“Centuries of secularism have failed to transform eating into something strictly utilitarian. Food is still treated with reverence...To eat is still something more than to maintain bodily functions. People may not understand what that 'something more' is, but they nonetheless desire to celebrate it. They are still hungry and thirsty for sacramental life.”

“When I'm hungry, I eat. When I'm thirsty, I drink. When I feel like saying something, I say it.”

“You've got to have something to eat, and a little love in your life before you can hold still for any damn body's sermon on how to behave.”

“I said before that McDonald's serves a kind of comfort food, but after a few bites I'm more inclined to think they're selling something more schematic than that--something more like a signifier of comfort food. So you eat more and eat more quickly, hoping somehow to catch up to the original idea of a cheeseburger or French fry as it retreats over the horizon. And so it goes, bite after bite, until you feel not satisfied exactly, but simply, regrettably, full.”

“We clean our plates, yet we’re still famished—starving for something other than food.”

“Wouldn't it be most logical for her to change herself into a living thing, like a cat or dog, a bird or mouse?'That would be the easiest transformation, but Risto is above doing something simple.'Still, I'd be happier if Dibl would quit eating those bugs. Dibl, stop it. You might eat Gilda.”