who subsequently, out of sheerest grace, saved us from our sin. Because of what God has done for us, we can call him ‘Father’ and address him in confident expectation of receiving even more gifts. Though we in no way merit such a status, we become, through prayer, the friends of God, capable of ‘conversing with him in spiritual affection’ and then returning to prayer with even greater boldness. There is a story told about an elderly nun who worked for many years in a Vatican office. Upon her retirement,