How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"He and I were both Catholics, so we used to go to mass together. He used to spend such a time in the confessional, I used to wonder what he had to say, because he never did anything wrong; never quite; at least, he never got punished. Perhaps he was just being charming through the grille." (1.2.38)
Anthony has little or no understanding of Catholicism as Sebastian understands it and as Charles will come to understand it by the end of the novel.
Quote #2
Often, almost daily, since I had known Sebastian, some chance word in his conversation had reminded me that he was a Catholic, but I took it as a foible, like his Teddy-bear. We never discussed the matter until on the second Sunday at Brideshead, when Father Phipps had left us and we sat in the colonnade with the papers, he surprised me by saying: "Oh dear, it's very difficult being a Catholic." (1.4.50)
Sebastian struggles with Catholicism because he takes it so seriously. Charles, who finds the whole thing (at this point in his flashback) to be somewhat ridiculous, can’t understand this.
Quote #3
"I mean about Christmas and the star and the three kings and the ox and the ass."
"Oh yes, I believe that. It's a lovely idea."
"But you can't believe things because they're a lovely idea."
"But I do. That's how I believe." (1.4.63-66)
Sebastian is the ultimate aesthete – even his religious beliefs are based on beauty.