The Christmas Gift of Hospitality, by Dr. Jeff Mirus

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture, Jan 02, 2024

Jeffrey Mirus holds a Ph.D. in intellectual history from Princeton University. A co-founder of Christendom College, he also pioneered Catholic Internet services. He is the founder of Trinity Communications and CatholicCulture.org.

For people like me (not all that sociable and perennially busy at my desk), it is important to reflect at times on the Christian virtue of hospitality. The Christmas season provides a good opportunity to do just that.

There are some startling examples of hospitality even very early in the Old Testament. For example, Abram insisted on offering rest and refreshment to the three “men” (presumably angels representing the Triune God) who visited him to confirm God’s promise that his wife Sarah would conceive and bear a son. And Lot even offered his own daughters to the lustful crowd outside his door in Sodom who wanted to have their way with the two supposed men (angels) who were visiting him—but of course his visitors pulled Lot safely back inside and effectively barred the door against the restless crowd. (Lot’s hospitality in this case is seen not in his seriously deficient strategic analysis but in his insistence on safeguarding his visitors.) ….

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