's easy, else I wouldn't
know how" responded the eager little
missionary. And she taught him when
to say the Our Father and when the
Hail Mary. She had to teach him the
latter. He knew the Lords Prayer.
In fact, his Prayer was longer than
that actually given to the disciples by
Our Lord himself, and when under
Margaret's instruction, he dropped the
unnecessary and unauthorized ap-
pendage, he got along fairly well. The
Hail Mary was new to him. Perhaps
that was the reason he paid more
attention to it's recitation, although
his progress through the first decade
was a stumbling and hesitating one.
He had reluctantly granted Mar
garet's request that he say the beads
with her, and his desire now to meet
her expectations was sufficient incen-
tive to essay the second and to con-
centrate his mind on the words. 1t
was easier after that and he found
that he was repeating, with an earnest
ness that surprised himself:
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray
for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen"
Nov, and at the hour of our
death" "That would be at all time
he reflected. els it possible, that she,
the Mother of God, does really pray for
US? Does she, because we ask it, in
tercede with her Son for us? It seems
incredible. Yet, what proof have ]
that she does not? And there must,
of course, be many proofs that she
has already done so, for otherwise SO
many thousands would not believe in
her power I wish could believe.
Pray for us now, when we need it SO
much, and at the hour of our death,
when we need it still more!
IF she. does hear and heed these
prayers, then, perhaps, as Margaret
says, and as Helen unquestionably be-
lieves, Mary will intercede for us in
the obtaining of other favors. Per
haps that is what the Pray for us
now really means" The five decades
were completed and Mark Gaylord, in
a calmer frame of mind, carried his
little daughter to her room, and when
she was safely in bed and had kissed
him goodnight" she said:
Mother will be so glad / didn't have
to miss any of my prayers tonight,
and she'll be gladder to know that it
was you that said them with me.
Maybe when she gets well we can say
them all together. That's what they
do in Marian's home. Her daddy says
the first half, and her mother and the