At the front of the nave, to the right of the altar, was an alcove dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, so I went up to it, genuflected, knelt before her image, took my beads out of my pocket and began to pray. And along I went, through the five decades (which today, Saturday, involved the Joyful mysteries); glancing up now and then, closing my eyes now and then, looking at the carpet now and then, realizing now and then that I was distracted by some thought or other that had somehow taken hold in my mind, even though I was still forming the words, mentally, of the prayers that I knew by heart; and having to bring my attention, by an effort of will, back to whatever it was I’d been trying to dwell on.