On Saturday our wider family was coming over for dinner. Our minds race with the list of things to do and to prepare. To buy foods like watermelon, meat, sweet potato and English peas. To vacuum the house. To put away and tidy newspapers, toys, and clothes. All systems go. Kids are given certain jobs. Sweeping the front porch, putting away the dishes and cleaning the sinks. Dad landed in the kitchen early Saturday afternoon peeling potatoes. Mum busily cleaned the toilets. Soon the family would arrive, and this stress of preparation will be long forgotten and replaced with smiles and laughter.
This is the way of hospitality. Hospitality is not just about providing food and providing drink. Rather, it is away you show you care for those invited. It reminds us of the Wedding of Cana. When Mary was invited and Jesus tagged along. Mary noticed there was no wine. So she responded. Asking her son to help.
Back at our family home at 5 pm one Saturday. Our little dog began to bark. The Outdoor lights switched on as the front-door swung open. Our guests had arrived. With hugs and kisses. Questions and smiles arise “how are you” and “it is good to see you”. Soon the conversation shifted to the guests, asking, “do you want to drink”? While, mum and dad continue in the kitchen baking, stirring, and checking that the food would not burn.
Our family guests smile and say, “it smells lovely”. Proudly mum responds, “dad has been cooking since 1 pm”. Dad looked over his shoulder and smiled knowing the delectable tastes which will soon emerge where the roast awaits.
Hospitality is a key part of Marist community. Having a large group of people to dinner is not a rare event. This often happened. Sometimes spending 2 hours preparing the meal, while, taking it in turns to cook on different days. In Melbourne Nicholson Street Community often the dining room’s side door would also swing open, and Father Andy would walk in with 1 or 2 refugees he had invited. Not knowing who was coming in, but, sharing a sense of welcome and inclusion. Sitting down as a Marist Community with different refugees at dinner created a feeling that this is a family.
When we go to church do, we race in and out?
Why is it that in many protestant churches hospitality is an essential part of the worship service. Welcomers in the car park. Welcomers as you get to the main door. People that turn around before the service begins and ask “hello. How are you”. While, at many Catholic masses, people tend to race in, race out and not enter into deeper conversation.
Is it our job to create a sense if community? Is it our job to offer hospitality?
The bible calls us to offer hospitality. Hospitality is not optional; it's often presented as a duty for God’s people.
Romans 12:13 – “Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.”
Hebrews 13:2 – “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
Hospitality is a sign of Christian leadership. A Mark of Christian LeadershipHospitality is a requirement for church leaders.
1 Timothy 3:2 – “Now the overseer is to be above reproach... hospitable, able to teach...”
Titus 1:8 – “Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.”
Hospitality is a Way to Build Community and Love. Hospitality strengthens relationships and reflects Christ-like love.
1 Peter 4:9 – “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.”
Acts 2:46-47 – “They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts...” (in the early Christian community)
Hospitality is for those who are excluded. For the poor and MarginalizedTrue hospitality includes the outcast and the vulnerable, not just friends or those who can return the favour.
Luke 14:12-14 – “When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed...”
Pope Francis teaches that hospitality is not merely social kindness—it’s a sacred encounter with Christ himself. Stating 'Every stranger who knocks at our door is an opportunity for an encounter with Jesus Christ.' – From the Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, 2018
Pope Francis consistently reminds the Church that it must be a field hospital, ready to heal and receive the wounded. 'A Church without charity does not exist... Hospitality, listening, closeness, and tenderness must be offered to all.' At a General Audience with Pope Francis, March 2022
The early Marist founders saw hospitality as an essential part of the Marist Charism.
Jeanne-Marie Chavoin
Jeanne-Marie Chavoin, co-founder of the Marist Sisters, believed in being available to everyone, particularly the poor, the sick, and those on the margins of society.
“We must be like Mary at Nazareth—simple, hidden, and devoted to the needs of others.”– Jeanne-Marie Chavoin
Her door was always open, and the sisters offered food, shelter, and comfort to those in need, treating each person with dignity and love, regardless of social status.
François Perroton
In 1845, at age 49, François Perroton volunteered to be sent alone to the Pacific Islands, specifically Wallis and Futuna, becoming the first Marist lay missionary to go there.
She lived among the local people, learning their customs, language, and ways of life.
Instead of imposing Western culture, she respected and received the culture of others—an act of humility: entering as a guest, not as a conqueror.
John-Claude Colin
John-Claude Colin’s dream to “make the whole world Marist” was not about building an empire or expanding an institution—it was about bringing the spirit of Mary into every corner of the world. His vision was deeply spiritual, missionary, and pastoral, rooted in the conviction that the Church must become more gentle, compassionate, open and accessible to all, like Mary.
Marcellin Champagnat
The image of Marcellin Champagnat and the table at La Valla is a powerful symbol of Marist hospitality, simplicity, fraternity, and mission. It represents the heart of Champagnat’s vision: building a family-like community, united around Christ, open to all, and grounded in love, service, and equality.
At the small house in La Valla-en-Gier, Marcellin gathered his first Brothers around a simple wooden table.
It was not a grand place, but a humble, shared home.
Around this table, the Brothers ate, prayed, learned, laughed, and planned their mission.
“We are all equal around the same table.”– Implied in Marcellin’s spirit of simplicity and brotherhood
The table symbolised the deep fraternity and family spirit at the heart of Marist life.
In Conclusion
Today, each of us as a Christian or as a Marist are called to make hospitality a cornerstone of who we are. We cannot stand off at a distance and hope that other people will do this for us. Instead, we must be the one that welcomes. Like Mary who asks Jesus to care for the needs of others, we are called to do the same. To open our homes to other people and actively build a sense of family and community through our actions.
Journal and reflect on the following
When have I experienced true hospitality—where I felt genuinely seen, welcomed, and valued? What made that moment special?
How does my family or community show hospitality in practical ways? What could we do better?
In what ways can I live out Mary’s spirit of quiet presence and compassion in my daily life?
Who are the “strangers” or marginalized people in my community today, and how am I called to welcome them?
Do I treat my home, classroom, or workplace as a space where others feel safe and loved? Why or why not?
How can the example of Marcellin Champagnat’s table at La Valla inspire me to create spaces of equality and fraternity?
What prevents me from offering hospitality more freely—time, fear, inconvenience—and how can I respond to that challenge with faith?
Discuss
Song - Send us out
Final Prayer
Loving God,
You welcomed us first—into life, into love, into Your eternal embrace. You taught us through Jesus to break bread with strangers, to sit beside the lonely, and to make space at the table for the forgotten.
We thank You for the gift of hospitality: not just in the sharing of food, but in the sharing of hearts, homes, and time. Help us to welcome others as Mary did—with gentleness, silence, and unwavering love. Like the early Marist founders, may our lives reflect simplicity, fraternity, and joyful service.
Open our eyes to the needs of those who knock— the refugee, the neighbour, the wounded, and the weary. Teach us to serve not out of duty, but out of compassion. May our homes and communities become places of belonging, where Christ is encountered in every guest.
We pray this in the name of Jesus, with Mary our guide, Amen.
(Audio Available)
