Hospitality entails much more than a simple greeting or an offer of food or drink. Hospitality is a heartfelt attitude that welcomes others and allows them to come as they are. According to Henri Nouwen, hospitality is creating a welcoming environment for strangers to become friends rather than enemies.

“Hospitality, therefore, means primarily the creation of a free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy. Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place. . . Hospitality is not a subtle invitation to adopt the lifestyle of the host, but the gift of a chance for the guest to find his own.”

Hospitality involves inviting people into our space, which includes our lives, minds, emotions, world, and efforts. Hospitality is how we get out of ourselves. It represents the first step toward breaking down the world’s borders. Hospitality is how we transform a biased world, one heart at a time (Joan Chittister).

Racism will exist until you and I begin to accept different races. There will be conflict until you and I start taking the enemy in. There will be classism until you and I start incorporating the other elements of society into our own worlds, lifestyles, parties, and neighbourhoods.

The Benedictine Rule is a tonic for human separation. Benedict welcomes the poor and the pilgrim, the young and the aged, the wealthy and the impoverished, members of our own faith community and passers-by. Every guest is treated with the same kindness, care, decency, and attention.

The difficulty is to provide companionship without confining the guest and independence without abandoning them. “The real host is the one who offers that space where we do not have to be afraid and where we can listen to our own inner voices and find our own personal way of being human.” It entails creating an environment in which new life can emerge and everyone’s talents can flourish. To do so, we must be at home with ourselves and be willing to let go of our fear of change. We must be willing to be vulnerable and adapt to new ways of doing things. We must let go of our narcissism and extreme individualism.

According to Gerald M. Fagin (SJ), hospitality entails being open to what our guests and strangers provide us. We receive a revelation from the visitor that has the potential to improve and enrich our lives, as well as introduce us to new ideas and ways of thinking.

Hospitality entails being sensitive to people and their needs, even anticipating them. Gula notes, “The key to hospitality is ‘paying attention.'” When we pay attention, we free ourselves from self-preoccupation. To be hospitable, we must get out of ourselves and become interested in others.

Often, our lack of hospitality stems from a failure to observe and acknowledge others and their needs—both those of the greater world and those closest to us. Jesus exemplifies that attentiveness. He observed the sick, the excluded, the hungry, and those who went by. God continues to pay attention. As we reflect on Jesus’ ministry, we are called to become more mindful of others in order to continue on Jesus’ ministry.