“She wanted to confess and be forgiven. She wanted her soul to be clean, but it was impossible. To be forgiven, she would have to repent. Repent, as in resolve not to sin again. Fred prayed every da...”

“He told himself he would pretend nothing was wrong, but he couldnt fool himself. He could forgive himself for having done something wrong, even something so immoral, so reckless. Harder to live wit...”

“How often in our lives have we withheld the truth from someone were supposed to love? We justify it by telling ourselves were doing them some kindness, when in reality, were just being selfish. We ...”

“Starla, when you work in a restaurant, its not called pie with ice cream on top. Its called pie a la mode. Try saying it one time.A-la-mo, she pronounced.Theres a good girl, Darius said, grinning. ...”

“Not only have we not done the good things that God really wants us to do, but in fact, weve done just the opposite. Weve all done a lot of sinful things that were not very proud of. The good news i...”

“The sun, the moon, the ocean these were all the children of Ouranos and Gaia. They had hundreds more, and they were the grandparents of the gods and of human beings. Ouranos didnt make any of this ...”

“every time God forgives us, God is saying that God's own rules do not matter as much as the relationship that God wants to create with us.”

“I've never heard anyone say "I wish I hadn't forgiven.”

“We are told that people stay in love because of chemistry, or because they remain intrigued with each other, because of many kindnesses, because of luck. But part of it has got to be forgiveness an...”

“We are on strike, we, the men of the mind.We are on strike against self-immolation. We are on strike against the creed of unearned rewards and unrewarded duties. We are on strike against the dogma ...”

“If only it were possible to love without injury fidelity isnt enough: I had been faithful to Anne and yet I had injured her. The hurt is in the act of possession: we are too small in mind and body...”

“She looks at the swings, and I can see shes imagining what theyd look like if the kids werent there. The guilt of this holds her down momentarily. It appears to be there constantly. Never far away,...”