What was your Most Memorable Meal?

What was your Most Memorable Meal? 

Last summer, I had the opportunity to attend the Resurrectionists’ 34th General Chapter as an English Language secretary.  During that time, a friend and classmate of mine was also in Rome, finishing his PhD in Systematic (formerly “Dogmatic”) Theology, on St. Bonaventure.  We met up twice to catch up, and the second time, we went to the Jewish Quarter in Rome, and had dinner at Nonna Betta, a restaurant specializing in traditional Roman Jewish fare.

On the bottom corner of the menu, I noticed a quote:

Si cucina sempre pensado a qualcuno altrimenti stai solo preparando da mangiare.

or in English:

You always cook with someone in mind otherwise you’re just preparing food.

The late Orthodox priest and theologian, Alexander Schmemann, once pointed out that:

“Centuries of secularism have failed to transform eating into something strictly utilitarian. Food is still treated with reverence. A meal is still a rite-the last “natural sacrament” of family and friendship, of life that is more than “eating” and “drinking.” To eat is still something more than to maintain bodily functions. People may not understand what that “something more” is, but they nonetheless desire to celebrate it. They are still hungry and thirsty for sacramental life.”[1]

Much has been said these days about Eucharistic Renewal, and the relative state of belief in the Eucharist among Catholics.  Whatever our thoughts and feelings may be about the attitudes and purposes of others with regards to the Eucharist, what I think is at least as – if not far more important – is what Jesus’ attitude and purpose was when He instituted the Eucharist.  Or as the menu at Nonna Betta’s put it – who He was thinking of.  Jesus was not merely preparing a “dish”, but a meal.  A dish is just food, but a meal is communion.

At the risk of oversimplifying, it can be said that every Christian vocation finds its source in the Eucharist, because the attitude and purpose Jesus had in mind when He celebrated the Last Supper, was you and me – and He still does at every Mass.  The question for us, then, is who do you have in mind?