Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
"As the family goes, so goes the nation
and so goes the whole world in which we live,"
Pope Saint John Paul II, Perth, Australia, November 30, 1986
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Welcome to Week One of our Year of the Family. This week, we are all invited to dinner. So, pull up a chair, make yourself at home, and bon appétit!
Bishop’s Year of the Family: Week 1 | Family Meals
I grew up in Waterford, Michigan, north of Detroit, the eldest of ten children. Dad worked in an auto factory. Mom ran the home. Despite what must have been limited financial means, we never lacked for love in our home nor for food on our table, though there was never anything left over.
And that is the theme for this, the first week of our Year of the Family: The Family Meal. Why start there? Because for humans – unlike all other animals – eating is about much more than mere physical sustenance or staving off hunger. For us, eating is a social activity.
How often in our lives has dining with others established or enhanced a friendship? A first date at a restaurant. An invitation to dinner at a friend’s house. Even, at this time of year, a parish picnic.
As if to affirm this very human observation, the pages of our four Gospels are thick with instances of Jesus striking or strengthening a relationship through the sharing of a meal: the wedding feast at Cana; the feeding of the 5,000; the Last Supper; the Road to Emmaus; the list goes on. Our Lord even alludes to paradise as being akin to a heavenly banquet.
As it is in heaven, so too on earth and in our families. The late Pope Francis once notably described the family meal as a "thermometer" for relational health within the home, warning that a household where members stare at screens instead of talking over dinner is "not much of a family" and behaves more like a "hostel" than a home.
Okay, that’s enough information. Time for some inspiration. Each week during this year, we’ll focus on real-life Catholic families from the Diocese of Lansing who are striving to live out our theme of the week. Today, it’s the Jobst family from Ypsilanti. That’s dad, Andy, mom, Bridget, and their ten children. Let’s join them in the kitchen as they begin to prepare dinner. Enjoy the film!
Did you watch it? My word, that all looks very good, doesn’t it? Amid the ambitious menu of seared cabbage, goat cheese, and champagne vinegar, I thought there were some good life lessons in that film we can all ponder and possibly imitate as a family. Here are five:
One: Meal preparation can be a time for fostering family friendship – as well as the meal itself.
Two: Don't leave all the work to Mom or Dad. A family meal can and should involve all the family.
Three: Sit down together at the dinner table – particularly on a Sunday. Try to avoid eating while sitting on the sofa or in front of a screen. As far as possible, don’t let work or school activities prevent that dinner table presence.
Four: Pray! Remember to thank God for food and family. That’s grace before meals and grace after meals, too.
Five: Note there were no mobile devices anywhere near the Jobst dinner table. The fact is, if our phone is in the vicinity of the family dinner table – even on silent – we are not fully present to our family members.
In conclusion, as Mrs. Jobst wisely observes, we can’t love what we don’t know, and our family meal is the most obvious, daily way to grow in knowledge and, thus, love of each other.
Thanks for joining me for this first installment of our Year of the Family. I hope you found it worthwhile. Until next week, happy dining!
Sincerely yours in Christ,
+ Earl Boyea
Bishop of Lansing
P.S. Please do try to invite at least one friend or family member to join us in our Year of the Family. Thank you. God bless you.