The Dignity of Hospitality
By Eleanor H., missionary in Peru
One of the most striking things for me from the start has been the incredible hospitality of our friends. As I have slowly learned the mission and come to know each friend, I have been so welcomed and have experienced the true gratuitousness of hospitality. With each encounter, I have come to see the incredible dignity that comes with this hospitality. Though our friends often don’t have much to offer, they go above and beyond when welcoming us into their homes. This caught me off guard at first because we have nothing to offer besides our presence, but I slowly came to see that this hospitality highlights the dignity of our friends and that, by receiving this hospitality with gratitude and joy, we are able to bear witness to their dignity.
The first moment that I experienced this abundant hospitality was in a visit to our friend Señor Erik, an older man who owns a workshop where he fixes anything metal-based. The visit itself was a gift from God because we had been planning another visit that didn’t work out and Señor Erik himself is often too busy working to receive visits. When we passed by and asked if he had time, his yes was a welcome and joyful surprise. He opened the door and then cleared a space for us in his workshop, moving the things he was working on out of the way and finding chairs for us, keeping only a stool for himself. After setting up this area for us, he left to buy gaseosa, or soda, and soda crackers. It was evident that he was offering to us all that he had simply because we were present to him. In that moment, it didn’t matter that we had eaten a big lunch or what type of soda it was, what truly mattered was receiving the gifts offered freely to us so as to bear witness to the dignity of the act of hospitality. As we spent this hour with Erik, he shared that the two members of his family that he had been taking care of had recently passed and he was living alone for the first time in a long while. In the midst of this suffering, rather than asking us for help or complaining, he opened the door and welcomed us into his life with incredible dignity. The act of giving all that he has, especially when his suffering is so immense, has been truly inspiring to me and has shown me more clearly that our mission here is to receive and reflect the dignity that Christ has given to each of our friends.
This overwhelming hospitality can only be met with humble acceptance, and yet, by receiving, we highlight the dignity of the one who offers. Refusing these acts of hospitality would be akin to refusing the friend in their moment of need. As I took this to prayer, I realized that Christ allows us the dignity of hosting Him in a similar way. When I take the time to open the door of my heart and share all that I am currently struggling with, he receives it and, in doing so, highlights a dignity that otherwise would go unseen.
Truly, I have felt so welcomed by our friends here in this barrio and have learned so much from them about how to give so completely of time and presence to those in front of me. Their ability to pause what they are doing to give us their undivided attention regardless of what they are doing has shown me a new way to love. I have always struggled to not be preoccupied by the logistical side of life but they continue to show me that what matters most is the beautiful gift of time and presence.