I’m in Hot Springs, AR, this weekend, celebrating masses and preaching on behalf of Cross Catholic at St. John the Baptist Church. The Church was built in 1906, and dominates the area which it towers over, majestically.

After the last mass today at noon, I got with a friend from Little Rock, Toni Snow, who drove out here so we could spend some time together and tour the National Park. I’ve been to Little Rock on prior trips, and that’s where I met Toni, the Cathedral Sacristan. Hot Springs is a national park, and a fabulous tourist destination. It has hot Springs, still working, that attract people from all over the world. It was a hive of tourist activity today with people hustling all over the place. To avoid the maddening crowds, we drove to the top of Tower Mountain where we ascended the High Tower, and were able to view as much of the National Park as the eye could see. It was a magnificent sight: mountains and valleys, forests and plains, resplendent in colors, all laid out for all to see. I never pictured Arkansas to be such a beautiful state, but it is. We met people from Australia, and lots of people from different parts of Arkansas ready to share their greatest attribute of all: Southern Hospitality. 

Later in the evening, I encountered some young musicians in the Copper Penny, an Irish pub that has a reputation for good food and good cheer. They had traveled, they told me, to Hot Springs just to enjoy the Southern Hospitality. I asked where they were from and they said: “ Arkansas.” That was a surprise! They had been around the world, they told me, but there’s no denying the feel of Southern Hospitality. They knew what they were talking about. 

I had to agree with them.