Do you know how the pretzel came into being? Many years ago, there was a pious monk who was pastor of a Church in Italy. At one point in his ministry, the parish children seemed rather slow at learning their prayers. Consequently, he rewarded those who showed improvement by giving them a “pretiola,” which means “little gift.” The little gift was a biscuit shaped like a pair of hands clasped in prayer. Travelers would often take the pretiola over the Alps into Germany. The Germans glazed and salted them and they became a popular German snack. Eventually, pretzels were introduced and remain popular in many other parts of the world.
Now, the next time you see or eat a pretzel, it might well be a timely, welcome reminder to pray to God.
We talk a lot about prayer — about the importance of prayer, the efficacy of prayer, the necessity of prayer, the different kinds of prayer. And many of us do a…
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