Devotions based on David Benner’s book, Soulful Spirituality
Genuine Hospitality has great potential to enrich relationships. The Rule of St. Benedict Order is “ that all guests who arrive should be received as Christ.” When we welcome others and treat them as sacred it helps both them and us to flourish. They have their own story to tell and it has the power to transform how we see things and inspire us to new ways of living. When we enter into true dialogue with others we may be changed. As we share how we experience the world and seek to understand how others do so, both of us are touched in new ways. What we have to give to others is in direct proportion to the depth we know ourselves. If we don’t know ourselves, what we have to offer will be our false self. But when we are genuinely and deeply our true selves, others who we meet can also be their true selves. We must relinquish our need for control too as it inhibits true dialogue and intimacy with others. As we honor others, let us remember that they bear the image of God. When we show hospitality to others, it becomes a gift to see greater realities beyond the comfortable place in which we make our home.
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