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‘It is the work of the Catholic home to be a credible witness of faith in service of the Church through hospitality,’ writes Emily Malloy. L to R: A lovely table and a patriotic pie. (photo: Emily Malloy photos)
Laughter and music filled every inch of our house the weekend we moved in. It was a gathering for visiting missionaries during their two-week door-to-door ministry. The delightful sounds arose from 60 people, both parishioners and religious: the Sister Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará and seminarians from the Institute of the Incarnate Word. Prayer, song, food and friendship marked the evening. I am hard-pressed to conceive of a better way to have spent the first weekend in our new home. In retrospect, St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans comes to mind: “Contribute to the needs of the holy ones; exercise hospitality” (Romans 12:13). That night made a lasting impression of the home’s ability to foster Catholic culture. It is the work of the Catholic home to be a credible witness of faith in service of the Church through hospitality.
The word “hospitality” has its etymological beginnings in the Middle Ages, from the Latin hospitalitem (meaning “friendliness to guests”). This “friendliness” is evident throughout salvation history and especially within the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles. Jesus’ ministry often depended upon the hospitality of others. Within the Scriptures are a myriad of moments in which Christ instructed over a shared table and meal. Even the beginning of Christ’s earthly life came to be through the hospitality of Our Lady, continuing in the Visitation, and in her reception of the shepherds and Magi. The seeding of the Church was rooted in the friendliness toward the apostles. For centuries, there has been a relationship between hospitality and the Church, perhaps one of the greatest examples being the reception of pilgrims by the Desert Fathers. Hospitality is an extension of the Church, namely, what occurs at the conclusion of the Mass as the faithful are sent to transmit the faith.
Continued below.
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Laughter and music filled every inch of our house the weekend we moved in. It was a gathering for visiting missionaries during their two-week door-to-door ministry. The delightful sounds arose from 60 people, both parishioners and religious: the Sister Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará and seminarians from the Institute of the Incarnate Word. Prayer, song, food and friendship marked the evening. I am hard-pressed to conceive of a better way to have spent the first weekend in our new home. In retrospect, St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans comes to mind: “Contribute to the needs of the holy ones; exercise hospitality” (Romans 12:13). That night made a lasting impression of the home’s ability to foster Catholic culture. It is the work of the Catholic home to be a credible witness of faith in service of the Church through hospitality.
The word “hospitality” has its etymological beginnings in the Middle Ages, from the Latin hospitalitem (meaning “friendliness to guests”). This “friendliness” is evident throughout salvation history and especially within the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles. Jesus’ ministry often depended upon the hospitality of others. Within the Scriptures are a myriad of moments in which Christ instructed over a shared table and meal. Even the beginning of Christ’s earthly life came to be through the hospitality of Our Lady, continuing in the Visitation, and in her reception of the shepherds and Magi. The seeding of the Church was rooted in the friendliness toward the apostles. For centuries, there has been a relationship between hospitality and the Church, perhaps one of the greatest examples being the reception of pilgrims by the Desert Fathers. Hospitality is an extension of the Church, namely, what occurs at the conclusion of the Mass as the faithful are sent to transmit the faith.
Continued below.
Hospitality: The Work of the Catholic Home
All that is required is an invitation.
