We never understand what we're praying, and God, in His mercy, does not answer our prayers according to our understanding, but according to His wisdom.

Usually when we do something to corrupt our lives, it's usually something to fulfill an ache that we have.

We never understand what we're praying, and God, in His mercy, does not answer our prayers according to our understanding, but according to His wisdom.

...I think there's only one [thing] that anybody teaches, and this is character. And I think that whether you are teaching history, math, or biology, or music, what you are really doing is, you are helping to shape the character of that person who is your student... Music is such a wonderful teaching tool, because while you are developing musical skills, that student can learn a lot about discipline [and] cooperation.

The Bible is not a book for the faint of heart -- it is a book full of all the greed and glory and violence and tenderness and sex and betrayal that befits mankind. It is not the collection of pretty little anecdotes mouthed by pious little church mice -- it does not so much nibble at our shoe leather as it cuts to the heart and splits the marrow from the bone. It does not give us answers fitted to our small-minded questions, but truth that goes beyond what we even know to ask.

Having grown up Protestant, I was unfamiliar with St. Francis. Then I watched the movie Brother Sun, Sister Moon... I just became fascinated with the character of St. Francis. What I saw in that movie was a man who had fallen in love with God, someone for whom God was everything.

If you’re really looking for answers, look past me. But if you’re interested in how I got to where I am, I will be as honest as possible.