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The inner word

18 Jul 2010 - Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

A big part of my ministry is one of hospitality. How comfortable am I with being present to the people of my community? Is my style of preaching welcoming or off-putting? What are some of the reasons I may hold back from other people or remain aloof? Do I let busyness and duty get in the way of being hospitable? How can I show by example that the Lord welcomes who we are?

hospitality welcome preaching

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18 Jul 2010 - Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

While hospitality figures in both the passages from Genesis and Luke this weekend, the readings have to do with more: the prediction of the birth of Isaac and the importance of paying attention to the truly important things Christ teaches. But, as the readings show, hospitality has a key role to play in the story of faith. In fact, to be hospitable is an act of faith. It's also a part of everyday life: among families, in homes when guests visit, at work with employees or clients, at restaurants or other places of business, in encounters with strangers of all kinds, and at church. The more welcome and respected people feel, the more a part of things they will be. To invite someone into your community is to invite their participation. This week ask your congregation to think about where and how they practice hospitality-and do everything you can be the welcoming host in church.

hospitality Issac welcome

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Homily stories

18 Jul 2010 - Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Hospitality: Ireland is called the land of a thousand welcomes. People won't hesitate to offer you a friendly smile or go out of their way to set you on the right road during your travels. Their directions may not get you where you want to go, but you'll have a grand time being lost. Jesus, too, has a way of derailing our best-laid plans. Enjoy his unexpected routes. Anxiety: Counter-anxiety measures: Act as if someone more powerful than you is looking out for your well-being; act as if other people genuinely love you; act as if someone understands your pain; act as if you have everything you need to be happy.

welcome hospitality Anxiety

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25 Dec 2011 - Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas), Cycle B

The people filing into your church this season are pilgrims along the way. Some haven't crossed your threshold in a long time--for months, maybe even years. Give them a prodigal welcome. Offer them the opportunity to taste and see the goodness of the Lord. Make your liturgies and other gatherings as joyous as you can. Choose songs everyone knows, keep your message simple, and instill hope and a desire to know more--and ultimately be more.

Christmas welcome invitation

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Homily stories

29 Jul 2018 - Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

We walked into the large tent that was set up for us, visiting Jordan from North America. It seemed as if the entire congregation were there, dressed in their best outfits. All of them sat formally in their seats in a big circle around the perimeter of the tent. There were a lot of nods and smiles. No one spoke except for the occasional marhaba, “Welcome.” I had heard this from the children at the school we visited the day before. They practiced their English and kept saying, “You are welcome.” It took me a while to realize that they meant, simply, “Welcome—you are welcome here.” Children came around offering us coffee; very black and thick coffee in small paper cups. They offered us cookies—little plastic packs of cookies, two cookies to a pack. There was no feast, no elaborate welcome, just a simple welcome and these cookies. Perhaps for them it was a huge gesture of welcome, sharing with us not just what they had, but more than what they had. I remember years ago, being maybe 12 or 13 years old, it was my turn to bring the snacks to our youth group meeting. All the other kids always brought baked goods. I guess their moms had time to bake. My mom went to the store and bought a couple of packs of sandwich cookies—my favorites, but not what I wanted to share with the group. I was embarrassed. I preferred not sharing anything to sharing that. I didn’t go to the youth meeting that day. I walked around the neighborhood instead. Now, back in that small town in Jordan, I could see that whatever is shared with others is enough. We offer what we have, we are not the ones to do the multiplying. Yet without our little barley loaves, our little plastic-wrapped cookies, no one gets to share anything. And no one feels welcome.

Authors Deacon Pedro Guevara-Mann

welcome sharing

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Homily stories

01 Sep 2019 - Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

It was planned to be a party for a child turning 5 and all her kindergarten friends to remember forever. The theme was “The Circus.” During a school day lunch period a clown arrived with invitations that looked like the program of a circus. The children grabbed them with the instructions to look for their name. Lucas found his name under a picture of a lion tamer. Emma’s was under a trapeze artist’s and William’s under the ring master’s. Children pointed and laughed and squealed even if they couldn’t read the date and time—except for three empty-handed children. Their expressions went from expectation to confusion to tears. The teacher called the mother, sure there was a mistake and were told her child doesn’t play with Mohammed, Pedro, or Ashanti. Word got around. Many parents were appalled, saying they would not take their children either if all were not welcome. Others defended the mother’s right to choose. No matter what, the deed was done. Still, the school had to act. A new rule was created. No invitations distributed on school property. It was a tacit statement that while the school cannot tell you what to do on your own time, the classroom will be where everybody is welcome, reflecting the gospel. The theme of the next class party was “We are all one family.” Polish sausage, tamales, fried chicken, pasta, and couscous were served. Games were played. All the children laughed. Everyone had a good time. Everyone.

