Joining the feast

What a difference your Lenten fasting will make to your Easter feast! Not only will you have discovered God’s goodness amid your hunger but also how rewarding it can be to choose not to consume and so to have more to share with others.

At the Easter dinner you prepare or attend, the delicious meal will be but a part of the feast as you join in community in celebration of Christ’s victory over death. Here are some things you can do to enhance your feast.

• Prepare the food together. The act of working together will enrich the sense of community and the cause of the celebration itself.

• Think about a special prayer or toast for when you gather to put the practice of feasting before God. For a birthday dinner, thank God for the person whose birthday it is and for the gifts—name them—that person brings to the family or group. Give thanks, too, for the food and for those who prepared and provided it. Make a big deal out of this prayer, encouraging participation by all at the table. Celebrate God’s goodness specifically and at some length.