“When Silas said Gabriel was a priest, I assumed he meant to a real congregation, not the caretaker of an empty building threatening to send the entire street of people to meet Jesus literally at any moment, and not just emotionally.”

“We are literally in the heart of Jesus," he said. "I thought we were in a church basement, but we are literally in the heart of Jesus.""Someone should tell Jesus," I said. "I mean, it's gotta be dangerous, storing children with cancer in your heart.""I would tell Him myself," Augustus said, "but unfortunately I am literally stuck inside of His heart, so He won't be able to hear me.”

“I wondered if there were other restless people asking the question with me: What if Jesus meant the stuff he said?.”

“When the president during the campaign said he was against nation building, I didn't realize he meant our nation.”

“Jesus was not sent here to teach the people to build magnificent churches and temples amidst the cold wretched huts and dismal hovels. He came to make the human heart a temple, and the soul an altar, and the mind a priest.”

“They had just showed up, Amatis had said. Which meant Simon had spent the entire night at Isabelle's. She stared at him. He didn't look any different.”