Laurence Freeman, OSB

When we see hypocrisy—the enemy of integrity—we are cautious. If we condemn it—as Jesus and the great teachers did—we expose ourselves to attack.

A good new practice to highlight, even at this midway point in the Lenten period, is silence. Silence is the greatest of teachers.

We cannot pursue success, acceptance, and acclaim as authentic goals of life, and be real. In meditation we score no goals but we win the match.

There is, as we all know, personal sin. We all know our faults—or suspect them.

Experience is a stronger persuader than argument, and we act well to the degree that we see clearly.

The ecological dream is to produce new energy by reprocessing all waste.

We live continuously with a chasm between the haves and the have-nots, the healthy and the sick, the smart and the dull, the gorgeous and the ugly, the slim and the fat, the lucky and the cursed. It’s what we mean by “the world.”