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audreyglo's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
drbobcornwall's review against another edition
4.0
Hospitality is about more than setting a nice table for friends. Hospitality, in the Benedict way, means opening one's heart to the stranger. Excellent introduction to radical hospitality.
thebookedbamlet's review against another edition
4.0
This is an amazing book! If you are looking for an examination of the ways that you can open yourself up and be a better human by being there for other humans, this is the book to read. I'm not an overly spiritual or religious person, and this book spoke to me in an approachable and welcoming way. Lonni Collins Pratt and Father Dan's stories and examples restored my faith in humanity, in a time when we greatly recommend it.
Read it slow. Digest it daily. The lessons of hospitality will extend far beyond your readings.
Read it slow. Digest it daily. The lessons of hospitality will extend far beyond your readings.
sdreader's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
carincullen's review against another edition
5.0
"Radical Hospitality" is an absolute gem of a book! It gently challenges our current view of hospitality, and shows us the real meaning of the word.
Some books speak to the very core of your being and demand you sit up and take notice. This is one of those. It is an easy read, full of examples giving a better idea of the concept, but also very substantial. Although I read it in a couple of days, I know I will return to it again and again as I let each idea sink in.
Some books speak to the very core of your being and demand you sit up and take notice. This is one of those. It is an easy read, full of examples giving a better idea of the concept, but also very substantial. Although I read it in a couple of days, I know I will return to it again and again as I let each idea sink in.
missy_littell's review against another edition
5.0
"We welcome strangers in the little ways we open ourselves up to them. Let's consider what it means to be the 'other.' The other is the one who is not like me. She is the liberal if I am conservative, and rich if I am poor. He is the guy who does not go the the same places I go, the family that does not worship where I worship or shop where I shop. The other is the person from the neighborhood I avoid; the guy I don't want sitting next to me on the place."
"We are caught up in what is probably the most immature attempt at spirituality humanity has ever seen. It is tragically and poignantly adolescent, with the deep emotion and angst that goes with adolescence. It is spirituality that seeks improvement for life--a better me, a better relationship--but it does not seek God and it does not move us toward others. It just keeps us running on the treadmill of our little egocentric worlds.
"We are accustomed to easy answers. Hospitality is not an easy answer. It requires us to grow. The moment we engage with another person everything gets messy. Our time becomes not quite our own; we can count on others interrupting us. We become subject to a whole hoard of emotional dangers.
"Because hospitality always involves giving something of ourselves to others, it is a spiritual practice. Spirituality is about relationship." (pg. 34)
"Only the brave keep the door ajar." (pg 26)
"...Benedict tells us to offer an open heart, a stance of availability, and to look for God lurking in every single person who comes through the door." (pg. xviii)
"He grows through encounters with others. He learns about himself and is loved, annoyed, grieved, respected--all in community and with the guest." (pg. xix)
"If we close ourselves to the stranger, we close ourselves to the Sacred. If we lock our doors and bolt our gates, we are forbidding God to come to us. And never before have we needed so badly to know that God comes to us." (pg. xxii)
"We are caught up in what is probably the most immature attempt at spirituality humanity has ever seen. It is tragically and poignantly adolescent, with the deep emotion and angst that goes with adolescence. It is spirituality that seeks improvement for life--a better me, a better relationship--but it does not seek God and it does not move us toward others. It just keeps us running on the treadmill of our little egocentric worlds.
"We are accustomed to easy answers. Hospitality is not an easy answer. It requires us to grow. The moment we engage with another person everything gets messy. Our time becomes not quite our own; we can count on others interrupting us. We become subject to a whole hoard of emotional dangers.
"Because hospitality always involves giving something of ourselves to others, it is a spiritual practice. Spirituality is about relationship." (pg. 34)
"Only the brave keep the door ajar." (pg 26)
"...Benedict tells us to offer an open heart, a stance of availability, and to look for God lurking in every single person who comes through the door." (pg. xviii)
"He grows through encounters with others. He learns about himself and is loved, annoyed, grieved, respected--all in community and with the guest." (pg. xix)
"If we close ourselves to the stranger, we close ourselves to the Sacred. If we lock our doors and bolt our gates, we are forbidding God to come to us. And never before have we needed so badly to know that God comes to us." (pg. xxii)
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