We are born with two incurable diseases, life, from which we die, and hope, which says maybe death isn't the end.

The seminaries must face the fact that they are not turning out well-trained professional clergy. They must realize that preaching is creative work and that some element of creativity should be required as a condition for ordination.

Angels represent God's personal care for each one of us.

The highest love of all finds its fulfillment not in what it keeps, but in what it gives.

My songs will pass and be forgotten. What counts, however, is that I sang them.

I write easily, let's put it that way. And in a novel particularly, the characters take over. And they tell me what to say and they tell me what they're doing. And I'm a third of the way into a novel and then I just let the characters finish it for me.

I wouldn't say the world is my parish, but my readers are my parish. And especially the readers that write to me. They're my parish. And it's a responsibility that I enjoy.