Grace at Meals

Jewish prayers at meals were always blessings of God rather than petitions for a blessing upon the food or the recipients. The following is a grace adapted from the Jewish tradition:
"Blessed are you, O Lord God, King of the Universe, for you give us food to sustain our lives and make our hearts glad; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

This next grace is also a blessing of God, from the Apostolic Constitutions compiled at the latter half of the 4th century:
"You are blessed, O Lord, who nourishes us from our youth, who gives food to all creatures. Fill our hearts with joy and gladness, that having always what is sufficient for us, we may abound to every good work, in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom glory, honor, and power be to you forever. Amen."

A grace attributed to Bridget, Abbess of Kildare, late 5th century:
"God bless the poor,
God bless the sick,
And bless our human race.
God bless our food,
God bless our drink,
All homes, O God, embrace."

A grace I adapted for the Christmas season from Marian Wright Edelman's book "Guide My Feet," page 35:
"Jesus, small poor baby of Bethlehem,
be born again in our hearts today
be born again in our homes today
be born again in our cities today
be born again in our nations today
be born again in our world today.
We thank you for this food
for the hands that planted and tended it
for the hands that prepared and provided it
and for the hands that served it.
And we pray for those without enough food
in your world and in our land of plenty. Amen."

A Spanish grace:
"O God, to those who have hungered,
give bread.
And to those who have bread,
give a hunger for justice. Amen."

"For what we are about to receive,
the Lord make us truly thankful. Amen."

There are graces found in the Book of Common Prayer on page 835:
"Give us grateful hearts, our Father, for all thy mercies, and make us mindful of the needs (and gifts) of others; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

"Bless, O Lord, thy gifts to our use and us to thy service; for Christ's sake. Amen."

"For these and all his mercies, God's holy Name be blessed and praised; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

A couple of graces learned from Bishop Lyman Ogilby:
"Christ in the wilderness five thousand fed
with two small fish and five loaves of bread.
May the blessing of the One who made this miraculous division
rest upon us and this provision. Amen."

"May the God who blesses, bless."

Sung graces:
(Johnny Appleseed)
"O the Lord is good to me
and so I thank the Lord
for giving me the things I need
the sun and the rain and the apple sees.
The Lord is good to me."

(Edelweiss)
"Bless our friends, bless our food,
come, O Lord, and sit with us.
May our hearts grow in peace,
may your love surround us.
Friendship and love
may they bloom and grow,
bloom and grow forever.
Bless our friends, bless our food,
come, O Lord, and sit with us."

(We plow the fields/Wir pflugen)
All good gifts around us
are sent from heaven above;
then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord
for all his love."

From the United Thank Offering's Graces for Children:
"God, we thank you for this food
for rest and home and all things good;
for wind and rain and sun above,
but most of all for those we love. Amen."

"We thank you, Lord, for happy hearts,
for rain and sunny weather.
We thank you, Lord, for this our food,
and that we are together. Amen."

More children's graces:
"Thank you for the world so sweet,
thank you for the food we eat.
Thank you for the birds that sing.
Thank you, God, for everything. Amen."

"For food, and all thy Gifts of love,
We give you thanks and praise.
Look down, O Father, from above
And bless us all our days. Amen."

"For every cup and plateful,
God make us truly grateful. Amen."