Thank you for this lovely story. I hadn't read it before.

As you know, I don't have a faith, but I've always respected those who do. However, in my mind (and please don't be offended by this), I've always thought there was a great chasm between faith and religion. I won't go into the details, because we would be here forever. The priest in your story, for me, represents what faith is, and is content to allow Illya to find his own way. Did any of that make any sense?