"Jesus, the Lord, expects us to have the simplicity of a dove.
This means giving a straightforward opinion about things in the way
we honestly see them, without needless reservations . It also means doing things without any double -dealing or manipulation, our
intention being focused solely on God. Each of us, then, should take
care to behave always in this spirit of simplicity, remembering that
God likes to deal with the simple, and that he conceals the secrets
of heaven from the wise and prudent of this world and reveals them to
little ones. But while Christ recommends the simplicity of a dove he
tells us to have the prudence of a serpent as well. What he means is
that we should speak and behave with discretion. We ought, therefore,
to keep quiet about matters which should not be made know ,
especially if they are unsuitable or unlawful ... In actual practice
this virtue is about choosing the right way to do things. We should
make it a sacred principle, then, admitting of no exceptions, that
since we are working for God we will always choose God-related ways
for carrying out our work, and see and judge things from Christ 's
point of view and not from a worldly- wise one; and not according to
the feeble reasoning of our own mind either. That is how we can be
prudent as serpents and simple as doves." (CR II, 4-5)
