“True hospitality consists of giving the best of yourself to your guests.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

On this feast day of the Three Kings, I find myself reflecting upon the notions of journey and hospitality. Throughout my morning walk, I thought about the values of patience and persistence as we live through the tenth month of our experience of this pandemic. In terms of hospitality, I find irony in my belief that the most hospitable act we can make on the part of others is to actually keep our distance…a notion that would typically run counter to how I would experience or host hospitality.

On a Catholic School Matters podcast that I heard yesterday during my workout, the guest spoke about the importance of hospitality in our schools. In a typical environment, he described how hospitality could be measured by how visitors would be greeted upon their arrival on campus. It reminded me of the school I used to lead, where we taught students to “look each guest in the eye, shake with a firm handshake, and speak audibly.” These instructions were meant to not only instill confidence in the young people, but also to make visitors feel known, valued and loved.

A sense of belonging is to so critical to one’s self-worth. I invite each of us to consider ways by which we are promoting a sense of belonging at home, at work, and throughout our school communities. Especially during these strained times, I feel this commitment to a renewed sense of hospitality is all the more important.

These concluding words from Saint John Neumann (whose feast day was celebrated yesterday) remind us of our God-given self worth. Blessings on your week ahead!

Everyone who breathes, high and low, educated and ignorant, young and old, man and woman, has a mission, has a work. We are not sent into this world for nothing; we are not born at random; we are not here, that we may go to bed at night, and get up in the morning, toil for our bread, eat and drink, laugh and joke, sin when we have a mind, and reform when we are tired of sinning, rear a family and die. God sees every one of us; God creates every soul, . . . for a purpose. As Christ has His work, we too have ours; as Christ rejoiced to do His work, we must rejoice in ours also.