O God, when I have food,
help me to remember the hungry;
When I have work,
help me to remember the jobless;
When I have a home,
help me to remember those who have no home at all;
When I am without pain,
help me to remember those who suffer,
And remembering,
help me to destroy my complacency;
bestir my compassion,
and be concerned enough to help;
By word and deed,
those who cry out for what we take for granted.
Amen.- Samuel F. Pugh
Give me a good digestion, Lord, and also something to digest;
Give me a healthy body, Lord, and sense to keep it at its best.
Give me a healthy mind, good Lord, to keep the good and pure in
sight;
Which, seeing, sin, is not appalled, but finds a way to set it right.
Give me a mind that is not bound, that does not
whimper, whine or sigh.
Don't let me worry overmuch about the fussy thing called "I."
Give me a sense of humor, Lord; give me the grace to see a joke,
To get some happiness from life and pass it on to other folk.
- Thomas H. B. Webb
Thank You, Thank You, Generous God!
Thank You, thank You, thank You, generous God!
You have injected life with joy, thus we know laughter.
You have dabbed creation with color, thus we enjoy beauty.
You have whistled a divine tune into the rhythm of life, thus we hear
music.
You have filled our minds with questions, thus we appreciate mystery.
You have entered our hearts with compassion, thus we experience
faith.
Thank You, God, Thank You. Thank You!
- C. Welton Gaddy
Be present at our table, Lord.
Be here and everywhere adored.
Thy creatures bless and grant that we
May feast in paradise with Thee.
- John Cennick
A Hebrew Blessing
Blessed are You, O Lord our God, Eternal King,
Who feeds the whole world with Your goodness,
With grace, with loving kindness, and with tender mercy.
You give food to all flesh,
For Your loving kindness endures forever.
Through Your great goodness, food has never failed us.
O may it not fail us forever, for Your name's sake,
Since You nourish and sustain all living things,
And do good to all,
And provide food for all Your creatures
Whom You have created.
Blesses are You, O Lord, Who gives food to all.
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Aztec Prayer
Lord most giving and resourceful,
I implore you;
make it your will
that this people enjoy
the goods and riches you naturally give,
that naturally issue from you,
that are pleasing and savory,
that delight and comfort,
though lasting but briefly,
passing away as if in a dream.
Heavenly Father, bless us,
And keep us all alive;
There's ten of us for dinner
And not enough for five.
- Anon.
Our Father in Heaven, we give thanks for the pleasure of gathering
together for this occasion. We give thanks for life, the feedom to
enjoy it all, and all other blessings. As we partake of this food, we
pray for health and strength to carry on and try to live as You would
have us. This we ask in the name of Christ Our Heavenly Father.
- Harry Jewell, mid-1900's
Come, Lord Jesus,
Be our guest,
And let Thy gifts to us
Be blest. Amen.
- Anon.
Bless this food and us that eats it.
- Cowboy grace
An Iroquois Prayer
We return thanks to our mother, the earth, with
sustains us. We return thanks to the rivers and streams,which supply
us with water. We return thanks to all herbs, which furnish medicines
for the cure of our diseases. We return thanks to the corn, and to
her sisters, the beans and squash, which give us life. We return
thanks to the bushes and trees, which provide us with fruit. We
return thanks to the wind, which, moving the air, has banished
diseases. We return thanks to the moon and the stars, which have
given us their light when the sun was gone. We return thanks to our
grandfather He-no, .., who has given to us his rain. We return thanks
to the sun, that he has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye.
Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit, in whom is embodied all
goodness, and who directs all things for the good of his children.
When turkey's on the table laid,
And good things I may scan,
I'm thankful that I wasn't made
A vegetarian.
- Edgar A. Guest
Give us this day our daily bread, O Father in heaven, and grant that
we who are filled with good things from Your open hand, may never
close our hearts to the hungry, the homeless, and the poor; in the
name of the Father, and of the Sone, and of the Holy Spirit.
