Mary DeTurris Poust QUOTES

2 " When we infuse our actions with a focus on God and on the many blessings we receive in even the most mundane moments of our lives, we create sacred rituals that bring a sense of holiness, a sense of wholeness, to what we do and who we are. Like the Eucharistic feast that nourishes our heart and soul, every meal we eat with mindfulness[,] each bite we take with gratitude, has the power to transform us inside and out, for all time. "

― Mary DeTurris Poust , Cravings: A Catholic Wrestles with Food, Self-Image, and God

4 " Even if you can’t be totally mindful at every meal, if you can say a blessing, silently if necessary, or offer up a prayer for someone, something beyond yourself and your food, the prayer helps to transform eating into something that affects not only our hunger at that moment but the greater world. "

― Mary DeTurris Poust , Cravings: A Catholic Wrestles with Food, Self-Image, and God

6 " By becoming aware of God’s Spirit, by slowing down and paying attention to the tastes and sounds and smells of the food we make and eat, we infuse our meals—and by extension our hearts—with a sense of awe, a depth of prayer that cannot help but transform our mindless eating into moving meditations. "

― Mary DeTurris Poust , Cravings: A Catholic Wrestles with Food, Self-Image, and God

8 " We cling to the comfortable rather than step out into the possible. "

― Mary DeTurris Poust , Cravings: A Catholic Wrestles with Food, Self-Image, and God

10 " We’re hungry for acceptance—from ourselves even more than from others—for love, for fulfillment, for peace. We’re hungry for a life we think we don’t deserve or can’t have, for the person we know we can be if only we’d give ourselves the chance. "

― Mary DeTurris Poust , Cravings: A Catholic Wrestles with Food, Self-Image, and God

12 " So often, even when we stop to say a blessing before a meal, we’re mentally preparing to spoon some pasta or potatoes onto our plates. We’re not usually focused on the present moment, simply placing ourselves before our food and entering into the still, slow space where eating is done for eating’s sake and not something we do simply to get to the next thing on our list. "

― Mary DeTurris Poust , Cravings: A Catholic Wrestles with Food, Self-Image, and God

14 " Whether we are feasting or fasting or somewhere in between, food should have a sacred role in our lives. It can be something we sacrifice, something we savor, something we share, and through it all we can remain fulfilled because we are grounded in God, the only One who can satisfy our hungry hearts. "

― Mary DeTurris Poust , Cravings: A Catholic Wrestles with Food, Self-Image, and God

16 " not every breakfast needs to be something worthy of posting to a food blog. Sometimes food is simply fuel, something we eat to live. But with TV ads and billboards and in-store displays saying otherwise—in colorful and provocative ways—that can be a hard case to make. "

― Mary DeTurris Poust , Cravings: A Catholic Wrestles with Food, Self-Image, and God

18 " We can’t go from zero to sixty in a day or even a week when it comes to shifting our food-habit gears. We have to take baby steps, starting with an increasing awareness of our habits and a willingness to chip away at the ones that aren’t doing us any good. Slowly, with time and commitment, we move away from the rat-race, multitasking mentality to a place where we want to give our meals and ourselves the time and attention we deserve. "

― Mary DeTurris Poust , Cravings: A Catholic Wrestles with Food, Self-Image, and God

20 " Just as the Eucharist fuels our soul and our spirit, good healthful meals fuel our bodies for the work God calls each of us to do in his kingdom. Praying before we consume a meal or when we are feeling exhausted and stressed helps to bring this “body and soul” connection into the light "

― Mary DeTurris Poust , Cravings: A Catholic Wrestles with Food, Self-Image, and God