Hospitality: The Key to Spiritual Direction

 I’m an introvert. I prefer a party of one over a party of fifty. I’m filled up, calmed down, creative, and energized in times of solitude and silence which I build into my daily routines. I’m exhausted after exchanges with groups of people who are there to mingle and chitchat. I don’t “entertain” people at dinner parties. I’m not a great cook. And even if I was, I really don’t like to cook. 

So, what is someone like me doing in the practice of spiritual direction that claims it opens the gift of hospitality? I’m here because I realized I had a very narrow and shallow view of true hospitality. Up until I entered into spiritual direction and began training to become a director, I never would have claimed I had the spiritual gift of hospitality. Since then, I believe it may be one of my strongest gifts, or at least the one I’m most passionate about and is a growth edge for me.

A listening heart and an attentive mind is the greatest gift of hospitality anyone can offer to another person. Hospitality reflects the welcoming heart of God and lives out Jesus’ invitation to “come to me and I will give you rest.” This gift is the key that opens all the other gifts found in spiritual direction… gifts of awakening, pilgrimage, silence, meditation, finding your voice, telling your story and deep abiding presence of Christ in our midst.

How have you experienced hospitality? When have you longed for hospitality but didn’t receive it? How have you shown hospitality to others, to yourself, to the Divine?