By Penny Wiegert | The Observer Editor
(Observer photo)
The breaking of bread is central to our Catholic faith and to our very existence as humans. Food and the sharing of it is part of our story and is many times front and center when we share those stories.
Maybe that’s what makes the charming new book by Woodeene Koenig-Bricker, “Dinner Party with the Saints” such a great addition to anyone’s library.
Koenig-Bricker has written many times about the saints of the Catholic Church but never quite like this.
Now for full disclosure, I have been friends with the author for about 15 years or more. We served on the board of directors for the Catholic Press Association for the United States and Canada. But that has nothing to do with why I like this book.
The book is not another dry bullet-point history of the life of the saints. Each chapter focuses on one of the 16 saints attending the dinner party with an imaginative combination of fictional narrative, traditional images, factual biographies, interesting historical factoids and delicious food complete with step-by-step recipes. Those recipes include everything from St. Brigit of Ireland’s Brownies with Guinness Fudge Sauce to St. Martha of Bethany’s Oven-Baked Lamb and Rosemary Stew.
This creative little literary casserole is topped off with some traditional and contemporary prayers, and mini facts about each saint. “Dinner Party with the Saints” is a mouth-watering word stew which allows the reader to relate to the saints as the humans they most certainly once were before their canonization.
The story begins as St. Peter, busy with admitting new residents into heaven, asks St. Teresa of Avila what else she might need for the dinner party. Their fictional dialogue includes a good blend of respect and reverence with generous dashes of humor and anticipation for the event to come.
When I picked up this book I assumed I knew what it was about and where it was headed, and I couldn’t have been more mistaken. When I got to the end I ate my humble pie and enjoyed the warm conclusion of what is a quick, informative and downright delightful read. I bought two copies, one for myself and one to give away to The Observer readers. (The contest ends April 30, 2021.)
I fully intend to buy more for my family and for my parish because I think it would be a great companion to any formal study of the saints featured especially in a Catholic book club, study group or religious education class. I can imagine a parish inviting new members to a meal and sharing this book and you’ll see why that’s a good idea when you read “Dinner Party with the Saints.”
Koenig-Bricker said she got the idea for the book as the result of some “mental meandering.”
“I was wondering if the saints ever got together in heaven. Did they meet each other? What would happen if they did meet up? So I began to imagine what that sort of gathering would be like. So the first question was ‘Why would they get together?’ Then I recalled the image of the heavenly banquet and thought, “Hmmm ... what if there was a dinner party? And what if it was a potluck? And what if the saints brought something they could have eaten at the time,” she explained.
She says it was the ending of “Dinner Party with the Saints” that came first.
“As soon as I had thought about a dinner party, I knew how it had to end. Without giving it away, I knew that I wanted to be sure that readers understood that the one single most important thing is love. That’s it. Love,” she says.
Koenig-Bricker chose the 16 saints who come to her dinner party because she wanted her “guests” to reflect gender equality, ethnic diversity and saints that covered all 2,000 years of Church history, saints that came from religious life and the laity.
And finally, she said, “I had to like the saint.”
Celia Murphy is the author of all the recipes contained in the book. Murphy is a classically-trained culinary graduate, now avid home cook and baker.
She grew up on Long Island, N.Y., and later moved to the Northeast. Over the years Murphy has worked in the restaurant and hospitality industry, catering, and she has created specialty cakes for events. She currently takes care of marketing and the website for her sister’s quilt shop, and has been a family caregiver for years.
Her hobbies include cooking, baking, writing, playing guitar and photography.
Koenig-Bricker chose Murphy to create recipes after getting acquainted through their mutual love for the TV show “Lost.”
“The funny thing is that we have never actually met in person, since she lives in Maine and I live in Oregon. Our entire friendship has been online.
“My original plan for the recipes didn’t work out and I knew that Celia was a fabulous cook. I asked if she could help. She did more than help. She was a genius,” Koenig-Bricker said.
Besides educating the reader, the little known facts and references to Egypt seem to bring historical context and life to her story and even the saints themselves. She includes them in the book not so much for her personal interest in Egyptology (she is busy pursuing a degree in Egyptology), but because she says, “Egypt and the Judeo-Christian faith are very much intertwined.”
And these little backgrounders help the reader see the saints in their historical context, which Koenig-Bricker says helps the reader realize the saints’ “times and cultures, and it gives us a way to understand their lives more completely.
“We have more than enough hagiographies about saints. My bookcase is testimony to that. But putting these historical figures in historical context gives them more life,” she said.
About the Author
 |
| (Photo supplied) |
She is the author of 12 books of her own and editor or ghostwriter on many more.
She has always been fascinated by saints and has researched them both professionally and for her own interest. Her books “365 Saints” and “365 Mary” are derived from this passion.
She is pursuing a degree in Egypto-logy from the University of Manchester, England, because ancient Egypt has been another life-long interest.
Born in Montana and raised in a genuine log cabin, she has lived in Arizona and California before settling in Oregon.
She is the mother of one son and grandmother to one granddaughter. She lives with three Abyssinian cats, all of whom have ancient Egyptian names but prefer to come to the sound of the cat food can opening.
"Dinner Party with the Saints" is available at online retailers.
