You’re Invited into our Spirit of Hospitality

by Tim Busch
Published In January 21, 2025

“Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

– HEBREWS 13:2

Dear friends of Napa,

One of my goals for the Napa Institute this year is to double down on our spirit of hospitality—welcoming fellow Catholics like you into an extraordinary experience.

Hospitality has always been part of our mission, as you’ve hopefully witnessed at our events. (Trinitas wine, anyone?) The reason is simple, and it springs from Scripture.

In the life of Christ, we see hospitality come to life. He was constantly greeted with the generosity of strangers, who welcomed him into their homes with pomp and circumstance. In ancient times, hospitality was a grand affair—involving feasts, wine, and a great outpouring of warmth and friendliness.

It was a sign of great love even for those with very little to put all they had into welcoming the person at their door. Remember Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath?

The Church has embraced this spirit of hospitality ever since. For two thousand years, every week has centered on Sunday—a day of feasting and celebration over our Lord’s sacrifice, which is itself an entrance into the heavenly banquet which has no equal.

And the liturgical calendar is an ongoing invitation to hospitality. Every feast day is a chance to celebrate the life of the saints and the grace of Christ with our families, our friends, and yes, with strangers.

No wonder the Napa Institute has strived for hospitality since our founding!

But hospitality is harder and harder to come by these days. Fewer people than ever understand it and even fewer regularly practice it.

Unfortunately, in our polarized world and divided Church, our hospitality has drawn some criticism. (Though never from people who’ve experienced it!) Some have said that we’re too lavish.

My response to them is simple: How else should we reflect the love of Jesus Christ? With stinginess and sackcloth? No thank you! If Jesus Himself turned water into wine at the wedding at Cana, the least we can do is serve wine to all who walk through our doors!

This is why we’re doubling down on hospitality. We’re planning to make our conferences, dinners, trips, and other events even more welcoming and warm. A case in point is our Salon Dinners, which welcome Catholics across diverse ideological lines for an evening of prayer, fellowship, food, and drink.

There are offerings accessible to every person across the year. Often we charge nothing or a modest fee to attend one of our events, like last year’s evening with Cardinal Sarah or our Napa Nights at the Catholic Information Center in Washington, DC.

We don’t have a membership fee to be associated with us, though we do hope you’ll pray for our work.

We invite you to join us this year—to experience this spirit of hospitality for yourself.

Take a look at our upcoming events. Some of them may interest you; it’s not too early to register. You won’t regret the hospitality you find at the Napa Institute!

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