Service and Hospitality: Jerome on Hospitality to Pilgrims

Jerome (d. 420), though known primarily as a biblical scholar, was also deeply committed to hospitality. In Bethlehem, he and his companion Paula established a hospice for pilgrims visiting the Holy Land. Jerome wrote: "Let the poor man's table be a bishop's table, and let every pilgrim be received as Christ, for He will say, 'I was a stranger and you took me in.'"

Jerome taught that hospitality is not merely opening your home but opening your heart. The host must be attentive, generous, and unpatronizing. "Entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." The practice of hospitality keeps the Christian heart soft and the home outward-facing.

Practical application: Offer your home for a church event, a traveling speaker, or a family in transition. Set an extra place at your table once a month for an unexpected guest. Jerome teaches that a home that never welcomes strangers gradually becomes a fortress of self-concern, while a home that regularly opens its doors becomes a channel of God's grace.