Hospitality requires one to die so that another may be born”

On 7 May 2009 I had accumulated almost 24 years of work with the Hospitaller Brothers. And that was the day that I discovered Granada (Spain), the spiritual birthplace of the Hospitaller Order, the city where, in 1537, St John of God laid out the foundations for his congregation. The trip, a gift from the Brothers, was meant to give us pilgrims a chance to walk in the footsteps of their founder. I felt nervous, anxious, elated, happy … I was in a fine state! Maybe I was apprehensive about coming face-to-face with a man whose goodness and hospitality made him a hero of charity in 16th Century Andalusia. At the door of the Santa Camara, the Brothers, Co-Workers and I kept silent, feeling a presence or rather a kind of paternal protection. In going into that holy place I met for the first time a man whose name I very often mentioned without really knowing who He was. His gaze gave me the impression that he had been there, on His knees, waiting for my visit. His face, drawn with fatigue, expressed an unshakable faith. He was serene. I was struck by the force that radiated from His face. That  pragmatic strength, amounting to an invitation to let oneself die in order to be reborn in spirit, inspires and guides our mission of hospitality so that each one of our gestures reveals the delicacy of our feelings. Filled with happiness by this visitation, I now know that what I do every day only has a meaning if I apply St John of God’s teaching: “What you do to the smallest one of mine, you do to me.”