November Virtue: Hospitality

By: Arlyn Birkholz

For the month of November, our Regis Rams tried to focus and follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ through the virtue of Hospitality. Hospitality is the ability to welcome each person as if they were Christ Himself, especially those new to the community. A person grounded in hospitality feels compelled to participate in works of social justice to build up the Kingdom of God, but this is not as easy as it sounds. Think back to all the times when you could’ve welcomed somebody, but you didn’t. We have all done this at least once or twice. No matter how you feel about someone, there will always be a better outcome when you welcome everybody. To put it into perspective, Jesus ate with sinners and tax collectors. In Matthew 9:12, when Jesus was asked why he does this, he says, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.” Jesus was saying that we need to help those who are sick, not actually ill, but maybe broken, hurt, etc. They need our help. We are not physicians who can help the sick like doctors or Jesus, but we can always do our part to welcome those who are not typically welcome. 

This month’s winners that were explicitly nominated for this virtue were Sophie Wagner, Zerrell Stoops, Max Eaton, and Melissa Gonzalez:

1. Sophie models Christ’s ability to pull others into any activity so that all feel welcome to participate and contribute. We are fortunate to have her as a member of the Regis community.
2. Zerrell strives to provide a welcoming and accepting environment for those around her. She always has a smile on her face and makes others feel at home in our school community.
3. Max goes out of his way to be helpful and kind. Whether chatting with his teachers, partnering with any student in class, working on student council, playing on the field or court, or acting on the stage, he helps everyone feel welcome and shows how fun it is to be a Regis Ram. 
4. Melissa takes the initiative to welcome friends into our community. This was evident last week as she greeted each Rotary member at our special feast for Thanksgiving. She exemplifies the virtue of hospitality. 

We are very thankful and honored to have these four welcoming students walking around our campus. Just for fun, I asked Sophie Wagner how it felt to be picked, and here is what she said: “it was a great honor!” It is so cool that we can have these people at our school to thank and recognize them.