Father Leo Patalinghug - Grace Before Meals: Recipes and Inspiration for Family Meals and Family Life

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,

Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He said to him,

Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, Feed my lambs.

JOHN 21:810

Daniel and Deborah Slavinskas take the GBM message to heart by helping to cook an Italian meal for their son Jonathon and his classmates.

Since the first printing of Recipes for Family Life, not a day has gone by when I havent received an e-mail or phone call regarding our Grace Before Meals movement. I say our movement because its not my idea. Its Gods idea!

And this simple concept is now catching on everywhere! I have received wonderful and encouraging feedback from readers in Australia, Japan, the Philippines, the Netherlands, Canada, South America, Nigeria, Spain, Germany, Italy, and almost every state in America. Thousands more have joined our online community at www.gracebeforemeals.com. Through our website, weekly e-mail blasts, and blog, I have not only had the chance to share some of my personal faith and culinary adventures, Ive had the pleasure of learning how families from all over the world are adopting the principles of Grace Before Meals into their daily lives.

I want to stress that Grace Before Meals is truly our movement. It takes you and me to spread this simple but profound message of strengthening relationships around the dinner table.

At first, some of my brother priests teased me about the movement being a schtick. But, as soon as they hear the theology that supports our movement, they begin to realize that perhaps bite-sized theology is a great way to teach people about faith, hope, love, and life. Theres an information overload in our world. When do we have time to discuss and digest all thats being crammed down our throats? Well, God gives each of us an almost sacred place to be disciples (students) and to learn the way Jesus taught his followersaround the dinner table!

Filming a cooking segment for one of our webisodes.

In the Jewish scriptures, we read how God sealed the covenant with his People through a meal. The relationship of food and faith is brought to a whole new level when Jesus becomes our Bread and Wine, a sign of the Eternal Covenent with His family on earth! As a priest, you can imagine, I take my theology very seriously. Unfortunately, in todays fast-paced society, many of us have adopted a fast-food mentality. We have forgotten that food is supposed to do more than just fill our stomachs. So, as a priest who also loves food, I dont just want people to take theology more seriously, I want to encourage people to take the theology of food more seriously! And, thank God, people are listening.

Over the past year, Ive had the opportunity to personally offer Grace Before Meals presentations to people around the world. No matter where I go, I see parents and children hungering for the same things: a deeper sense of what it means to be a family, a renewed sense of Faith, and more opportunities to celebrate love for one another.

Im not saying Grace Before Meals is the answer to every hunger we have. But this movement, at the very least, asks the question: What are you hungering for?

The Grace Before Meals philosophy is making a difference in the lives of many families. And, trust me, I cant take credit for any of it. This movement is being supported completely by God. I like to think of myself as the young child in Johns gospel who just happened to have some fish and a few loaves. As this story shows, if we place our small gifts and talents in Jesus hands, he can make miracles! And Grace Before Meals has been somewhat miraculous for me and many others!

This movement encourages us all to consider what our gifts and talents are. Are we placing these gifts and talents in Gods hands in order to feed the hungry in our worldbeginning with those at our own dinner table?

Several students and family members joined me in the kitchen of Dr. Thomas H. Powell, president of Mount Saint Marys University, for an evening of great food and conversation.

Remember, feeding each other is one of the greatest ways we can show love. Consider a romantic dinner where lovers feed each other; newlyweds stuffing wedding cake in each others mouth; a mother breast-feeding her newborn; a father working long hours to earn bread for his family; and volunteers at the soup kitchen serving the homeless with a smile. All of these examples prove that