BROOKFIELD – Beautifully decorated baskets filled with bread, cheeses, meats and decorated eggs were presented at St. Joseph Church to receive a Blessing of the Food on the eve of the celebration of Easter.
“It’s a very beautiful tradition,” said Pastor Fr. George O’Neill, adding it is nice to see families come together for this tradition.
“We are celebrating the resurrection of our Savior,” he said of the preparation and blessing of the foods that will grace the Easter table after the celebratory feast at Mass in the church.
The Blessing of the Food is a long-standing Eastern European tradition. The foods eaten at Easter are blessed to commemorate His act of salvation, His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. These foods break the Lenten fast as a joyful remembrance that He is risen, alive and with us.
“The traditions of this generation of children are very important so we can pass this on to them,” said Fr. O’Neill. “It’s not that they won’t do it when they get older but they won’t know about it. That’s why it’s important to have families walk through the journey of faith together.”
The foods chosen for the basket have important significance and meaning.
For instance, eggs are a symbol of new life and the shell symbolizes the hard rock of the tomb of Jesus Christ that was broken at the moment of his resurrection. Bread symbolizes Christ who is the bread of life for Catholics. Meats, symbolize prosperity because for centuries to have meat on the table symbolized wealth. Through this symbol, we ask God to provide a good meal for us every day and that our spiritual life be rich with Jesus.
Following the Blessing of the Food more than four dozen excited elementary school age children headed outside for an Easter egg hunt, sponsored by the St. Joseph Young Families Ministry.
“Our ministry feels it’s important to show children a beautiful Easter tradition, the blessing of the Easter food, as well as having a fun faith-based event for them to enjoy and take part in as a parish community,” said Christine Errichiello, one of the organizers of the event.
Colorful plastic eggs with chocolate and treats inside were hidden on church grounds near the upper parking lot, where children under the watchful eyes of parents and parishioners, eagerly sought to find as many as possible.
“We even have a golden egg hidden and inside the golden egg is a big chocolate cross,” Errichiello said.
After the Easter egg hunt children were ushered inside to the parish hall where a snack and fun craft were waiting.
The snack, homemade pretzels, also have a deep spiritual meaning for Lent. According to catholicculture.org, it was the ancient Christian Lenten bread as far back as the 4th century. In the old Roman Empire, during Lent the faithful kept a very strict fast and did not eat milk, butter, cheese, eggs, cream or meat. They made small breads of water, flour and salt to remind themselves that Lent was a time of prayer. These breads were shaped in the form of crossed arms, in homage to the tradition of crossing one’s arms over the breast while praying. They called the bread’s “little arms” (bracellae) and from this Latin word the Germanic people later coined the term pretzel.
Children worked on a craft placing stickers on a background reflecting the risen Christ. The artwork was put on a ribbon for them to be able to hang it up at home.
