CHAT WITH MARY
Father Patrick Peyton, the 6ft.4in. Irish ex-miner who has set out to bring the Family Rosary into the homes of American Catholics with the help of Hollywood, looks like a mischievous, overgrown altar boy. Yet a few years ago, while he was studying for the priesthood, he became tubercular.
He was in an advanced condition; coughing blood. Since it was impossible to collapse the lung, it was decided to remove part of his ribs.
An old priest visited him in hospital. “Why don’t you ask Our Lady to cure you?” he suggested.
“I have,” said Father Peyton, “and I think this operation is her way of doing it.”
“Nonsense,” said the old priest. “She can do better than breaking your back to cure you. She’s a woman, and she likes to be talked to. Talk to her, man; talk to her!”
Father Peyton talked to her that night, with the result that there was no operation, and now in gratitude to Mary he is devoting his life to the Family Rosary.
Here is a pleasant way to meditate upon the Mysteries of the Rosary. It will mean a much slower saying of the beads, with many a pause to chat with her about the mystery in an artless, childlike way, and then, go on. It is far better to recite one or two decades a day and three on Saturdays, in this way, than to say five decades mechanically or too fast.
To stop every now and then to chat with Mary about the mystery contemplated is to share her innermost thoughts. It will help to increase our love for Mary if we meet her often for a chat within the Rosary. Through that intimate chat we share her feelings and know her thoughts and imagine ourselves kneeling at her side as we ask her to pray for us now and at the hour of our death.
