Deck Of Cards - Wink Martindale

NARRATIVE:
During the North African campaign, a bunch of soldier boys had 
been on a long hike and they arrived in a little town called Casino. The 
next morning being Sunday, several of the boys went to Church. A sergeant 
commanded the boys in Church and after the Chaplain had read the prayer, 
the text was taken up next. Those of the boys who had a prayer book took 
them out, but this one boy had only a deck of cards, and so he spread 
them out. The Sergeant saw the cards and said, "Soldier, put away those 
cards." After the services was over, the soldier was taken prisoner and 
brought before the Provost Marshall.

The Marshall said, "Sergeant, why have you brought this man 
here?" "For playing cards in church, Sir." "And what have you to say for 
yourself, son?" "Much, Sir," replied the soldier. The Marshall said, "I 
hope so, for if not I shall punish you more than any man was ever 
punished." The soldier said, "Sir, I have been on the march for about six 
days. I have neither a Bible nor a prayer book, but I hope to satisfy 
you, Sir, with the purity of my intentions." And with that, the boy 
started his story:

"You see Sir, when I look at the  Ace,  it reminds me that there 
is but one God. And the  Deuce  reminds me that the Bible is divided into 
two parts, the Old and the New Testaments. When I see the  Trey,  I think 
of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And when I see the  Four,  I 
think of the four Evangelists who preached the Gospel; there was Matthew, 
Mark, Luke and John. And when I see the  Five,  it reminds me of the five 
wise virgins who trimmed their lamps; there were ten of them: five were 
wise and were saved, five were foolish and were shut out. When I see the 
Six,  it reminds me that in six days, God made this great heaven and 
earth. When I see the  Seven,  it reminds me that on the seventh day, God 
rested from His great work. And when I see the  Eight,  I think of the 
eight righteous persons God saved when He destroyed this earth; there was 
Noah, his wife, their sons and their wives. And when I see the  Nine,  I 
think of the lepers our Savior cleansed, and nine out of the ten didn't 
even thank Him. When I see the  Ten,  I think of the Ten Commandments God 
handed down to Moses on a table of stone. When I see the  King,  it 
reminds me that there is but one King of Heaven, God Almighty. And when I 
see the  Queen,  I think of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is Queen of 
Heaven. And the  Jack  or  Knave  is the Devil. When I count the number 
of spots on a deck of cards, I find 365, the number of days in a year. 
There are 52 cards, the number of weeks in a year. There are 4 suits, the 
number of weeks in a month. There are 12 picture cards, the number of 
months in a year. There are 13 tricks, the number of weeks in a quarter. 
So you see, Sir, my pack of cards serves me as a Bible, an Almanac and a 
Prayer Book."

"And friends, the story is true. I know, I was that soldier."