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The Gift of Warmth
The Irish expression céad míle fáilte, meaning “a hundred thousand welcomes,” is at the heart of Irish life. The Irish have always been famous for their hospitality, and this has undoubtedly contributed to the worldwide success of the “Irish pub.” The secret ingredients of this success are the basics of welcoming: radical hospitality, hearty food, good drink, and honest conversation. It is this practice of radical hospitality that sets the table for an encounter at which God can be present to every person and minister through each small act of kindness. Radical hospitality makes each person feel the embrace and warmth of a sincere welcome, devoid of judgment, narrow parochialism, insularity, or separatism. It is this practice of hospitality that helps us break out of our own isolation and welcome another as friend. It’s an attitude that affirms, “Yes, there’s always room for one more person at the table” or for a new idea, because we are called to be hospitable, not just to new people but to new ways of thinking and, indeed, living. Hospitality makes way for the unexpected, as my grandmother Hannah would say: “There’s always an extra potato in the pot, sure, you never know who is going to turn up for dinner.” Sometimes we did, but many times we did not.
—Excerpted from Braving the Thin Places by Julianne Stanz
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