Good Shepherd Ministries is celebrating St. John of God and his hospitality this Mission Week. Starting March 6, OH organizations across the North American province are taking time to honour our founder, St. John of God, and the many good works he inspires. In Toronto, Mission Week will feature a variety of events, including a potluck lunch celebrating the diversity of our co-workers and the OH presence throughout the world, as well as recognizing and celebrating those co-workers whose commitment to our mission has passed a service milestone. And, of course, on March 8th, there will be a special liturgy in honour of our patron’s feast day. Clients in residence will also contribute to the festivities. While it is wonderful to set aside time to mark the occasion, focusing on the “mission” is really a 52-week affair. Our values of respect, responsibility, quality, spirituality, and, most fundamentally, hospitality, underpin the work we do every day, not just at special times of the year. Hospitality, for us, is defined as our overarching value, embedded in all we do. In other words, it is not something we simply practice as a task or part of a job description, but something which informs how we wish to live and work. Our hospitality is meant to be transformative. While it may not be possible to change the life of every person who comes to us for support, we welcome all with generosity and openness. This is something St. John of God did in the mid-16th century and it is just as relevant today. Not pie-in-the-sky altruism, but meeting the realities of where people are, and being lovingly present. In his remarks describing the Church as a “field hospital”, Pope Francis added that “you have to start from the ground up.” St. John of God started small too. Five hundred years later, his work lives on in over 1000 Brothers and 40,000 co-workers in over 50 countries. Worth celebrating indeed!