Authors Father Dominic Grassi

inclusion welcome

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16 Aug 2020 - Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

My father told me the story about his being an immigrant teenager desperately looking for work on the East Coast with his two brothers. Employment office after employment office had signs that said “Italians need not apply” or “No Italians wanted.” To find work, they had to go to Pennsylvania and take the dangerous job of working in the coal mines, work that nobody else wanted. Perhaps that is why when he opened his grocery store, he was tolerant of all who wanted to work for him or shop there. He always said that the money people spend was green, not black or white or brown. He was pragmatic, if anything. So, too, the church is welcoming, or should be, of all who choose to believe its message. Paul makes that clear as he brought the Gentiles into the church. Isaiah, in the first reading states that God’s house “is called a house of prayer for all people.” So we gather, all of us, with our differences, but united in one faith and ask for God’s help in all that we do. It is that faith and our need for God’s help that joins us together. All are wanted.

Authors Father Dominic Grassi

welcome differences

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Exploring the word

17 Jul 2022 - Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

How do you invite the God of All That Is into your home? If you were expecting God later this afternoon, what would you do to prepare? Plumping a few sofa pillows and running a comb through your hair doesn’t seem quite adequate. Nor does heating up those little finger-food quiches and making a fresh pot of coffee. One feels sure that more is required: vacuuming, dusting, maybe rearranging the potted plants? Throwing surface clutter and wandering shoes into the nearest closet? Is there time to plant a few annuals up the walkway to add a little color? How do you prepare for the coming of the Lord who can raise valleys and lower mountains when it suits the divine will to do so? The task of preparing a welcome for God is daunting. Yet according to the prophets from Isaiah to John the Baptist, it’s also required; and if the Bible record is any indication, it’s usually required when you least expect it. God doesn’t call ahead to make an appointment, or even buzz you on your cell while still a few blocks away. You could be taking a nap at home on a summer’s day like Abraham, or “at the office” in the middle of your workday like Moses, Peter, James, and John. You might be too young to be thinking of such things, like David, Jeremiah, or Mary of Nazareth; or too old, like Sarah, Zechariah, and countless others. You may have already made up your mind about where God is clearly not going to materialize like Joseph, betrothed of Mary, or Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus did. Be forewarned. The unlikely, unsuitable, and inconvenient hour is the one God likes best. The virtue of hospitality Back home, when we used the word hospitality, it implied the fresh-coffee and pillow-plumping variety. Very rarely it also entailed setting an extra place for supper or keeping someone overnight, but my parents weren’t too keen on either of those ideas. Guests were allowed to sit on our sofa for an hour or two, but they weren’t really invited into the bosom of the family’s inner sanctum. That’s why people used to have guest parlors. That room was maintained, not to welcome people, but frankly to keep them out of the real parts of the house where we lived and moved and had our being. This is obviously not the Hebrew meaning of hospitality, energetically demonstrated by Abraham at Mamre. He leaped up, bowed low with his creaky old bones, and begged three strangers to bless his tent with their presence. He had them bathed and rested, and while this was happening he and Sarah whipped together something a few shades larger than Thanksgiving dinner. When your meal starts with a live steer, it will take a while to get underway. But no trouble seemed too great to honor these unexpected guests. And these strangers have become known as the angels who came “unawares,” the ones we must always be vigilant for. They have been immortalized in Andrei Rublev’s icon and are synonymous, in many minds, with the Trinity. They ask for nothing, but we are wise to give them the best that we have. Because their blessing is the greatest blessing, and if there is any chance of obtaining it, it is worth the price of the steer. Hospitality in Bethany Others will practice this extreme approach to hospitality. Lot will insist on taking these same strangers from the town square to the safety of his home. Jethro will invite Moses to his table, under his roof, and to select from among his daughters in short order. Rahab will offer the spies of Israel, not only the immediate protection of her home but also the chance to overtake Jericho as a whole. Salvation history seems divided between those who take hospitality seriously, and those who miss the opportunity to have heaven under their roofs. When, in the reception of Jesus, Martha of Bethany knocks herself out with the burdens of much serving, she is exercising the best of her religion and tradition. Maybe she’s wrestling a steer to the ground back there in the kitchen, or maybe Jesus did have the courtesy to send word ahead that he was coming through Bethany on his way to Jerusalem. But we can be sure this woman is not going to be outdone in the hospitality department when it comes to entertaining the one she believes is the Messiah, the Son of God, the one they’ve all been waiting for. And yet history will not put her on the list with Abraham, Lot, Jethro, and Rahab as world-class hosts and hostesses. In fact, the last word on the subject of Martha always seems to be that she was deficient in some way—in the most important way! Martha, by every measure, has fulfilled the biblical virtue of hospitality wildly well. The problem is not Martha. The problem is that the standard has changed. When God is your guest Mary of Nazareth was unique, and the doctrines about her underscore this. But in her historically unprecedented reception of the divine, the standard for welcoming God shifted seismically. Mary of Bethany, we might say, embodied this new understanding by welcoming Jesus not simply into her home but into her being. She sat at his feet like a disciple, and she took the word of life into heart, mind, soul, and strength. A nice dinner is always a nice idea, but in the presence of Jesus, there is food to eat of which we may not suspect. Since the time of the Incarnation, hospitality has assumed an intimate and interior meaning. Our teaching on the indwelling Holy Spirit confirms this. From now on, when God is your guest, it is not enough to open your door. You have to open your life. Applying the word Don’t put Martha down Please don’t hurt Martha by contrasting her in a negative light with her sister. The sisters of Bethany together reveal the full complement of what biblical hospitality means. Martha did it the traditional way, and it’s still a wonderful thing to bring someone into your home and treat him or her like an honored guest. Don’t you like when it happens to you? What Mary’s response demonstrates is the vital part of what Christian hospitality also entails. We should take people into our homes, and God above all into our hearts. When God is at home in your heart, you don’t even have to fluff the pillows. Related scripture links Prepare the way: Isa. 40:3-5; Luke 3:4; John 1:23 Hospitality code: Exod. 23:9; Lev. 19:33-34; Deut. 10:17-19; Isa. 58:7; Job 31:31-32 Examples of hospitality: Gen. 19:1-11 (Lot); Exod. 2:20-22 (Jethro/Reuel); Josh. 2:1-22 (Rahab); Tob. 2:1-2 (Tobit) Martha’s faith: John 11:27 Heart, mind, soul, and strength: Deut. 6:4-5; Luke 10:27 Food to eat of which you do not know: John 4:32 Catechism links Hospitality: CCC 2571 Incarnation: CCC 464-470 Indwelling Spirit: CCC 797-798

