The family that cooks together shares meals together, says priest with culinary ministry

OMAHA, Neb. (The Catholic Voice) - Busy lifestyles and packed schedules make it difficult for many families to spend time together.

That's why Father Leo Patalinghug, a Baltimore priest with a passion for food and fellowship, founded the Grace Before Meals movement, which encourages families to prepare and enjoy meals together.

By using the most ordinary of tools - food - and the most familiar of places - the kitchen - parents and children are able to become involved not only in the task, but in open and honest conversations, Father Patalinghug said.

Father Patalinghug will show off his cooking skills April 29 at the Parish Center at Christ the King Church in Omaha. The event, sponsored by the Christ the King Ladies Guild, will include a cooking presentation and luncheon.

The Filipino priest was invited to speak because of his movement to bring families back to the table to share a meal together, said Beth Wilson, a member of the Ladies Guild.

"As Catholic families, we take our children to church and we pray with them, and this is just another way for families to share their faith in a relaxed everyday event," she said.

From hobby to ministry

What started as a grassroots movement among local parishioners has reached families all over the world through an interactive Web site, a blog and a TV show currently in development for PBS. In Father Patalinghug's new book "Grace Before Meals: Recipes for Family Life," he provides healthy, easy to prepare recipes. The book also incorporates short essays on topics such as winning and losing, landing a first job, and relationships, as well as questions designed to get conversations started.

Father Patalinghug said he developed his love for cooking while attending seminary at North American College in Rome. There, he became friends with several Italian restaurant owners and would often invite them back to the student kitchen to trade cooking secrets. They would teach him about rigatoni and lasagna; he would show them how to make hamburgers and ribs.

The priest said he enjoys cooking the food, but more than that, he enjoys the satisfaction people receive when they eat his meals.

"There is also a creative side of me that is satisfied when I am presented with a challenging meal or learning something new," he wrote in an e-mail to the Catholic Voice. "Ultimately, I love the fact that cooking is a great way to build relations."

Black belt in Tae Kwon Do

Before becoming a priest in 1999, Father Patalinghug pursued degrees in writing and political science, with the intention of studying law and journalism at the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus. He also taught high school speech, debate and drama, and founded a martial arts school in 1988 with his brother.
He studied philosophy at Theological College at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. He holds advanced theological degrees from the Pontifical Gregorian University and Pontifical Maranium Institute in Rome.

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Along with cooking, Father Patalinghug likes writing, singing, jogging and traveling. He holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and has won a national competition in Arniz, a form of full-contact stick fighting.

Currently, he is a member of the faculty at Mount Saint Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., where he directs the Pastoral Field Education Programs for future priests.

Father Patalinghug said Grace Before Meals is designed for the entire family and touches on a type of evangelization that is completely theological.

"As Jesus would use food in his ministry - from the first miracle to some of the first words he would speak after the resurrection - it shows that God can use and does use the gift of food, not just to feed the body, but the mind and soul as well," Father Patlinghug said.

With Grace Before Meals, organizers try to promote a positive Catholic message in a culturally acceptable way, he said, thereby giving Father Patalinghug the opportunity to present theology - in bite size portions - which is much easier for the busy family to digest.

The ministry also is an evangelization tool for people to see another side of the church's priesthood, he said.

"When I do presentations around the country and soon in other countries, it helps me to realize that the church is, above all, God's family. It's a place where we truly are brothers and sisters," Father Patlinghug said. "This reality of our Catholic family is most evident when we do something in God's house, around his most sacred table: We become brothers and sisters when we eat his flesh and drink his blood."

"It's a great and humbling honor to be invited into anyone's home," he said. "At the same time, there's a real comfort knowing that I'm not doing this presentation for a bunch of strangers. Instead I'm sharing a meal with brothers and sisters of faith."

(To read more about Father Leo Patalinghug and the Grace Before Meals movement, visit www.gracebeforemeals.com.)

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This story was made available to Catholic Online by permission of The Catholic Voice (www.catholicvoiceomaha.com), official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Omaha, Neb.