Feast, Faith, Flourish: holistic wellness in light of eternity

Feast, Faith, Flourish: holistic wellness in light of eternity

by Katie Gearns and Samantha Worthing

Photographs by Elissa Voss

Published by Sophia Institute Press

As we approach Advent, I am reminded how much I love how the liturgical seasons are so beautifully aligned with the natural seasons. In November, we contemplated memento mori with the Hallowtide Triduum as the trees died with their leaves changing colors and falling to the ground. Now, we enter winter – watching and waiting in our homes for the first snow and for the coming of Christ in the stable at Christmas!

The talented and knowledgeable authors of Feast, Faith, Flourish have compiled the most comprehensive resource of natural and liturgical flows and rhythms, and how to live them in the most spiritually fruitful and physically healthy ways possible. In addition, this is not a textbook to sit on your shelf and collect dust. It is a gorgeous work of art that is meant to be lovingly displayed on your coffee table or on a kitchen shelf. You will want to be able to easily access the wealth of knowledge, recipes, prayers, and more in this new book from the ladies at The Ember Collective. 

The content in the book is compiled from their magazine. The book includes liturgical and seasonal prayers, saint quotes and writing, recipes, articles, and more!

How to Use this Book

Introduction

The introduction of the book can be read straight through, or you could use it as a reference for different topics related to health and natural living. It has many interesting and useful articles. So, first you may want to read the introduction to gain information and insight on holistic living through a Catholic lens.

Living the Seasons

The book is then organized by the 4 natural seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Each season starts with the Ember Days fasting requirements and some information on the Ember Days for the season. This is followed by a summary of vegetables and fruit that are in season. This is so helpful for planning our family meals and grocery shopping! It’s important to buy produce in season since it will be more nutritious and cost effective.

The following pages for each season will have relevant articles, seasonal actions (such as tending a garden), feast days to celebrate for the season, homemaking tips (even floral arranging!), and amazing recipes. Many of the recipes are traditional for the feast day (soul cakes, St. Lucy buns), but there were many creative recipes included (such as minestrone soup for the feast of St. Joseph and natural Easter egg dyes).

There are also rosary reflections for each season which are beautiful and include scripture passages.

After reading through the introduction, you can simply turn to whatever season you are currently in, and decide what recipes and devotions to include for the season. Just a note: the seasons are for the northern hemisphere. So, if you are in the southern hemisphere, they will not match.

Who would like this book

This book would be perfect for any holistically living Catholic who loves cooking whole foods, tending a garden, and wants to do it all for the glory of God. This is also a beautiful book that clearly pairs the natural seasons with the liturgical seasons and feasts. This book is very comprehensive with many important feasts laid out by season. The recipes are just fancy and special enough, but very doable for busy homemakers. The photos are gorgeous and inspiring, and the wealth of knowledge within is very valuable and helpful. This book would make a lovely gift for any Catholic homemaker in your life.

You can find Feast, Faith, Flourish at Sophia Institute Press.

This book is also available on the Sophia Institute Santifi app as an ebook.