"In "Baptism," Katherine Vaz, a novelist and life-long swimmer, blends images of water, creation, and rebirth to evoke the eternal readiness of the soul to receive grace. Writing on Penance, Patricia Hampl recalls her earliest confessions, when tallying up a decent number of disobediences was a challenge. Whenever he finds himself in a city of strangers, Ron Hansen seeks out a local church where, in the Eucharistic rites of an early morning or noontime Mass, he is sustained by a sense of belonging, of home." "Writing from a wheelchair and knowing he would never walk again, Andre Dubus, who died in 1999, learned to embrace life's simplest pleasures as gifts: a breeze wafting through his window on a fine June day; a conversation with a friend; preparing a meal for his daughters." "These and other essays weave the evolution of the sacraments through the centuries with each author's unique personal history."--BOOK JACKET.