Laurence Freeman is a Benedictine monk at the Monastery of Monte Oliveto Maggiore and director of The World Community for Christian Meditation; he is profiled in our Living Spiritual Teachers Project.
Faith takes place as we move in unity with others. It is about taking action and not just thinking or talking about change. The spiritually active person grows in faith by practicing love, kindness, forgiveness, and compassion. Freeman describes the stages of faith as purgation, illumination, and union. Meditation is presented as a means of deepening faith:
"It forms but transcends belief-systems. It is about personal self-giving in a commitment of trust, perseverance, self-transcendence. It opens to spiritual vision. It is the matrix of love. St Irenaeus said the beginning is faith, the end is love; and the union of the two is God. Faith is active in love."
Freeman concludes that we may be entering a new era in which unity is respected and faith is renewed through silence, stillness, and simplicity — all benefits of the spiritual practice of meditation. First Sight offers a fresh perspective on the sources of transformation of Christian faith.
