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"Crystal Singer" by Anne McCaffrey. It's the most plausible premise I've ever seen that a highly futuristic society would use human labour for excavation.

You could potentially lift from it. Norm too, because he has a digging chapter.

Dirk B. wrote:

Here's what I ended up with. A bit of a mix of everyone's advice. A full quote of Psalm 140 would put even Catholics to sleep, so I kept just the first few verses to remind a Catholic/Christian reader. I suspect I'll lose most non-Christian readers with the free chapter on Kindle (three prayers in the first scene). Obviously, the first draft is Catholic-heavy. I may scale it back eventually.

Romano’s heart pounded and he trembled. He knelt and prayed one of King David’s psalms for protection of the orphanage. “Deliver us, O Lord, from evildoers; protect us from those who are violent, who plan evil things…” The psalm’s lengthy verses calmed Romano. He finished with, “Amen.”

My thanks to everyone for their input. Any further suggestions are welcome.

Deliver me, O Lord, from evildoers;
    protect me from those who are violent,
2 who plan evil things in their minds
    and stir up wars continually.
3 They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,
    and under their lips is the venom of vipers.

...   yeah calming.   All this fuss, and you could have just had the priest say: "God help us, please."  Stripping the content and context should send you straight to hell.

Romano’s heart pounded and he trembled. He knelt and prayed one of King David’s psalms for protection of the orphanage. “Deliver us, O Lord, from evildoers; protect us from those who are violent, who plan evil things…” The psalm’s lengthy verses calmed Romano. He finished with, “Amen.”

Romano’s heart pounded and he trembled. He kneeled, crossed himself, and prayed King David’s Psalm 140, beginning with, “Deliver us, O Lord, from evildoers; protect us from those who are violent, who plan evil things in their minds and stir up wars continually,” and ending with, “Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall live in your presence. Amen.”

Dirk. B. wrote:

On a related note, someone in the forums pointed out that most (all?) modern Bibles are copyrighted and some charge royalties. Some  book publishers shy away from certain Bibles for just that reason. I may have to write a few letters to Bible publishers before settling on a final version. One of them (can't remember which) allows limited quoting (e.g. 500 short quotes). My preferred source of Bible quotes is the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition. Say that three times really quickly.

How about quoting directly from King James bible? That one shouldn't be copyrighted, should it?

Kiss

Gacela

As Romano turned the final corner, a shadowy figure surrounded by swirling fog came out of his office and hastened for the exit.”
“You there. Stop!” Romano ran down the hallway to catch the intruder, but whoever it was had disappeared. The only thing that remained was fog and ice-cold air, both of which dissipated slowly. Romano’s heart pounded.

He kneeled and crossed himself. “Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; May God rebuke him, I humbly pray; And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.”

Romano rose and entered his office to see what the intruder might have been after. Everything looked as he had left it except that the perpetual adoration schedule was missing — the one that showed which boys were assigned to be in the chapel and at what times. Romano dialed 113 for the Polizia di Stato. He wouldn’t mention the fog and cold air, but one or more of the boys might be at risk.

As Romano turned the final corner, he thought he saw a shadowy figure surrounded by swirling fog walking out of his office and down the hall. “You there. Stop!” The figure turned the corner. Romano ran down the hallway to look, but the figure had disappeared. All that remained was the fog and ice cold air, both of which dissipated quickly. Romano’s heart pounded. He crossed himself and said, “The majesty of Christ commands thee…”

Romano entered his office to see what the intruder might have been after. Everything looked as he had left it except that the perpetual adoration schedule was missing — the one that showed which boys were assigned to be in the chapel and at what times. Romano dialed 113 for the Polizia di Stato. He wouldn’t mention the fog and cold air, but one or more of the boys might be at risk.