“When in Rome, do as the Romans do”

When I first came to work at the Interprovincial Mission I was surprised by the friendliness and helpfulness of the colleagues who were already working here.  As time went on, and I got to know some of the houses of the Brothers and found the same thing there, I began to realize that they were something more than polite hosts. 

Hospitality is welcoming; receiving the visitor with warmth.  As far as I can see, Hospitality is our calling card, our identifying label, a badge like I make for the volunteers in our formation meetings, which they hang around their necks on a ribbon.  Hospitality is what sets us apart as belonging to Saint John of God. 

My office, the Technical Secretariat for the Interprovincial Commission, is just across from the front door of the IC, so I am the first person you see when you come in, and over the past 11 years a friendly welcoming greeting for whoever opens that door has become a natural component of my work.  Quite spontaneously something in me has been changing.  I don’t know if it has to do with the job, with Saint John of God or with the Brothers, or if it’s simply the passage of time, but the people around me have noticed it too.

A year ago Africa was born.  It’s not easy to realize you’re a grandmother when you don’t feel like one, but her entry into my house, into my life, has been a gift, and an addition to my identification badge, and in such a natural way.  She has become a part of me.