Written by Barb Spies, OFS, Director of Mission Services and Pastoral Care

Mission and Heritage Week gives us many opportunities to emphasize the goals of this ministry begun by the Felician Sisters. This year, our theme is “Widening Our Tent for Charism and Mission.” In the Hebrew Scriptures, tents served as vital shelters for nomadic peoples such as Abraham and Sarah, Moses, Miriam, and Aaron, who moved in search of food, water, and safety. They were symbols of adaptability and impermanence in the face of drought, famine, and exile.

Hospitality was central to this life—a sacred duty to offer not only shelter and food but refuge, protection, and generosity, relinquishing control to the guest. Abraham and Sarah’s welcome to three strangers (Genesis 18:1–10) revealed them as the Lord and angels; the Letter to the Hebrews echoes this mandate: “Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels” (Hebrews 13:2). On the road to Emmaus, the disciples’ invitation to a stranger led to the revelation of the Risen Christ in the breaking of bread (Luke 24:29–31).

The prophet Isaiah calls the exiled people to care generously for others. He said, “Enlarge the space for your tent… lengthen your ropes and make firm your pegs” This is an invitation to hospitality, openness, and steadfastness, rooted in God’s unshakable covenant of love. Isaiah’s vision challenges us to “widen our tent” in our own time—expanding our capacity for welcome, deepening our solidarity, and grounding our mission in God’s enduring love.

Tents remain both a choice and a necessity. For some, they are recreational; for others, they are the only shelter in the face of war, violence, poverty, or displacement. Isaiah’s vision challenges us to “widen our tent” in our own time—expanding our capacity for welcome, deepening our solidarity, and grounding our mission in God’s enduring love. As we consider the Judeo-Christian mandate of widening our tent and offering generous and gracious hospitality to the stranger, we are faced with the challenge of how we are called to act, what we are called to do, and who we are called to be.

We are a pilgrim people - guests in this place we call home -  and the tent reminds us of the transient nature of our earthly life. We journey together in mutuality and love, knowing that God is always present with us and among us.

Blessed Angela: “To be a saint should be the aim of every soul dedicating herself to God.”