Faithful Food: Our Table as Refuge

faithful food

Our Table as Refuge

There also you and your households shall eat before the Lord your God, and rejoice in all your undertakings in which the Lord your God has blessed you. Deuteronomy 12:7

Gathering for weekly family dinners was not standard practice in my childhood. We ate together at my grandmother’s home for the “high holy” days of Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday and at my Mamaw’s for lesser noted days. The food, the atmosphere, the menu were vastly different, one formal, the other cloaked in its own sense of value. Throughout my children’s childhood years, I tried to establish a strong tradition of eating at the table. As my three part-time jobs substituted for a full time one, time became even more precious, still I hated the idea of eating in front of the television, so I kept at it. There were no conversational taboos at the dinner table; no forced polite talking points. I wanted my children to know that we could discuss anything and the table seemed a good place for this exercise in trust. We have discussed everything from recess in elementary school, to politics, to who gets the last biscuit. I know it sounds comical. I think in those days I was aiming somewhere between the relationship dynamics of the Waltons and Roseanne. Fast forward to another place and time, dateline Shreveport 2022. Our family composition has changed, we have added daughters in law and grandchildren. The table, however, remains. On Sundays, in the late afternoon/ evening the table is laid with the requisite utensils and flowers and heartfelt laughter are added in memory of my two grandmothers, passionate discussions bring my mother into the mix. Another change in our dinners is today I don’t have to do all the cooking. Each one present offers a special dish, either a childhood favorite, a new dish tested by their

friends now shared with the family, or a healthier way to enjoy old favorites. In every case it is all eaten and a culinary victory is proclaimed. These smaller parts come together as a living study in Paul’s verses about the parts of the body not being more important than each other, instead working together as a whole. And it is true, we are certainly stronger and happier together. If for some reason schedules conflict and we cannot all eat together, there are texts flying to confirm our next meal, offers of having it at their homes “if it is easier for you mom,” or occasionally there are “make-up” meals when the absent child shows up with pizza, burgers, or hunger, and we rustle something up together, something unplanned but filling us up in every way. Years ago I heard a priest speak at the Catholic Center on the Mass and what we bring to it. He invited us to look past the offering envelope and see what else we symbolically brought. He stated that as we transferred the bread from one dish to the next indicating we would receive communion, we also put our joys, concerns, troubles, and triumphs into the dish whose contents would be offered to God. I realized later that in life and at our table God does what he always does, takes what I bring, what we all bring, blesses it and returns to us abundance in a form we can recognize (sometimes!) and accept (sometimes!) I realized God is working through every avenue possible in my life, in all our lives, always offering abundance, which turns out to be harder to accept than our fantasies and fears would have us believe. In our weekly dinners, we have grown together and laughed and cried and been angry and reconciled together. The table and our actions around it have become a refuge from the work week, from the world and its stress. It has become a place to come home to, a place we can allow ourselves vulnerability and acceptance, a place where we can learn to bless not just our food but one another. At our table the formality and orderliness of my grandmother and the warm embrace of my mamaw which was given without reservation have come full circle and working together are guiding us.

KIM LONG is the Director of Religious Education at Saint Mary of the Pines Parish.

cole's chicken

The first time Cole insisted on making the main dish, he was in college. This was his go to dish. It isn’t fancy, but it is filling, and it is spicy! Fill up your glass with iced tea and enjoy!

• Your pick of the chick (your favorite pieces) • One bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, finely crushed • Place a parchment sheet on a baking pan. • Roll your chicken pieces in crushed Cheetos • When completely (or nearly) coated, place on baking sheet • Bake at 350 degrees until done (time will vary depending on individual oven temps and thickness of pieces). • To test for doneness, cut into the middle of a piece, and if juices run clear, it’s ready. If you would like to adjust the spice, use a mixture of plain and spicy cheetos or all plain.

You are Free to Live Your Calling. But Just What Is Your Calling?

It was May of 1965 when I attended my 8th grade retreat with my six classmates from our small Catholic school. By the end of the day, I knew God was telling me I had a specific calling on my life, but I had no idea what it was. Through high school I became convinced it was not a calling to the priesthood or religious life, but still, no clue of what it might be. After college and well into my career, I constantly asked God “what are you calling me to?” I was in my fifties before I seriously devoted time to study, pray and grow to discern what this calling would be. As it morphed and developed, I knew beyond doubt I was to become a spiritual director. Ironically, had the availability of a spiritual director – one who could help me through this discernment – manifested in my twenties or thirties, how many people might I have served by now?

For freedom Christ set us free . . . For you were called for freedom, brothers, and sisters. . . . serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Gal 5:1, 13-14)

Christ came to set us free. We usually consider “free from what?” But I believe a more important question is: “free to do what?” And the answer is the freedom to follow Christ’s call on our lives in how we love and serve one another. We are free to love and serve one another using the path God gifts to us. A trained spiritual director not only can help us discern what that path might be, but also assist us in sifting through all the movements of our lives to live each day loving and serving each other. That’s it! St. Paul says above that the entire law of God is fulfilled in loving and serving our neighbor. But the opportunities to do this are infinite. We can use our Christ gifted freedom to find and live out exactly how God desires us to carry this out. And for many of us, if not most, the freedom to engage with a trained spiritual director allows us to be open to God’s unique and loving desire for each of us. A spiritual practice you are free to use each day this month would be to read the scripture above and sit quietly in meditation asking God to enlighten your heart and mind to hear his call to love and serve. And eventually, know exactly what that call is. If you need help with this, contact a trained spiritual director for assistance. You can find a complete listing on our diocesan website using the “Ministries” tab, and then clicking on “Spiritual Direction.” Do you want to know more about what it takes to become a spiritual director? See the following page for our next “virtual” informational session. From the comfort of your own home, you can hear and discover what spiritual direction is and become a little familiar with the ministry of being a spiritual director.

MIKE VAN VRANKEN is a spiritual director, a member of the teaching staff for the Archdiocesan Spirituality Center of New Orleans Formation of New Spiritual Directors, an author and a speaker.