Burnt Offerings

A collection of recipes by priests and bishops of the Archdiocese of Chicago and beyond

After a lifetime of cooking, Rev. Ken Fleck, now pastor emeritus of St. George Parish in Tinley Park, sent out a missive more than 20 years ago to archdiocesan priests asking them to send him their favorite recipes for a cookbook he was planning. He got back 339. In 2005, Rev. Fleck self-published Burnt Offerings as a way to “dispel the myth and mystery that sometimes surrounds priests as a ‘breed apart,’” according to the book’s dedication.

“We lead prayer, preach, celebrate the sacraments,visit the sick, comfort the dying, counsel the troubled, and, at times, trouble the conscience,” he wrote. “I hope that those who try the recipes in the book will be able to reflect on the good priests who are ordinary guys with an extraordinary dream. With their faults and failings, skills and talents, they seek to answer the call heard long ago to help and serve—to be Christ for others.”
 

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