Teaser Paragraph of the Weekend

A little wordy, but I kind of like it:

When someone like Christoph Hahn, a devout man his whole life, receives a message that he is certain is from God, then he falls to his knees and thanks God for the generosity and grace that He has shown by deigning to communicate with His unworthy servant. And this reaction of grateful prayer is automatic and unquestioning – even if that message is that the recipient is now in hell. Christoph did not bother to debate whether God hears the prayers of those in hell. He did not bother to consider whether a soul in hell has anything for which to be grateful. And he certainly did not meditate on the paradox that someone in hell would probably be incapable of gratitude toward or communication with God, so how could he even be praying in the first place? No, all Christoph could do was pray in the way every devout person prays at some points in his or her life – with the terror and hope of a child who is convinced his parents are angry with him, and deservedly so, and have every right not to relent in their anger. And Christoph continued in this kind of prayer, whether on his knees or walking about with upraised hands, every day until this day, the first Friday in April.