Rome is the center of the Catholic Church, and Father Dave welcomes Judith Valente to discuss what faith lessons we can learn from Italian culture. Judith is a veteran journalist, retreat and pilgrimage leader, and the author of the new book, “The Italian Soul: How to Savor the Full Joys of Life.”
They discuss the pace of life in Italy and how it is often misunderstood as laziness. “We have to remember that Italy is the third largest economy in Europe. Italians work, and they work hard. They just don’t live to work; they work to live,” Judith says. “As a recovering workaholic and overachiever, it’s really helpful for me to see that I could take time to be with friends, to cook an elaborate meal every day, and still be able to get my work done. That was a big revelation to me.”
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She highlights the importance of community that she has witnessed in her travels. “In Italy, there is so much talking that goes on, and this is very important, because it’s a way of building community and a way for people to feel a sense of belonging,” Judith says. “This is very significant, and I think we [as Americans] have lost that, those places to gather. They’re talking in the piazzas, in the cafes, and on benches in the streets.”
“They’re talking even in doctors’ offices,” she adds. “My husband had to go to the doctor every day for five days once when he was ill over there, and I noticed the same people were at the doctor’s office every day. But they weren’t all sick; they were there for the conversation.”
“I believe this is a part of what has helped Italy to have one of the highest rates of longevity in all of Europe. Italy has the seventh highest rate of life expectancy of any country, behind only Switzerland in Europe,” Judith says, and notes that the United States ranks 48th on this list. “They live longer than we do, and I think it’s because we don’t have a sense of belonging.”
While we cannot easily change the pace of American culture, Judith says we can learn to slow down and savor, beginning with our meals. She says, “The meal table is very Eucharistic in Italy. It is a time not just to feed the body, but to feed the soul and to be in communion with the other people around the table.”
“Respect or revere the sanctity of the meal table. Make your meal table a real time of communion,” Judith continues. “I know many women my age who have children, and each kid eats at a different time because somebody has soccer, somebody has ballet, and they’re all eating different things. No — sit down together at the dinner table like they do in Italy.”
