For centuries the church has confronted the human community with role models of greatness. We call them saints when what we really often mean to say is 'icon,' 'star,' 'hero,' ones so possessed by an internal vision of divine goodness that they give us a glimpse of the face of God in the center of the human. They give us a taste of the possibilities of greatness in ourselves.

It is not our job to work miracles, but it is our task to try.

The purpose of leadership is not to make the present bearable. The purpose of leadership is to make the future possible.

Anger is not bad. Anger can be a very positive thing, the thing that moves us beyond the acceptance of evil.

Prophets are so dangerous because they cry in season and out of season, politely and impolitely, loud and long.

Compassion is the ability to understand how difficult it is for people to be the best of what they want to be at all times.

Hospitality is the key to new ideas, new friends, new possibilities. What we take into our lives changes us. Without new people and new ideas, we are imprisoned inside ourselves.