requisite absolution

...

-"If we keep giving our food away, we're going to starve.

-I know. But how can we refuse?

-We can't fulfil our mission if we're dead.

-But we are nuns, after all. We must help the needy, and leave it to God to decide when it's time for us to die.

-I've never heard you talk like that before.

-My father hated people who preached about morality. We're all good when it suits us, he used to say: that doesn't count. It's when you want so badly to do something wrong - when you're about to make a fortune from a dishonest deal, or kiss the lovely lips of your neighbour's wife, or tell a lie to get yourself out of terrible trouble - that's when you need the rules. Your integrity is like a sword, he used to say: you shouldn't wave it until you're about to put it to the test. Not that he knew anything about swords..."