Jesus and St. Francis have been with us at Manna House from the beginning. I guess that is how they have places of honor in our backyard chapel. Jesus brings us to Manna House, especially with his insistence on “Whatever you do unto to the least of these you do unto me (Matthew 25:31-46). Francis with his love for outcasts and his holy foolishness gives us the levity and humility needed to do hospitality in solidarity with our guests rather than offer charity from above.
There are certainly other inspirations as well. St. Benedict, in chapter 53 ofhis Rule, reinforces that guests are to be received as Christ (from Matthew 25:31-46), and he added an emphasis upon stability—staying put in one place for the long haul. Dorothy Day of the Catholic Worker Movement and the Open Door Community provide concrete models of hospitality and resistance in the contemporary world. All of those and more ground who we are and what we do at Manna House.
But it is Jesus and Francis who welcome guests to our “chapel.” Jesus on his cross and Francis in his traditional pose with a bird feeder adorn this place. In the winter, the chapel is enclosed and has heaters to warm guests who arrive after cold nights. In the summer, the chapel provides extra shade, supplementing the trees, providing a cool respite from the heat of the streets. The chapel, because it is at the rear of the backyard is also a bit more secluded and quieter than the rest of the backyard. It is away from the entrance to the yard, and away from where we serve coffee and where we offer people “socks and hygiene.”
Jesus and Francis are there every morning. They are as much a part of a morning of hospitality as the guests and the volunteers. From time to time a guest will place a cup of coffee on the bird feeder Francis holds in his hands, and sometimes I find an “offering” of cigarettes or a few coins placed there. Other times I have come across a guest standing in prayer in front of Jesus, looking him in the eye and telling him what is on their souls.
Jesus and Francis welcome the tired guests who stretch out and fall asleep on the two old church benches in the chapel. They welcome the lost guests who seek a place with some community and peace. They welcome those guests who carry their grief over loss, and those who carry guilt from judgments easily offered by churches and society.
In the chapel, Jesus and Francis quietly listen to stories, jokes, and discussions about sports and politics and music. They see people’s faces, their weariness, their smiles, frowns, and tears. They watch a guest read his well-worn Bible, while another reads a novel from our “library” in the house.
Besides these daily welcomes, Jesus and Francis are also there when we host a special event in the chapel. There have been a few weddings between guests. But there have also been too many memorial services for guests who have died.
In their welcome, Jesus and Francis offer love. Jesus with his arms outstretched in the cross takes up all the suffering brought to him. Francis with his little bird feeder humbly affirms respect and dignity for each person who enters.
In the quiet of the morning before the house and backyard are opened to guests, they welcome me with love too. I don’t come here every morning. Sometimes the mosquitoes are too thick. Sometimes it’s too cold. Sometimes I just prefer the laundry room in the house which offers a cozy comfort and on dark mornings some light by which to read about the Saint of the Day and to pray the Psalms.
But when I do come to the chapel, Jesus and Francis offer me the same love they offer the guests. I need to know and feel their love. This practice of hospitality can be a hard path. The work gets tedious. The finances are typically precarious. The guests and volunteers all bring their faults and foibles and rub up against my own. Sometimes there are painful conflicts, and so often my impatience and pride get in the way of hospitality. Jesus and Francis remind me of their love. They share with me their love which will animate hospitality and bring the joy of staying faithful to that love.
“Live Jesus in our hearts forever!
“Lord make me an instrument of your peace… for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to everlasting life.”
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