The Miracle of Hospitality

In his introduction, Fr. Julián Carrón asks: "Why is hospitality a miracle? It seems like something we should take for granted-opening the door of our home and let­ting someone in should be normal." And yet, he notes, "it is so exceptional that when it happens, everyone is amazed." In the talks and interviews collected in The Miracle of Hospitality, Fr. Luigi Giussani, founder of the international lay movement Communion and Liberation (CL), delves into the source of this miracle-the free gift we call charity. He writes: "Only if we are aware that we are loved-with clarity or confu­sion, implicitly or explicitly-can we love, which means to em­brace, to welcome within us, and to share." Fr. Giussani's words were shaped by a long-running dialogue with the Welcoming Families Association, an organization that emerged out of the lived experience of CL and which has for many years promoted foster care and adoption, as well as support for migrants, the elderly, and the disabled. Given the ever-present phenomena of war, mass migration, and the many threats facing millions of children today, the miracle of hospitality is more urgently needed than ever.