The Catholic Table

Finding Joy Where Food and Faith Meet

By: Emily Stimpson Chapman

Narrated by: Emily Stimpson Chapman

What does our Catholic faith teach us about eating well? Some of us eat too much food. Or we eat too little. Often, we eat without gratitude, without charity, without respect. But, as award-winning author and food-blogger Emily Stimpson Chapman explains in The Catholic Table, with a sacramental worldview, the supernatural gift of God's grace can transform and heal us through the food we make, eat, and share.

©2016 Emmaus Road Publishing (P)2016 Emmaus Road Publishing

Great insights about food, simply explained

I have struggled my whole life with disordered eating, and this book has given me a Catholic understanding of how I can eat to the glory of God. I hope to reread again and again.

Feasting on the Presence of God

This book helps us to understand the importance of the family or community meal for refreshing family or friends but also for preparing us for the Sacred Banquet of the Holy Communion meal at Mass.

Husbands give this book a read too. Support your wives in this important family activity.

Surprisingly Emotional

This book made me both laugh and cry, when I didn’t expect to do either. Stimpson has a really great authorial voice and intermixes her own story with her thoughts on food. Anyone who has experienced struggles with food, either through overeating or extreme dieting or both will find her story resonating with them. In fact, anyone who wonders how to navigate a supermarket selling both Cinnamon Toast Crunch and gluten-free vegan products will find her perspective useful, refreshing, and full of common sense.

The book I didn't know I needed to listen to.

The message in this book is everything I didn't know I needed to hear. Emily does a wonderful, heartfelt job describing the way we should view food through the eyes of the Catholic Church. From understanding the great way of fasting to celebrating and feasting, I have a new appreciation that is deeper than I had before. This book is especially written for women, as Emily uses her battle with an eating disorder (I'd say it's only about 5-10% of the book, so it's not overbearing) to show how we all can misuse and misunderstand food the way God intended it. I struggle with overeating, and although her story involves anorexia, the message was still completely applicable to me. So glad I just happened to stumble upon this book by mistake. I will be re-listening for many times to come.

10/10

In this recording I felt as if a friend was reading to me. Emily is a smart and talented writer with a plethora of knowledge to share with the world. She was able to inform and entertain through out the entire book. I have already been recommending this book to my friends and family. I will definitely be listening to this again. I’m going to buy the hard copy to follow along with the next time.