- from the abbey of New Clairvaux, Viņa, California
Though our mouths were full of song as the sea,
and our tongues of exultation as the multitude of its waves,
and our lips of praise as the wide-extended firmament;
though our eyes shone with light like the sun and the moon,
and our hands were spread forth like the eagles of heaven,
and our feet were swift as hinds,
we should still be unable to thank thee and bless thy name,
O Lord our God and God of our fathers,
for one thousandth or one ten thousandth part of the bounties which
thou has bestowed upon our fathers and upon us.
- from the Hebrew Prayer Book
Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into God's presence with singing!
Know that the Lord is God! It is he that made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him, bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures for ever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm 111
Praise the Lord.
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of
the upright, in the congregation.
Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who have pleasure in
them.
Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures
for ever.
He has caused his wonderful works to be remembered; the Lord is
gracious and merciful.
He provides food for those who fear him; he is ever mindful of his
covenant.
He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the
heritage of the nations.
The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are
trustworthy,
they are established for ever and ever, to be performed with
faithfulness and uprightness.
He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant for
ever. Holy and terrible is his name!
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
a good understanding have all those who practice it. His praise
endures for ever!
Moravian Blessing
Come, Lord Jesus, our guest to be
And bless these gifts
Bestowed by Thee.
And bless our loved ones everywhere,
And keep them in Your loving care.
Thanksgiving
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
We Give Thanks
Our Father in Heaven,
We give thanks for the pleasure
Of gathering together for this occasion.
We give thanks for this food
Prepared by loving hands.
We give thanks for life,
The freedom to enjoy it all
And all other blessings.
As we partake of this food,
We pray for health and strength
To carry on and try to live as You would have us.
This we ask in the name of Christ,
Our Heavenly Father.
- Harry Jewell
O God of all Creation: You have cared for the earth, and have filled
it with your riches. Abundance flows in your steppes, through the
pastures and wilderness. You provide for our land, softening it with
showers, bathing it in light, and blessing it with growth.
The hills sing with joy; the meadows are covered
with flocks; the fields deck themselves with wheat; and together they
glorify your name!
On this occasion of our Thanksgiving, we as a
nation take rest from our labors to consider your many blessings. We
thank you for our freedoms, and for the opportunity to contribute our
skills, our attributes and our values toward the good of society.
We thank you for the mixture of our cultures,
blending us into one people under God. Help us to be a light unto
other nations, and to further the cause of freedom and justice all
over the world.
We remember those who are less fortunate than we.
We lift up in prayer the victims of poverty and racism, and all those
who suffer from forms of political and economic oppression. Let the
word that goes forth from our mouths speak of your peace, and let us
proclaim our hope in Christ as Savior of all humankind.
We pray that you will bless all those who gather
here, as we have come to experience your presence among us. Give us
your guidance, O God, and empower us for your work. For we claim
nothing for ourselves, but return all honor and glory unto you, and
offer our thanks and praise. Amen.
From "Prayers for God's People"
Thomas P. Roberts, editor
The Canticle of the Creatures
Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord,
All praise is Yours, all glory, honor and blessings.
To you alone, Most High, do they belong;
no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.
We praise You, Lord, for all Your creatures,
especially for Brother Sun,
who is the day through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor,
of You Most High, he bears your likeness.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Moon and the stars,
in the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair.
We praise You, Lord, for Brothers Wind and Air,
fair and stormy, all weather's moods,
by which You cherish all that You have made.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Water,
so useful, humble, precious and pure.
We praise You, Lord, for Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night.
He is beautiful, playful, robust, and strong.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Earth,
who sustains us
with her fruits, colored flowers, and herbs.
We praise You, Lord, for those who pardon,
for love of You bear sickness and trial.
Blessed are those who endure in peace,
by You Most High, they will be crowned.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Death,
from whom no-one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in their sins!
Blessed are those that She finds doing Your Will.
No second death can do them harm.
We praise and bless You, Lord, and give You thanks,
and serve You in all humility.
-St. Francis of Assisi
