Rudolf Knopp

 

365 TESTIMONIES OF HOSPITALITY

Brother

Germany

Rudolf Knopp

 

To be called, to be summoned – to me that means someone wants something from me, or else that someone wants to give me something. To be called to hospitality signifies the following to me: God calls me to his service but at the same time he has a gift for me: the charism of hospitality. In the government service to which I was elected by my fellow Brothers, I am called to contribute to the growth of the Order and its mission. Not alone, but together with the other members of the General Government. In that context, I consider it my task to bring the gift of the charism of hospitality to my neighbours and to lay the ground for the future of the Order and its mission.  In a period of great transformations for the Church, in a society such as ours, and in the middle of a deep global crisis, it seems almost impossible to chart a firm and precise direction four our Family of St John of God on. But despite all my hesitations and uncertainties, in my impulsivity and in my moments of reflection, I find peace in the realization that I am merely a messenger of hospitality and not the message itself. I do not define. I interpret. St John XXIII rightly said: do not give yourself too much importance. Even if calm is not exactly my strong point, it is precisely the quality which I ask God to grant me every day because I know it is essential if I am to live out my vocation to hospitality. To entrust all things to God … even though that is easier said than done. 

 

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