Partners in Hospitality Ministry

Paula, a noblewoman of the Roman Empire, came from a prestigious family, one of immense wealth and status. Widowed at a young age, she was left with substantial resources, which many in her position would have used to maintain a life of luxury and privilege. However, Paula's life took a significant turn when she encountered the Christian teachings that profoundly influenced her view on wealth, purpose, and service. After meeting Saint Jerome, a prominent biblical scholar and ascetic, Paula became one of his closest followers and benefactors, ultimately partnering with him to serve the poor and advance Christian ministry.

Paula’s Wealth and Conversion to Christianity

Born into one of Rome's most aristocratic families, Paula lived a life of privilege, but her heart was transformed by the teachings of Christ. Around 382 CE, she met Saint Jerome when he was in Rome advocating for the ascetic lifestyle, and this meeting marked the beginning of a deep spiritual and ministerial partnership. Jerome’s rigorous commitment to biblical scholarship and his vision for ascetic living inspired Paula to dedicate her life and wealth to the service of God.

Paula’s conversion was total—she embraced a life of simplicity and generosity. After the death of her husband, she chose not to remarry, despite societal pressures, and instead devoted her energy to spiritual pursuits. She sold most of her estates and properties, using the wealth to fund acts of charity and support the Christian mission.

Partnership with Saint Jerome

Saint Jerome, already renowned for his intellectual prowess and devotion to Scripture, found in Paula a benefactor who shared his vision. Paula’s wealth allowed Jerome to focus on his monumental task: the translation of the Bible into Latin, known as the Vulgate. This translation was critical for making Scripture accessible to the Western Church and would go on to become the standard text for centuries. Paula’s financial support ensured that Jerome could dedicate his time fully to this work, while also caring for the poor and supporting other aspects of Christian ministry.

Together, Paula and Jerome traveled to Bethlehem in 386 CE, where they established a community centered around monastic life, biblical scholarship, and hospitality. Paula used her vast resources to build monasteries, a convent, and a hospice for pilgrims, the sick, and the needy. Their home became a sanctuary for travelers, a halfway house for those in transition, and a refuge for the marginalized—an early form of ministry hospitality.

Establishing a Legacy of Hospitality

Paula’s commitment to radical hospitality mirrored the early Christian ideal of breaking down barriers between the rich and poor, powerful and powerless. She and Jerome believed that wealth was a tool for God’s work and that by sharing it with those in need, they were following Christ’s example of serving "the least of these."

Paula’s decision to build a convent and multiple monasteries in Bethlehem provided safe spaces for pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land and homes for the needy. She personally managed the community’s daily affairs, ensuring that those under her care received both physical and spiritual sustenance. This included not only providing food, shelter, and clothing but also engaging in prayer and study with those she served.

While Jerome was known for his scholarly contributions, Paula’s role in providing the infrastructure and resources for their community was equally essential. She was not content to simply fund these efforts; she actively participated in the spiritual life of the community, offering guidance and care to the nuns and others who lived under her roof.

A Model of Wealth and Service

Paula’s story exemplifies the early Christian ideal that wealth should be used for the glory of God and the service of others. While many of her contemporaries hoarded wealth or used it for personal gain, Paula saw her resources as a means to further the Kingdom of God. Her partnership with Jerome shows how Christians with financial means can support and sustain ministry efforts that have a lasting impact.

Paula and Jerome's collaboration was not just a relationship of patronage; it was a partnership rooted in shared faith and a common mission. Their work together demonstrates the power of combining spiritual leadership with material resources to meet the needs of the poor and vulnerable. Paula’s radical generosity enabled Jerome’s intellectual contributions, while Jerome’s leadership provided spiritual direction for Paula’s acts of service.

Lessons from Paula and Jerome’s Partnership

The partnership between Paula and Jerome offers several key lessons for modern Christians:

1. Wealth as a Ministry Tool: Like Paula, Christians with financial means can use their resources to build ministries, fund humanitarian efforts, and support spiritual leaders.
2. Hospitality as Evangelism: Paula’s decision to open her home to the needy shows that hospitality is more than just charity—it’s a means of evangelism and discipleship, reflecting Christ’s love for all people.
3. Simplicity and Generosity: Paula’s transformation from Roman aristocrat to ascetic philanthropist illustrates the power of living a life of simplicity and generosity, focused on serving others rather than accumulating wealth for personal comfort.
4. Partnering with Spiritual Leaders: Wealthy Christians can partner with ministers, missionaries, and scholars to advance the Gospel in practical, sustainable ways, just as Paula supported Jerome’s biblical scholarship and ministry.
5. Creating Sustainable Ministries: By building monasteries and hospices, Paula created lasting institutions that served the poor and pilgrims long after her death. Modern Christians can follow this model by investing in sustainable projects that continue to benefit future generations.

