If your kids don't experience a meal where the family can talk and share ideas and faith—as well as food—it will be much more difficult for them to appreciate the Eucharist as a sharing in the One Body of Christ.

When Jesus gathered with his friends in the upper room to celebrate the Passover, they talked a lot. They remembered the Exodus when God freed his people from slavery. Jesus spoke of his own Passover from this world to that of the Father, and of the freedom from sin and death that this would bring. He told the Apostles how much he loved them and that he would always be with them.

At the best meals, a family also remembers and tells stories. Family members talk about everyday things like what happened to Aunt Marge, what the boss said today, and discuss events that are coming up.

These meals nurture the spirit because they help everyone in a family remember good times and places shared together. The secret to preparing such family meals is simple: How you eat is more important than what you eat. As an old proverb says, "Better a dish of herbs where love is than a fatted ox and hatred with it" (Proverbs 15:17). Here are some suggestions for your own family meals:

• Create a peaceful atmosphere. Light a candle, or place flowers on the table. Use a tablecloth or cloth placemats and napkins.

• Be sure everyone likes something on the table. If you are serving a food a child does not like, try to offset it with a favorite. Be flexible-allow a child to substitute fruit for a disliked vegetable.

• Serve the food on a platter if you bring fast food home for dinner. Treat it as if it were home cooked instead of straight out of the bag. Use good dinnerware, not plastic forks and paper plates.

• Sing your prayer. Your child is probably learning songs in class that he or she would be thrilled to teach the family.

• Talk about the day. Avoid discussing problems, or discipline. Let each family member share good news or stories from their daily experience.

• Turn off the TV. Put on soft background music. Avoid running the dishwasher during dinner. Deflect incoming calls, either by using an answering machine, leaving the phone off the hook, or by answering but saying that you will call back later.