The practice of mindful eating as a Christian gives us the opportunity to experience the presence of God in the present moment two or three times a day. A beautiful essay about the spiritual aspects of mindful eating came from Thich Nhat Hahn, a Buddhist monk and mindfulness teacher, “Mindfulness Survival Kit.”
I am adapting his thoughts to include the presence of God at the meal.
When we eat a meal, we should be mindful of our Lord present with us at the table, the food and the people with us. We can contemplate five things:
- The food is a gift from God, the Earth, the sky and much hard work.
- May we eat in mindfulness and with gratitude so as to be worthy to receive it.
- We ask God to give us the grace to overcome our sins and weaknesses, especially greed, vanity and gluttony.
- May we keep our compassion alive by eating in such a way that we reduce the suffering of beings, preserve our planet and reverse the process of global warming.
- We accept this food in order to nourish our family, build our community and do God’s will.
Keeping these thoughts in mind is a useful way as we slowly eat and enjoy our meals. Other ideas about mindful Christian eating are here.