To know someone you must become like them - said another way

Here is something I read today that hits smack dab on a theme I talk to my parish about as often as possible:

"To try to discover the meaning of the commandments through study and reading without actually living in accordance with them is like mistaking the shadow of something for its reality. It is only by participating in the truth that you can share in the meaning of truth."

St. Gregory of Sinai.