Signs of the Times #34: Hospitality as a Work of Justice ft. Ruben Garcia

We’re joined on the podcast today by Ruben Garcia, Director of Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas whose mission is to accompany the migrant, homeless, and economically vulnerable peoples of the border. When Annunciation House came into existence in 1978 there were only two other shelters in El Paso and neither one of the two shelters would let undocumented people spend the night. This discovery led a small group of determined individuals to decide that offering hospitality to the undocumented was a need that they could meet. Ruben describes the ever-evolving situation at the border and the reality that migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers face as they flee their home country from poverty and political turmoil. He shares that we have a tendency to look at hospitality as a work of charity, yet it is also a fundamental work of justice because when you offer the true work of hospitality you offer it even when it might be at risk to oneself. Ultimately hospitality is at the core of the Gospel.