Bless us, Oh Lord,
and these thy gifts which
we are about to receive from thy bounty,
through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.

Grace was the prayer my childhood family recited every evening before supper. It’s one of the most common prayers growing up in the Catholic Church that I said. It ranked right up there with The Lord’s Prayer and the Hail Mary, but Grace, at my peak, I’ll bet I could have ripped through that one in about 4 seconds. . . . Let’s eat!

It’s interesting how common prayers become a part of the fabric of our lives and Grace was one. Growing up in the Catholic Church (more on that another time) the tradition of starting a prayer and then everyone chiming in was common. One time, my dad ran the funeral visitation prayers and opened with “Bless us Oh Lord . . . . . ” to which everyone in attendance automatically, and without thinking what the prayer was, responded to finish Grace. Dad then shared that when a family gathers at a funeral it’s not much different than how a family gathers around the dinner table, it’s that time we all stop and give thanks for all we have. That was a memory and lesson that has touched and stuck with me to this day.

During the child-raising years, our mealtime prayers were different than they are today. Schedules back then may have everyone eating at different times; When we were together, kids might take turns saying the mealtime prayer as it was fun to be in charge; but generally, they were short and to the point.

In more recent years, I tend to be the one who leads the prayer. No, I don’t say Grace anymore, although it would be a lot quicker. If I had to analyze my mealtime prayer, being a list sort of guy that I am, it usually has these elements:

• Starts off by recognizing who I’m praying to
• Might ask for guidance on issues that we are facing that day or in the immediate future
• Special friends who need a specific ‘shout out’
• Almost always give thanks for being able to spend just one more day together
• Conclude being thankful for the meal that is about to nourish our bodies

More often than not, we prepare our meals separately. Actually, it’s complicated depending on what we are eating (probably more on that later too). Usually, Suzanne is seated and ready to eat before I am. When I see her bow her head, that’s my cue to drop whatever I’m doing and run through the meal time prayer checklist so she can get to eating. There are those times when I miss my cue and when I finally sit down to eat, she’s run through her own checklist. I’m on my own then.

If there is a new reality in all this, mealtime prayers have dramatically changed in the last two years. Now, when I run through my checklist, it doesn’t even begin to cover everything it should. The one thing that has changed the most in these past two years is the fact that we never miss the opportunity to say our mealtime prayer together.

And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat.

Acts 27:35