“For me hospitality is … ”

We greatly admire the faithful who have dedicated themselves entirely and gratuitously to serving the poor, the sick and the needy, following in the footsteps of Saint John of God, the Blessed Brother Eustachio Kugler, Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta and of many other men and women.

God is the love that has always existed

The essence of true love is that it cannot hold back, it gives itself. That is God, His nature and His essence! From this love that gives itself, man was born.

Our God and Creator plants in the heart of every man and woman the seed of this immense and eternal love, entrusting it to the free choice and responsibility of the individual.

Pope Benedict XVI, in the encyclical “Deus Caritas Est”, underscored the importance of this nexus in the service to the sick person: “In addition to their necessary professional training, these charity workers need a “formation of the heart” (31a).

Today the service of hospitality requires highly qualified technical training. This training must, however, be sustained by love. But love cannot be “produced” or “delivered” like any other service. God is the only source from which man can receive and draw love. And since love can never be forced upon others, it can only be received in complete freedom. In this way, the service of charity becomes divine worship.

Our Founder Saint John of God felt the need to take part in Holy Mass every day in order to draw from the eternal spring of God’s love. Only this way can the service to the sick reach its full meaning.