THE PRAYING PARROT
                                                                                   Prayer

          The second thing we need to put into our image of Christ is prayer.

         You learn all about animals in school.  Can anyone tell me the name of an animal that can be taught to pray, p-r-a-y.  No, not the praying mantis.  You taught your dog to kneel up and pray… That’s good.  But here’s a hint.  What bird can be taught to pray?  The parrot… That’s it.

          A missionary in the South Sea Islands, after years of faithful service among the natives, received from them a token of their love for him.  The chief ordered the natives to go through the woods and bring back a rare kind of parrot.  The parrot was so rare that the search for it lasted a whole month.  When it was caught the chief came to the priest and said, “You have worked so hard among us for so many years, here is a small gift to show our love.  Here is the rarest bird on the islands.  Its plumage is beautiful and has great value.  But I must warn you, it can speak only one sentence.  Be careful because it will speak the first sentence you teach it.”  They brought in the parrot.  The missionary set it and the cage in the corner of his hut and knelt down, as was his evening custom, to say the Rosary.  After he got up he said, “Now I’ll teach the parrot that sentence.”  But it was too late.  The bird could already speak one sentence, and that was, “Hail Mary, full of grace.”  The missionary was surprised but very pleased.  He could not have thought of a better sentence.  Soon after that the missionary died.  Echoing in his ears from the corner of the room came the sentence, “Hail Mary, full of grace.”  The prayer was finished in heaven.

          When the next boat landed at the island, a sailor purchased the parrot.  He took it onto a ship and tried to teach it the things that sailors teach parrots.  All he could hear was, “Hail Mary, full of grace.”  The sailor was not a Catholic and could not understand the meaning of the words.  Together they sailed the seven seas until their travels brought them to Ireland.  The sailor passed a church and heard the priest saying the Rosary.  He could hear, “Hail Mary, full of grace,” followed by some words which he did not recognize.  He told the parrot to speak.  Yes, the words were the same.  After the service he went in and told the priest his story.  The priest explained the Rosary to him and gave him a pair of beads.  Now the man is a Catholic and he and the parrot pray together every night.

          That ought to teach us a lesson.  What is it?  Be kind to animals?  No.  Say the Hail Mary well… That’s it.  What will be your little task for this week?  Say your Hail Mary well, especially before you go to bed.  Then our Lady will watch over you during the night.  Be our Lady’s little parrots.  “Hail,” means “Hello.”  What would you say if our Lady appeared to you tonight?  If you are her little parrots, all you would to say would be “Hail Mary, full of grace.”
                                                                                                            ~"Heavenwords," Imprimatur 1941 ~

                                         "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice."

      Prince Rupert was once riding through the forest with his court. They had been out hunting all day and were returning home in the twilight. As they rode along they were very quiet. Suddenly the silence of the evening was broken by a man's voice lifted in song. The Prince stopped his court and listened. The voice of the singer was praising God's love and mercy. "Doubtless," said the Prince, "this is some good monk at his evening song. Let us go find him and pray with him." They followed the voice and it led into the cave. The Prince went to the door of the cave and then stopped in surprise. It was no monk at his vespers. It was no lucky soul pouring thanks to God. The beautiful melody in praise of God's love and mercy came from the lips of a leper-man stricken with a loathsome disease. The Prince was so impressed that he too began to sing the hymn and all his court with him. St. Theresa of Avila once said that a sad saint is no saint at all-and it is true. Saints are not gloomy people who are always singing blues. They are happy and cheerful souls full of laughter and joy. Those who live the strictest life on earth-Carmelite nuns and trappist monks are always the most cheerful souls on earth.  They remember St. Paul's advice, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice." In any group of children you will always find a sulky one, and you will always find a cheerful one. You will always find too that the cheerful child has a clear conscience, because joy is one of the gifts of the Holy Ghost. Try not to be like the sulky one but like the cheerful one. Once when a boy died, his friends asked that these words put over his grave, "It was easier to be good when he was with us," because he was so cheerful. He rejoiced in the Lord always, and even now is rejoicing with the Lord forever. Cheerfulness spreads and makes everyone happy. So as a special preparation for the coming season of Christmas this is the season of joy, make an effort during this week to be especially cheerful to everyone. Rejoicing in His coming to earth, we should welcome Him to a joyous world. If a leper in a cave can sing the praises of God, so can we. Rejoicing always in the Lord is the best way to have the Lord rejoice always in us. 
- Heirs of the Kingdom, Imprimatur 1949 -