Posted June 2, 2015

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In an effort to promote Catholic publications dedicated to the family, the Pontifical Council for the Family is organizing initiatives for Catholic publishers at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.

Together with the Vatican publishing house, the Catholic Biblical Federation and the Association of Catholic Publishers, the pontifical council is sponsoring a session on the Bible and the family Sept. 23 as part of the weeklong congress dedicated to the family Sept. 22-25.

The Association of Catholic Publishers also is helping coordinate a special “Catholic Publishers Pavilion” in the congress’ main exhibition hall.

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In addition, Catholic publishers are invited to come together Sept. 23 to hear a series of presentations on pastoral care for today’s families by the officials of the pontifical council and national family associations or offices in the United States, Latin America and Europe. Participants will discuss how to help today’s families when it comes to reading the Bible.

The initiatives are meant to promote Catholic publications that support the family and reading the Bible.

One of the event organizers, Italian Father Andrea Ciucci, who works at the pontifical council and specializes in youth formation, has special experience in the area of publishing Bible-related materials for the family.

He co-authored a Bible-based cookbook called “A Tavola con Abramo. Le Ricette della Bibbia” (“At the Table with Abraham. Recipes from the Bible”) published in 2012 in Italian.

The cookbook presents 70 recipes for foods and meals inspired by or described in the Bible, using ingredients typical of the biblical lands and times. Each recipe is accompanied by a related biblical event or passage; particular foods were often mentioned in Scripture as a way to convey a deeper message as well as the bond between the human and divine.

The recipes include Esau’s Lentil Stew, which recalls Esau’s brother Jacob making a stew in Genesis 25 and then taking advantage of Esau’s hunger in order to take his birthright.

“The dish asks us to consider what we are willing to sacrifice in order to satisfy our needs,” the book publisher wrote.

There is also Joel Fruit Salad, based on the prophet’s lamentation in Chapter 1 over the devastation that war brings to the fertile land God provides.

The cookbook aims to offer a different way for families to come together before, during and after a meal and reflect on the meaning and the different events in sacred Scripture.