“I love this church, which greeted its centennial in 2010.” One Christian, baptised as an infant and who still abides in faith, told us these words. “The altar is also magnificent, isn’t it? When you enter the church, it gives you a feeling of loveliness.” He was raised strictly by a mother who piously kept the faith and never missed prayers, morning and night. At 5am the family would head for church, and at night after dinner they offered prayers at the family altar. At Easter and Christmas delicious foods abounded, and though there were no luxuries, meals were considered gifts received from God, and consumed with gratitude. And marriage, of course, had to be with a fellow Catholic. Now, however, unions with people of different faiths have become commonplace. “My wife is Buddhist, and her parents were quite against us, because in the old days interfaith marriage was a rare thing. Even so we stuck to our love, and now my wife has also become a Catholic and we live together. I’m very thankful for that.” Listening to his story, one feels that prayer is perhaps the expression of a grateful heart.