I want to begin with a true but incredible story. Back in September 1996 a man named Edouardo Sierra, a citizen of Spain, was on a business trip to Sweden. He was driving through the Swedish countryside when he came upon a Catholic church. He decided to stop in for a few moments to say a prayer. The church was empty except for a coffin with a body lying at rest inside it. Edouardo decided to take a few moments to stop and pray for the man who lay in the coffin. Then he signed a book of remembrance left by the coffin. Apart from his signature, the book was empty.

Some weeks later, Edouardo received a telephone call telling him he was a millionaire. The body was that of a Swedish businessman, with no close relatives, who had left his fortune “to whoever prays for my soul first.” (1)

This m…