Book Review: "The Sacred Meal" by Nora Gallagher

Of the books I've reviewed so far, this is definitely my favourite.

Part of The Ancient Practices Series (edited by Phyllis Tickle,) I expected The Sacred Meal to be a fairly academic book, and to my pleasant surprise, it really wasn't.

Nora Gallagher weaves history, tradition, and memoir to explore Holy Communion. Her writing is effortless, full of imagery, and at times, poetic. Even though she explores the practicalities of this universal practice, she keeps the ultimate story of Communion to be a personal one. How does Communion affect you, today, and in these circumstances?

In reading other reviews of this book, I found it interesting that a lot of reviewers would have preferred a more academic approach to the topic, and that's definitely a fair opinion. I guess, for a lifelong Christian like me, it can get easy to fall into the sameness of Communion. Nora's book reminded me that everything I do pre-altar can feed into my Communion experience, and likewise, my Communion experience can feed into everything I do in 'real' life.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”