Catholics would attend the mass, bring offerings, show sorrow, do penance which might involve self-punishment or compensatory good works—until God became gracious; the church and its clergy mediated the transaction.
The handsome wooden door from the original Bouley down the block is back, the bakery half of the space has become a gracious white plaster dining room, and a nonworking antique French fireplace has replaced the stone oven.
But she has become a gracious loser through the years, and she handled the defeat with dignity, delivering a pitch-perfect speech at the awards ceremony in which she congratulated Azarenka for her victory and said she should "cherish it for as long as you can".
As the concert ended, Beyoncé had the audience sing while she became a gracious celebrity, strolling the stage and pointing to individual fans.
Ms. Rioja was an austere commanding presence in her "Soleá." But only a few moments later, in "Follias," she became a gracious, smiling and sophisticated woman whose castanets chattered like clever conversationalists.
Once Eliza gets the hang of upper-class British pronunciation in "The Rain in Spain" and feels comfortable in gorgeous gowns (the work of Jose M. Rivera, the costume designer), Ms. Wills becomes a gracious Eliza, with a warm vulnerability peeking through her polished surface.
If, however, you are willing to wait 10 seconds, until their public carapaces have melted, they will become the most gracious, accommodating people on earth".
They did not always appreciate that they had to become open and gracious to receiving help from others, although they expressed that they knew this was true.
You should volunteer because you really feel like making a difference, and you will see how much more gracious you become when you see all of the challenges that other people had to face to be where they are.
But in recent years, the practice has become a whole lot less gracious.
