Heb 13:1-8
Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.*
Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ So we can say with confidence,
‘The Lord is my helper;
I will not be afraid.
What can anyone do to me?’
Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Hospitality of the Heart
“Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” This section of Hebrews has real practical instructions. Hospitality is a rich concept; it is about inviting, providing for, reverencing, and being with. The early Jesuits described their service to Christ and their chosen endeavors as a way to “help souls.”
Helping souls demands a hospitality of the heart, possessing a sacred heart that reaches over my spiritual and physical borders. Perhaps you cannot be with those in prison, but your presence in prayer matters.
I like to tell my faculties and students to pay attention to who God has given you. In all of this, we must remember: you receive as much as you give. There is a mutuality in our hospitality and soul-tending, perhaps entertaining angels without knowing it.
—Rita Dollard O’Malley is associate provincial assistant for Ignatian Spirituality for the Midwest Jesuits.
Prayer
Richard Rohr reminds us, “We must not separate ourselves from the suffering of the world.” Help me Lord to open my heart, lead and direct my actions. You, Lord, are my helper; I will not be afraid.
—Rita Dollard O’Malley