“But because truly being here is so much; because everything here apparently needs us, this fleeting world, which in some strange way keeps calling to us. Us, the most fleeting of all.”

“Here and there even in our world, and now and then, even in ourselves, we catch glimpeses of a New Creation, which, fleeting as those glipmses are apt to be, give us hope both for this life and for whatever life may await us later on.”

“So here is where I am so far, and this is all I know: the world is a big sardine can, and some of us are too agreeable for words. Most of us, really.”

“But love, sooner or later, forces us out of time...of all that we feel and do, all the virtues and all the sins, love alone crowds us at last over the edge of the world. For love is always more than a little strange here...It is in the world, but is not altogether of it. It is of eternity. It takes us there when it most holds us here.”

“I think we are all here on this earth to do certain things, fulfill certain missions in this life. We are each unique and have an important role. Some of us are here for a short while because what we need to accomplish doesn’t involve much time, while others of us have a purpose that requires us to remain on earth longer.”

“This is one reason people need to believe in God—because we want someone to know us, truly, all the way through, even the worst of us.”