The Institute for Christian Formation
Wednesday of the First Week of Advent
December 2, 2015
Rich foods and choice wines, tables and baskets, loaves and fishes…the readings for this Wednesday of the First Week of Advent leave us focused on feasting and feeding. Our First Reading today is Isaiah 25:6-10a, which is a very popular first reading at funeral liturgies due to its references to the feast the Lord will provide, and the destruction of death and wiping away of tears. Our Responsorial Psalm is one of the most beloved and well-known of the psalms, Psalm 23. Here there is a reference to the table being spread. And our Gospel, Matthew 15:29-37, includes the miracle of the loaves and the fishes.
Parents…take note! It should be no surprise that more than a decade of research by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University has consistently found that the more often kids eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs. "Family Day: A Day to Eat Dinner with your Children” is a national initiative begun by this Center to remind parents that what your kids really want at the dinner table is you! While “Family Day” is celebrated annually on the 4th Monday in September, every day can (and should be) be family day in our homes! You can download their “Family Day Parent Toolkit: Recipes, Conversation Starters, Facts, Family Fun Ideas, and More” here.
Looking for an interesting placemat for your every day family meals? We have just begun a new Liturgical Year, and Liturgy Training Publications sells a “2016 Year of Grace Liturgical Calendar” that is laminated and is in a perfect notebook/placemat size. The calendar’s art this year focuses on sacred images from the Exsultet. Using this calendar as a placemat is sure to generate some great table conversation. It is also available in Spanish.
Table-fellowship and service are certainly essential to Christian life, whether it be sacramentally sharing in the Eucharist at the Table of the Lord at Mass, or gathering with family and friends around our own tables, or sharing with those who hunger and thirst. Take some time this Advent to reflect on the “Five Fs” (as I call them): Feasting, Fellowship, spiritual Formation, Family, and Faith! Make dinnertime special. Sit down at the table with real dishes and no television. Even if you are eating alone, set a nice table, light your Advent Wreath, and slow down as you eat your meal.
Set a date to host a special Feast Day Dinner…perhaps as early as tomorrow for Saint Francis Xavier’s feast day or this Sunday as we celebrate Saint Nicholas! This web site is full of suggestions for recipes and traditions to help you get started. And there are an abundance of books and other resources, as well, many of which are referenced here on this site. One such book is “A Continual Feast: A Cookbook to Celebrate the Joys of Family and Faith Throughout the Christian Year” by Evelyn Birge Vitz, Parker Leighton (Illustrator). And if you still need more ideas, contact me…I have hosted a number of traditional Feast Day Celebrations over the years!
A lovely Advent hymn for today is “People Look East.” Reflect especially on Verse 1 about preparing your house, hearth, and table. Remember – Love, the guest, is the Lord…and whenever we welcome someone in Jesus’ name, we are welcoming Jesus!
Talk with your children about the many “feeding” stories in the Bible, such as the story of the loaves and the fishes in today’s Gospel. A wonderful children’s book is “God Speaks to Us in Feeding Stories.” (This would make a great Christmas gift for children.)
And make the connections between your table and the Table of the Lord where we celebrate the Eucharist. Visit the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ web site for more information and resources on the Eucharist.
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