The first letter of Peter gives us some good practical advice today: Be hospitable to each other without complaining. Use the gifts you have received to serve one another. Be good stewards of God’s grace.
One of the saints we celebrate tomorrow found an interesting way to live out that advice in his life. One of my favorite towns on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela is San Juan Ortega, named after this saint. It is located on the stage right before the arrival into the city of Burgos, one of the main cities on the Camino. San Juan de Ortega was born in Burgos in 1050. He became a priest at a young age. While traveling back from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the ship he was on almost sank into a terrible storm. Juan de Ortega prayed to St Nicholas to save them from the storm. He founded a Augustinian monastery in the village now named San Juan Ortega, and a monastery church named in honor of St Nicholas. In fact, he specifically founded this monastery and church in an area that was very dangerous for pilgrims on the Camino, as it was nestled in the mountains and was a prime location for robbers to hide and attack them. Juan de Ortega was a good friend of Santo Domingo de Calzada, another great Camino saint. Both of them spent time repairing bridges on the Camino, improving roads, and constructing new chapels and hospitals for the pilgrims. He died in 1143. What is interesting is that this monastery and church were abandoned in the 19th century when the monks left and closed them down. It is only with the renewed interest in the Camino in the last 25 years that the church and monastery are being restored.
The advice we hear in the letter to St Peter and the life of San Juan de Ortega both illustrate to us how as disciples of Christ, we are called to serve one another. Personal acts of piety are not enough. We are called to discern our gifts, to pray to the Lord for guidance, and to put these gifts into service. May we hear this call in our lives.
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