“All guests who
present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: I was a stranger and you welcomed me… Great
care and concern are to be shown in receiving poor people and pilgrims, because
in them more particularly Christ is received; our very awe of the rich guarantees
them special respect.”* As we celebrate the Feast of St. Benedict today, over
1500 years after the death of our patron, let us consider briefly the ministry
of hospitality in our lives now. 
Who is the
stranger, the poor, the pilgrim today - in our society, our city, our
neighborhood? How do we collectively and
individually welcome others? How do I
identify with the underserved, the neglected, the persecuted? How do I reverence the Divine in everyone? Each of us will answer in our own way, as our
circumstances vary. We may perceive a need
to widen our vision, stretch our borders, take a risk, read the Church’s social
encyclicals** or just listen with the ear of our heart… and respond.
Sr. Sharon
Portwood, OSB
*(RB1980 53: 1, 15) Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN
c 1981
**U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Social Justice
Encyclicals www.usccb.org
Dear Sister, thank you for reminding me of this, it must be the heart of true faith, most certainly for every Christian but also today we may say that any faith (which proclaims itself good) must practise this virtue. Mt 25.35 I was reading about Egypt and someone commented on how generous and welcoming the local people were (mostly Muslim) to the visiting stranger. Even people who were obviously poor. The truth we must not forget is that we practised the opposite of this virtue in our history. How can we be more Christian, more loving and compassionate, welcoming the people of another faith will all our heart, our neighbors in the world? To love them as they are? How can we truly seek world peace in such love, this difficult task we have today. God bless OSB, Happy Easter in a few days, amen
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