That is to say, I pray for you. And there's an intimacy in it. That's the truth.

I would advise you against defensiveness on priciple. it precludes the best eventualities along with the worst. At the most basic level it expresses a lack of faith.

Never, ever condescend to the reader. Assume you are writing for someone better and smarter than you are. This will protect you from conventionalism, faddishness, and cliché.

Salvation was universally considered to be much more becoming in women than in men.

Faith takes a great many forms, suited to a variety of sensibilities, and mine happens to suit me very well.

It all means more than I can tell you. So you must not judge what I know by what I find words for.

I listen to Bach a great deal. In general I like to listen to hymns and liturgical music.