We were created with an orientation toward God, and so actions that direct us toward God accord with the imperatives of our nature. When we try to live moral lives after the example of Christ, and open our minds and hearts to prayer, we are not simply doing something “religious”; we are fulfilling the most fundamental requirement of our humanity. By God’s gift we can turn away from the intangible and immediate, transcend the attractions of sense and image, and stretch forth into the infinite see of eternity. We can add a new dimension to our experience. ~Michael Casey, Toward God: The Ancient Wisdom of Western Prayer