Authors Alice Camille

preparing a welcome virtue of hospitality martha and mary

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31 Mar 2024 - Solemnity of the Resurrection of the Lord (Easter Sunday), Cycle B

On the occasion of his 50th birthday, a man’s spouse decided to host a surprise celebration. The spouse booked a private dining room and sent invitations to select friends. No one knew who else was invited and all were told to keep it secret. Nearing the day of the event as people were making plans, good friends who were not invited finally got wind of the big party. Some were surprised but shrugged it off; others were shocked, confused, and deeply hurt. The decision seemed arbitrary and intentionally mean-spirited, and it caused rifts in relationships that took a long time to heal. As the spouse would surely come to learn, excluding people from social—or financial, political, or spiritual access—brings heartache to all involved. That is what makes the story of Easter so exceedingly joyful. No one is excluded from the table of the Lord. All are welcome. Indeed, the Lord has sent each of us a personal invitation through his death and Resurrection to feel the embrace of God’s love and enter into the glory of everlasting life!

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

exclusion welcome

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25 Aug 2024 - Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

On our 10th wedding anniversary, some friends gave my wife and me a welcome mat that had the words from today’s first reading on it: "As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." When we first got this gift, I was too embarrassed to put it on display at our front door. I didn’t want to look like a “holy roller” or a hypocrite. I knew how often I fell short of that stated intention. There were plenty of times I was pleased to just serve myself. Then I realized that the ones who would most often see the words on that mat were my family and me. We were the ones who traipsed in and out that door several times a day. And so for years, until it was worn beyond usefulness, we were greeted morning and evening, and often several times a day with the reminder that it was our stated intention to serve the Lord. And when people would come to our house, that saying nudged me to be a better, more gracious host, welcoming both visitors and strangers not only on my own behalf, but in the name of the Lord. It was a subtle message, often overlooked, but one that offered a steady reminder of the daily need to decide who I align myself with and what I hope to do in my life and in my home.

Authors Tom McGrath

welcome mat

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