Why Should Families Celebrate Feast Days? Fr. Leo Patalinghug Answers

Fr. Leo Patalinghug is a man on a mission to share with families around the world a simple truth: that gathering together to celebrate a special event with a (delicious!) shared meal is a powerful tool that positively impacts the family bond.

Establishing and perpetuating these family traditions transmits values across generations and creates a shared culture that unites individuals. Sadly, this is something that is being increasingly lost, especially in our American culture. "People are just not acting like a family anymore, they're never together," says Fr. Leo.

In the video below, Fr. Leo encourages families to bring back a sense of feast days for the family, and to do so as regularly as possible. "As Catholics, we are the supreme formators of culture. And yet, people think that we're boring . . . no, we are not boring . . . without our feast days [like Christmas, Halloween, and Easter], our economy would tank . . . celebrate your feast days so that your families can survive."

Bottom line: Don't wait for Thanksgiving to come back! Create more family feasts to celebrate life and faith around a well-prepared meal throughout the year.  Fr. Leo is bringing this message to the world at a time when we need to hear it the most: there is no more natural and effective family preserver than the family meal. If you need help with planning this for your family, that's what his book Grace Before Meals is all about!