Service projects. Dinner parties. Parish ministries. These are the types of things that come to mind when we think about Hospitality & Service, the crowning Level 5 of a Trinity House.

And many of us, already feeling overwhelmed, want to run in the opposite direction!

How can it be that after we’ve tended our relationship with God and family, navigated caring for children, scheduling, budgeting, cooking, doing all the household chores and errands, held down a job or studied for a degree, attended the necessary meetings and activities, and spent some quality time with family and friends, that we’re still not there?!

Well, there’s a reason why Hospitality & Service is Level 5!

For many, this level is an intimidating reach because it’s already so hard to balance the basics. But we don’t want to be the person who says, “I’ll think about hospitality and service when everything else is under control.” If we’re honest, what we naturally focus on expands to fill up our time. So if this continues to be our mindset, that moment of service will likely never come.

Instead, let’s adjust our thinking about what constitutes hospitality and service. Level 5 doesn’t have to be hosting a dinner party. The heart of Level 5 for every day can be making simple gestures that serve others while we go about our daily lives in Levels 1-4.

Here are a few examples of simple gestures: 

“At times we like to talk, talk, talk,” said Pope Francis, before pointing us to how the “language of gestures is different.” He continues, “It is not enough to talk.”

By extending our thoughts just a little during daily tasks, we can build in a healthy level of serving those outside our family without a tremendous amount of extra effort. And when our day-to-day becomes less overwhelming—as the kids get a bit older or we retire—then we can ramp up Level 5 by volunteering to be a catechist or make meals for a local shelter, host groups in our home, or even lead a parish ministry.

Until then, let’s give thanks to God, the Author of the “language of gestures” who delights when we share His love in simple ways!   

Heaven in Your Home Toolkit

As we look to Level 5, here’s a way to think about the heart of hospitality and service: “[God] is not hospitable out of necessity; rather, his hospitality expresses the joy and happiness that he is. The Triune God of Jesus Christ is hospitably self-giving by nature” (The Grace and Call of Hospitality, by Fr. John Navone, S.J., at www.catholicculture.org). It follows that we, who are made in the image and likeness of the Holy Trinity, are called to be “hospitably self-giving by nature.”  

In The ABCs of Hospitality, Emily Stimpson Chapman at the St. Paul Center helps us to see the difference between hospitality and entertaining. She writes, “A person who is entertaining might serve the same food as someone practicing hospitality. Their house might be just as clean, their booze just as good, and their garden just as lovely under fairy lights. But the person entertaining is focused on impressing people. The person exercising hospitality is focused on loving people. The person entertaining is focused on themselves. The person exercising hospitality is focused on others.”

If you’ve been to Trinity House Cafe, taken the Heaven in Your Home Workshop, or spent much time around the Trinity House Community ministry at all, then you know that Andrei Rublev’s Trinity icon is a go-to resource for us. The icon depicts that moment of Abraham and Sarah’s hospitality to the three angels, under the oaks of Mamre. If you’d like to take a deep dive into this icon (and what it can teach us about hospitality), check out this piece by Garrett Johnson, “The Explanation of This Famous Icon Will Give You a Deeper Understanding of the Trinity.” He quotes Oliver Clement: “It is not a question of thinking about the Trinity, but in it, starting from the Trinity as the unshakeable foundation of all Christian thought.” If we can begin to make this shift in our own hearts, then our understanding of hospitality and service will blossom and bear fruit.

A few weeks ago, we looked at the strain that Covid has placed on marriages and families, so we found this article at Aleteia to be helpful:  “Is Exhaustion Causing You to Argue with Your Spouse? Jesus Has Some Advice for You.” One of the many good points in the piece is that when exhausted couples find themselves heading into another spiral of argumentation, it can suddenly stop if one or both spouses can admit, “We’re tired,” and then get some rest and some space.  

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Mark Your Calendars…

On Saturday, Oct. 24, from 10am-3pm, we’ll both be at Trinity House Cafe as we celebrate the cafe’s 6th anniversary since opening! Join us and other friends of the cafe by stopping by anytime to say hi, enjoy a drink, tasty meal, or something sweet.   

Haven’t had the chance yet to participate in our Heaven in Your Home Workshop? Or are you in need of a refresh? Sign-up (free) here for our next livestream workshop on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 8-9:30 p.m. (EST), streamed live from Trinity House Cafe. 

Testimonial

“Soren and Ever have worked hard to build their own home into a ‘little taste of heaven.’ At Trinity House, their wisdom, experience, and humility offer a chance to learn what has worked for them.  Explore Trinity House Community and you will learn from the best and have the chance to meet a group of parents committed to building God’s Kingdom one ‘domestic church’ at a time.” —John Mitchell, Falls Church, Va. 

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