Catholic Activity: Irish Hospitality

The Irish cultivated a strong tradition of hospitality, always keeping in mind the presence of Christ in those who enter our homes.

DIRECTIONS

In a country like Ireland where there was so much oppression, many people were forced to beg. But the Irish people never called them beggars. They were known as travellers, or as walking men and walking women. They were welcome guests in every home and were made comfortable for a night's lodging. The prayers offered in return for this hospitality brought many blessings to Irish homes.

We may well end this little account on the note that the Irish home is always open to Our Lord and Our lady and their poor ones. A very ancient Gaelic poem expressed this spirit very well in the following lines:

Oh King of Starsl Whether my house be dark or bright, Never shall it be closed against any one, Lest Christ close His house against me. If there be a guest in your house And you conceal anything from him, 'Tis not the guest that will be without it, But Jesus, Mary's Son.

Activity Source: Your Home, A Church in Miniature by Compiled by The Family Life Bureau in the early 1950s, The Neumann Press, Long Prairie, Minnesota, 1994