WELCOME TO ALL!

I am both a Benedictine monk as well as a priest in Gods catholic and apostolic church. My tradition and many years of training as a benedictine brother has taught me about St. Benedicts radical hospitality. I always felt I had a great advantage ahead of other brothers in my community because I grew up in a Latino household where radical welcomes is a way of life.

My grandmother of very happy memory, Francisca, would say donde come tres comen 4 o 5. Which loosely means were there eat 4 or 5 more can and she place additional plates for unexpected guest. She lived in the Benedictine radical welcome without realizing it.

In the Benedictine monastic tradition, hospitality is not merely a polite social custom or an optional good deed; it is a core spiritual practice and a direct encounter with the divine. The concept of radical hospitality stems primarily from Chapter 53 of the Rule of Saint Benedict, written in the 6th century, which begins with a revolutionary command:

“All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: 'I was a stranger and you welcomed me.'”

What makes Benedictine hospitality truly "radical" can be understood through several key dimensions:

1. Christ in the Stranger

The bedrock of this tradition is a theological inversion: the host does not simply bring Christ to the guest; the guest brings Christ to the host. Benedict insists that Christ is uniquely present in the traveler, the stranger, and the poor. By welcoming the guest, the monastery and our parish is welcoming God. This requires an attitude of deep humility, curiosity, and reverence toward whoever walks through the door.

2. Universal and Equal Welcome

In the ancient world (and often in the modern one), hospitality was transactional or based on social status. Personally, in many parishes and places in our society in 2026. I find that Benedict shattered this by demanding that everyone be received with the same dignity. The Rule notes that special care should be shown to the poor and pilgrims, precisely because they lack the social leverage to demand respect. Whether a guest is a wandering beggar or a visiting bishop, they are offered the same warmth, shelter, and respect.

3. The Mutual Blessing of Peace

When a guest arrives, the Benedictine tradition dictates a specific ritual of welcome:

• The Kiss of Peace: Before anything else, the monks and the guest pray together and extend a greeting of peace. This ensures that the encounter is grounded in spiritual unity and mutual safety.

• Washing of Feet: Mimicking Jesus at the Last Supper, the Abbot and the community wash the hands and feet of the guests, physically embodying the posture of a servant.

4. Holistic Care: Body, Mind, and Soul

Radical hospitality means anticipating and meeting the holistic needs of the person. Guests are brought to the oratory for prayer, sat down to eat, (personally brought rather than indicating to them how to get to the parish hall for coffee hour) and provided a comfortable place to sleep. The Rule even dictates that the Abbot should break his own fast to eat with a guest so that the traveler does not feel isolated or burdensome.

5. The Balance of Boundaries

Crucially, Benedictine hospitality is sustainable because it coexists with healthy boundaries. The Rule assigns specific monks to care for the guests and manage the guest house so that the broader community can maintain its rhythm of silence and contemplation. Radical hospitality does not mean letting a guest disrupt the core identity of the community; rather, it invites the guest into the stable, peaceful rhythm that makes the monastery a sanctuary in the first place.

Ultimately, Benedictine radical hospitality challenges us to look at the "other"—the person who is different, unexpected, or inconvenient—and see them not as a threat or a disruption, but as a sacred gift.

To move from an abstract concept to a living culture within a church or organization, hospitality must become structural and intentional.

·         Shifting from "Friendly" to "Hospitable": Many communities are friendly (members like talking to each other), but fewer are hospitable (actively looking outward to weave strangers into the fabric of the group). Implementing this means ensuring that a newcomer isn't just greeted at the door but accompanied and given a place of honor.

·         Prioritizing the Vulnerable: Benedict explicitly states that the poor and pilgrims deserve the greatest care because the wealthy already command respect. In a community setting, this means asking: Who feels least entitled to be here, and how are we actively dignifying them? Is our space physically accessible? Are our liturgies and gatherings easy to navigate for an outsider?

VESTRY COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVES

Buildings and Grounds—Lee Webb

EOM—Natalia Lozcano

Hospitality—Phala white

Pastoral Care—Fr. Peter Schmitt