While I was a sophomore in college seminary, we had a retreat at St. Meinrad Archabbey in southern Indiana. When I arrived I had no idea who St. Meinrad was. But it just so happened that while we were there his feast was celebrated on January 21, and we heard about his life of holiness. St. Meinrad is often called the Martyr of Hospitality, because he welcomed the two men, in true Benedictine style, who would later that evening become his killers.
Today’s first reading and Gospel focus on hospitality. And certainly hospitality is a very important issue today, especially when we start talking about the policy of the United States concerning immigration. Bishop Boyea’s article in the most recent edition of FAITH magazine outlines some of the principles for us as Catholics as we approach the issue of immigration.
But, as with so many other areas of our lives, the way we treat others stems from the way that we treat God. In the first reading, it is not so much that Abraham offers hospitality to three strangers. If they were simply strangers Abraham would not have bowed to the ground, an act of homage. Abraham recognizes in these three strangers messengers of God, and gives them the same welcome that he would give God. He gives them water for bathing, shade for rest, and food to refresh themselves. He chooses the finest grains and the finest of his cattle to give to these three guests.
Many of the saints who have written about this passage, especially the early Church Fathers who lived in the first centuries after the death and resurrection of Christ, noticed that it was not one, but three guests that met Abraham, a clear foreshadowing of the Trinity, that our God is three Divine Persons. And yet, Abraham addresses them as simply one: he only says, “Sir.” So the unity of the Godhead is also affirmed. What we find in this account from Scriptures, when read in the light of Christ, is the One God in Three Divine Persons visiting the Father of our Faith: Abraham. In fact, arguably the most famous depiction of the Trinity, the Icon of the Blessed Trinity by Rublev, a Russian monk, is based upon the three guests visiting Abraham.
And in our Gospel, we see how the Lord welcomes hospitality from Mary. But this time, the hospitality is not doing all the work of preparation, as much as it is just being in the presence of the Lord. And the Lord affirms that if we cling close to Him, no one can take us away. Martha will not take Mary away from Jesus in order to cook and serve because the Lord desires us to be with Him and simply sit in His presence.
The challenge for us is how hospitable we are to God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Because the Lord comes to visit us each day. He comes to the house of our life, He comes to the home of our very bodies to live in us. And how do we welcome Him? Do we spend time with Him, or make excuses to ignore Him? Think about the times in your day when you already know the work you are doing, and can easily also pay attention to something, or someone, else. Do we automatically turn to our radios or iPods, or do we also turn to the Lord, welcoming Him into our minds as we silently converse with Him by our thoughts.
Or how much time do we set aside for the Lord to pray, which means talking and listening, to Him? As seminarians and priests we are greatly encouraged to spend one hour with the Lord besides all the other times of prayer that the Church requires of us. This is often called the Holy Hour. While you may not be able to spend a whole hour with Jesus in a Church, do we at least take time when we wake up and go to bed to speak to the Lord and listen to the Lord to see what His will is as we go throughout our day? Even if we can’t spend an hour with Jesus, do we at least make up for the lack of quantity with greatness of quality?
And at this Mass do we prepare our homes to receive such a guest as Jesus into our very bodies? When we receive the Eucharist we are receiving the very same Jesus who spent time with Martha and Mary, and whose coming was foreshadowed in the three guests who visited Abraham. How have we prepared ourselves to receive Him? Do we arrive at Church a little early to pray and give them Lord some silent time to listen to Him? Do we regularly go to confession to cleanse our souls from the sins that make our souls dirty just like dust makes a house dirty? Do we abstain from all food and drink except water and medicine, and what is genuinely required for our health, in order that our bodies and souls might truly hunger for the Bread of Life and the Chalice of Salvation?
Abraham was blessed with a child of the promise, a child who would make Abraham the Father of Many Nations because of his hospitality. Mary was rewarded with not being pulled away from Christ by her sister Martha because of her hospitality. God wants to pour upon us a flood of graces if we would just welcome Him into our homes, just like He favored Abraham and Mary. May we welcome so great a guest as the Lord of the Universe into our homes, who desires to be one with us, and spend time with us, and love us more and more each day.
