“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3)

I wish to thank God and St John of God for having given me the opportunity to know, appreciate and subsequently to live and feel the “charism of hospitality” throughout the course of my long life working in the St John of God Hostel in Madrid.

I think that this has been a privileged place and the best school for my apprenticeship. For every day we come face-to-face with this definition of hospitality: “the positive human attribute which is translated into the warm welcome that is extended to the visitor”. The visitor might not be a friend, acquaintance or relative coming with a gift. The visitor would be an outsider, knocking at the door to seek protection, a meal and somewhere to sleep … with nothing, except his needs. There were all the necessary ingredients, served on a platter, to cater for these needs. And as occurs in the kitchen, for the meal to be successful, it has to be prepared with LOVE.

In this Centre I experienced new sensations. Everything was different from whatever had known previously. Many things did not add up for me, and I had to forego the usual logic I was accustomed to. I then discovered the wealth and the values that existed there, which were gradually revealed to me day by day, disclosing the value of sharing, both for the giver and the receiver.

It is a privilege to discover the way Hospitality, in the broadest sense, shows you another horizon of life, wherever you may be.