Paula of Rome and Saint Jerome’s partnership is a powerful example of how wealth, when used in service to others, can advance the Kingdom of God. Paula’s radical hospitality and generosity created a legacy that not only supported the church’s mission but also transformed lives through practical service and spiritual care. Today’s Christians can learn from Paula’s example by using their resources to support ministries, open their homes to those in need, and live lives marked by simplicity, generosity, and radical hospitality.

Inspired by the story of Paula and Saint Jerome, we can reimagine new forms of partnerships where ministry friends work together in grassroots or indigenous ways to create impactful, relational ministry hospitality. These partnerships, grounded in friendship and shared vision, may not rely on structured programs but instead emerge from personal relationships and a mutual commitment to serving others in Christ’s name.

1. Opening Homes to Those in Need

Like Paula opening her resources to support Jerome’s ministry, friends in ministry can open their homes to those in temporary need—offering a spare room to someone who is homeless, recently divorced, or in need of a safe place. The friendship between host and guest becomes a natural ministry setting where mutual care and support are offered without formal programs.

2. Supporting Each Other's Ministry Dreams

Ministry friends can pool their resources to support each other's vision for outreach. Whether one person has the financial resources to invest in housing or a community project, while the other provides the leadership and care, this form of partnership focuses on shared goals rather than formal structures.

3. Hosting Shared Meals and Fellowship

Instead of structured meal programs, friends in ministry can regularly host shared meals in their homes, inviting neighbors, newcomers, or anyone in need of fellowship. These meals create space for organic conversations, spiritual discussions, and community-building.

4. Creating Safe Spaces for Healing

Ministry friends can come together to offer their homes as places of healing for those going through trauma, grief, or life disruptions. This might look like offering a temporary stay to someone recovering from a difficult season, where pastoral care and hospitality happen naturally in a familial, supportive environment.

5. Mentoring Through Relationship

Rather than setting up a formal mentoring program, ministry friends can mentor young people or individuals in need of guidance through relational discipleship. Walking alongside others in life—inviting them into family events, providing advice, and praying with them—creates long-lasting impact through personal connection.

6. Grassroots Community Projects

Like Paula using her wealth to support Jerome’s scholarly and pastoral work, friends in ministry today can join together to address specific needs in their community through small, localized projects. For example, a group of friends might help fix up a house for someone in need or create a community garden that brings people together.

7. Shared Spiritual Retreats

Friends can create informal spiritual retreats or prayer meetings in their homes, inviting others to join. These gatherings might be focused on rest, prayer, and spiritual growth, offering people in their community a place to encounter God in a peaceful, relational setting.

8. Temporary Housing and Refuge

Ministry friends can work together to create informal networks of hospitality where those facing homelessness, job loss, or other disruptions can find temporary refuge. This may involve friends coordinating their homes as safe places for short-term stays without relying on institutional structures.

9. Financial Sponsorships Without Programs

Just as Paula supported Jerome’s work financially, friends today can contribute to one another’s ministry efforts in direct, relational ways—paying rent for someone in need, buying groceries for a family struggling financially, or helping fund a friend’s ministry outreach.

10. Using Talents to Serve Together

Ministry friends can partner by pooling their talents and skills to serve others—whether that’s through hosting events, teaching classes, or offering counseling in a more informal, relational setting. This is ministry flowing out of friendship, not requiring formal titles or structures.

11. Collaborative Counseling and Care

Just as Jerome provided spiritual guidance while Paula supported his work, today’s ministry friends can collaborate in offering counseling, care, or spiritual direction. One friend might provide the emotional or logistical support while the other offers spiritual mentoring.

12. Building Networks of Support

Ministry friends can establish informal support networks that rely on relationships rather than programs—helping friends and neighbors find housing, employment, or community resources through personal connections and shared efforts.

13. Hosting Recovery or Support Groups

Ministry friends can open their homes for support groups—whether for addiction recovery, trauma healing, or life transitions—offering a relational environment that fosters healing and growth outside of formal institutions.

14. Welcoming Refugees and Immigrants

Instead of a formal housing program, ministry friends can coordinate to provide housing and support for refugees or immigrants. They can welcome displaced families into their homes, help them find resources, and walk with them as they adjust to a new life.

15. Supporting Released Prisoners

Ministry friends can provide a relational support system for recently released prisoners, offering temporary housing, friendship, and guidance as they transition back into society. This relational approach can be more personal and impactful than a formal program.

Conclusion

The story of Paula and Jerome shows how ministry friendships can lead to creative and impactful hospitality. Their relationship was not based on programs but on shared commitment, mutual support, and a vision for serving God together. Likewise, in today’s context, Christians can band together in relational, grassroots ways to serve their communities—opening homes, supporting each other’s visions, and living out the call to radical hospitality through personal connections. These partnerships, based on love and service, reflect the early church’s spirit of generosity and compassion.