At the end of July, our hospitality will be put to the test as many parishes will be welcoming new priests and parishioners. I’m one of the priests being moved, and I want to publicly acknowledge my gratitude to the new parishioners who have already reached out to greet me. It’s a small act of kindness to write an email to a priest, but trust me when I say it goes a long way. Similarly, it’s a small act of kindness to chit-chat with a visitor at coffee hour or make room in the pew for a new parishioner. But it goes a long way.

It’s a gift that some people have, the ability to create a welcoming environment. I’ve tried to identify what makes some people so skilled at it, how they instantly turn strangers into friends. Clearly, there’s a specific virtue of hospitality. Like all virtues, hospitality requires preparedness and mindfulness. It’s a habit that we can practice and make our own. We can all become hospitable.

I was recently reading about Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. Many people, including his own parents, misunderstood him during his short life. They thought he was squandering opportunities by not focusing on education and a successful career. Instead, he spent his time with the St. Vincent de Paul conference in his parish. He visited the poor and anyone in need of friendship. He was generous with his time.

Everyone was surprised that his funeral had thousands of attendees. Pier Giorgio, it turns out, was so dedicated to hospitality that he befriended people all over town.

Even in recreation he practiced hospitality. He was a mountaineer who climbed difficult peaks with ease. His friends, however, weren’t as physically capable so, whenever he noticed a friend lagging behind on the trail and looking physically distressed, he would stop the group by declaring that he himself, Pier Giorgio, was tired and in need of a break. This way, his grateful friend would get a rest and be saved the embarrassment of delaying the group or appearing weak.

It’s a subtle way of offering comfort, this example from Pier Giorgio, but it embodies the principle of hospitality. Hospitality is always about people. It’s the habit of valuing others, celebrating them and making a genuine connection in order to bring out their best. True hospitality is humble and gracious. When done right, the effort isn’t even noticed. In fact, not drawing attention to itself is really the whole point of hospitality. It’s always for the sake of the other person.

My prayer and hope is that our parishes will be welcoming communities for visitors from here until eternity so that, when our Lord returns, we’ll all be ready to go home together.

Father Michael Rennier is pastor of Epiphany of Our Lord Parish in St. Louis. A former Anglican priest, he was ordained in 2016 under a pastoral provision. He and his wife, Amber, have six children.