“Make hospitality your special care” (Rm 12,13)

To all the brothers and Co-workers, members of the Hospitaller Family of Saint John of God

On 8 March, we shall be celebrating the Solemnity of Saint John of God, the Founder of the Order and of the Family that bears his name and draws its inspiration from him. I send you all my best wishes, trusting that you are preparing for, and are able to celebrate this feast day with joy and devotion, particularly this year when we shall be holding our General Chapter. “Make hospitality your special care” (Practice hospitality), is the theme I chose for my term of office. As I wrote at the time, these were the thoughts of St Paul to the Romans which belong to the exhortative part of his Letter, but not only as a suggestion, but an injunction, a rule, and a command to all Christians to live and practice charity above all other things, exactly as Pope Francis says in his Encyclical Fratelli Tutti, in answer to the question posed by an expert of the law, who asked Jesus , 'who is my neighbor?'. In His parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus completely reframes the question: He does not invite us to ask ourselves who the people are who our closest neighbors are but tells us to make ourselves the neighbors of the others, of everyone. There are no limits, we are neighbors to all people, especially the most vulnerable in need of help (cf. 80-81).

He demands an unconditional love, a sensitivity, and a willingness to help and serve the needy like Jesus himself, the Good Samaritan, who “made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing all kinds of disease and all kinds of illness. And when He saw the crowds, he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd” (cf. Mt 9:35-36).

One faithful follower of Jesus and an exceptional witness to the hospitality of the Gospel was Saint John of God, who was touched and called by Our Lord, to whom he responded by devoting his life to the point of emptying himself for the poor and the sick. His life is full of examples and events that reveal to us his great concern and his boundless self-giving to serve the needy. This is how his first biographer describes him in a few words: “John's charitable work kept him busy all day long. At night when the house had settled quietly down and although he felt worn out; he would not retire until he had gone around to visit each patient. he consoled them with his kind words, giving them both spiritual and temporal comfort. He used to ask them where they came from and whether they needed anything. Once he had made his rounds of the house, he used to meet with those poor genteel folk who were waiting to see him. he never sent any of them away without some sort of satisfaction, nor did he hesitate to give them alms should they have asked for it out of the love of God. If anyone were to say to him: "Now look here, that person has no need of that, he would reply: "if I am tricked, that is their business. All I know is that I am giving it to them for the love of God." When he was unable to give them anything, for he generally never refused what they asked (which explains the time he was found wrapped in a blanket after giving his clothes away), he would give them a letter to take to some gentlefolk or kind person who might help them in their needs. (Castro XIV – Translation by Brother Benedict O'Grady, O.H)

In October this year we will be celebrating the 70th General Chapter of the Order in Częstochowa (Poland). For more than a year we have been preparing for this major event, which will address the challenges facing the Order now and in future. As members of the Saint John of God Family all of us are being called upon to participate in various ways in the Chapter preparatory phase, through prayer and through the 'perception groups' that have been set up in all the provinces. At the General Chapter, we will all be called on to discern in the light of the Holy Spirit, to discover the paths we must take in the coming years.   

Yet, there is one thing that we already know, and which is always needed to continue to keep alive the charism of Gospel hospitality in the manner of Saint John of God:  it is this "special readiness and sensitivity" to detect people's needs and help them, as Saint John of God and so many other Brothers and Co-workers throughout history have done.

There are always many needs, even where there seem to be better living conditions: poverty, sickness of all kinds, loneliness, exclusion and marginalization, slavery and lack of freedom, hunger and so many others. All of us, as members of the Saint John of God Family, are sent there, to go forth with speed, haste, and creativity from our comfort zones, to help and assist those in need and, as Saint John of God said, for Jesus Christ's sake alone. (cf. 2GL 7) 

This is the main roadmap that will guide the present and the future of our Order, and what we need to make the Holy Spirit present among us. May we all take a stride forward to practice hospitality, each one of us in our own world and situation, with great or small actions, which always express the love of God. Only in this way will there be a future for the Order, even if the forms and structures may change! Here lies the key to the future!

There are many situations in the Order which reflect this imperative to serve those in need. I would like merely to mention one that I visited at the end of last year: a mental health Day Centre in Papua New Guinea, in the city of Madang. It is not very big, but it is a place of hospitality, where people live and experience the great care of the brothers and Co-workers but also of the patients themselves, welcoming and serving those who come to the "House of God" in need of care, love, and tenderness.

As is customary at this time of year, I would like to tell the whole Order the results of the 2023 campaign in favor of a social emergency project in East Timor: "Give hospitality a place in East Timor". The total raised reached 422.644.40 euro, the fruit of the generosity and solidarity of the whole Order, for which I once again offer you my most sincere thanks.

At the same time, I wish to announce that the campaign for the current year 2024 will be to start up a primary mental health care center in Kolda (Senegal), in the south of the country that has no resources in this specialism. Once again, I thank you in advance for your generosity and ask for your support for this care project. More reports will be issued shortly.

Happy Feast of Saint John of God to the entire Hospitaller Family! May our Founder continue to inspire us, especially at this year's General Chapter, so that each member of our Family may never lack a warm, sensitive, and open heart to practice hospitality towards anyone and everyone in need.

United in Our Lord and in Saint John of God, I send you my fraternal best wishes.

Brother Jesús Etayo

Superior General