Family Meals

Think of all the special occasions we join family and friends around the dinner table. I would imagine that most of you like myself have a lot of good memories of stories shared, good food shared and of course the love that we freely share with our family and friends.

During Lent we feel the need to eat less by fasting from certain foods and by abstaining from meat on Friday as well as Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. In the busyness of our lives we sometimes forget that we need to join our family around the table for a meal. Perhaps during Lent we can become more conscious of spending time around the dinner table with our families. The time can be used to catch up on what is happening with everyone and by doing this we are not only nourishing our bodies but we are feeding our hearts and spirits as well. Maybe we could even extend that meal time into a game night or taking the time to go for an after dinner walk with the whole family. Of course we most likely won’t be able to fit that into our lives every day but once or twice a week might be doable. Think about it, time for just the family.

Maybe a different family member would be in charge of a meal prayer each time. When ending the prayer maybe the prayer leader could ask what each person would like to thank God for. Another family member could plan the menu for the special meal and if they are old enough could help with the preparation of the meal. The ideas are endless if we just take the time to stop and think…