There is a story of a young girl who for weeks was trying to get the attention of her father. He would come home from work late, have dinner, then do some odd jobs around the house, and maybe relax a little in front of the TV. One day, the young girl asked her father how much money he earns at work. He thought it a bit strange, but knowing that she wouldn’t really understand the whole concept, he mentioned a random amount of $20 an hour. The next day she asked her mother for her pocket money, which was $10. As soon as her father came home from work she ran up to him and said “Daddy, I have $10. If I give it to you will come and play with me for half an hour?”
In an era which is marked by busy lifestyles, it is easy, at times, to forget about some of the things that are most important in our lives.
This year as our Core Value we are celebrating HOSPITALITY: Welcoming All.
We are challenged to look and act with depth when it comes to hospitality. Jesus was a great teacher when it came to helping us understand what hospitality means. St Brigid understood the message clearly and lived it. Pope Francis further adds insight to what true hospitality is all about.
Hospitality is about making others feel like they matter, and matter absolutely. It is about making the effort to spending intentional time with others. Listening to them. When we listen, we validate them and when they feel heard, they feel as though they matter. It allows us to enter into their world.
“…Even in one's own house, among one's own family, it's easier to find service and care of various types than listening and welcome... Today we are so busy and in such a hurry, with so many problems, some of which are unimportant, we lack the capacity to listen. We are constantly busy and thus we don't have time to listen” (Pope Francis, Angelus July 17, 2016).
Jesus taught us that we need to listen to others. There were many in his community that were rejected and treated as less than human. He would find them. He would eat with them. Most importantly, he would listen to them and validate them as not only human beings, but as children of God. St Brigid certainly followed this teaching and ensured that people in her community were listened to, and cared for, and made to feel validated.
I think that one of the saddest things in our current times is the state of business we get ourselves into. It can hinder us from being true family or friends. It can hinder us from listening. It can hinder us from validating those who we love the most and, who love us the most. It can hinder us from being truly hospitable.
We need to be conscious of being truly hospitable. Of making time to listen to others.
Time indeed, is the essence.
Enrico Caprioli
APRIM
