Walking transparently ...

We like to make a distinction between our private and public lives and say, "Whatever I do in my private life is nobody else's business."  But anyone trying to live a spiritual life will soon discover that the most personal is the most universal, the most hidden is the most public, and the most solitary is the most communal.  What we live in the most intimate places of our beings is not just for us but for all people.  That is why our inner lives are lives for others.  That is why our solitude is a gift to our community, and that is why our most secret thoughts affect our common life.

Jesus says, "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." (Matthew 5: 14-15).  The most inner light is a light for the world.  Let's not have "double lives"; let us allow what we live in private to be known in public.