It shows how the boy confuses his religious zeal with his feelings of romantic love.
Explanation:
In this excerpt, we learn about how a boy reacts when he feels romantic love for his friend's sister. The boy feels passionate and has an intense desire for the girl. We can assume this is a new feeling for him based on the confusion it causes him. Because of this confusion, the boy mixes these feelings with other that have caused him to feel passionate before. We learn that these are religious feelings. Therefore, in the mind of the child, the intensity and reverence he feels for religious rituals are similar to the feelings he has for the girl.
