Hospitality of the People of God

07-02-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi, V.C.

The stories in the First Reading and Gospel today remind us that in welcoming ministers and strangers into our homes, we inevitably welcome God. In the First Reading, the widow of Shunem and her husband welcomed the Prophet Elisha to their house. They were kind to him and provided for him without expecting any reward. Prophet Elisha, on the other hand, paid attention to their deepest need and prayed for them asking God to grant them a son. In the Gospel, Jesus reminds the people, “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.”

Throughout the ages, the Catholic Church has relied on the generosity of the faithful to thrive and carry out her mission of evangelization. Missionaries also share in the experiences of Prophet Elisha and Jesus’ disciples to go out to new and often unfamiliar places to preach the Good News of the Gospel while relying on the support of the people to care for their needs. The Scriptures today invite us to reflect on our active roles in supporting the missionary life of the Church. They challenge us to reflect on our ability to see something special about other people in need or in crisis, and confront our willingness to support them from within our families, our church, and in society. In addition, we are given an opportunity to consider our level of kindness toward strangers, how welcoming we are, how approachable we are, and our willingness to pay attention to the needs of people around us.

Hospitality was one of the key principles on which Saint Benedict founded his community. Saint Benedict insisted that no visitor should ever be turned away from his monastery. I am glad that we try our best to live out this same value here within our own St. Benedict parish community. Apart from welcoming everyone to our Masses, we also strive to serve many people who are in need through the various outreach ministries such as the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Knights of Columbus, Refugee Resettlement Ministry, among others. May God continue to provide for us as we strive to support the mission of the Church.