The prayers listed below were excerpted from: 100 Graces: Mealtime Blessings and represent a cross-section of thanksgiving prayers from a variety of faith traditions.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of our readers from BustedHalo.com
Native American
Creator, Earth Mother,
we thank you for our lives and
this beautiful day.
Thank You for the bright sun
and the rain we received last night.
Thank You for this circle of friends
and the opportunity to be together.
We want to thank You especially at this time
for the giveaway of their lives made by the
chickens, beets, carrots, grains and lettuce.
We thank them for giving of their lives
so we may continue our lives through this
great blessing. Please help us honor them
through how we live our lives.-Mary Fallahay
Bear Tribe Medicine Society,
Spokane, WA
Buddhist
(serving the food)
In this food I see clearly
the presence of the entire universe
supporting my existence.(looking at the plate of food)
All living beings are struggling for life.
May they all have enough food to eat today.(just before eating)
The plate is filled with food.
I am aware that each morsel
is the fruit
of much hard work
by those who produced it.(beginning to eat)
With the first taste, I promise
to practice loving kindness.
With the second, I promise
to relieve the suffering of others.
With the third,
I promise to see others’ joy as my own.
With the fourth,
I promise to learn the way of
nonattachment and equanimity.(after the meal)
The plate is empty.
My hunger is satisfied.
I vow to live for the benefit
of all living beings.-Thich Nhat Hanh
Islamic
In the name of
the compassionate
and beneficent God
Christian
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 (1718-1755)
Judaic
Blessed art Thou, O Lord our G-d,
King of the Universe,
Who creates many living
beings and the things they
need. For all that Thou hast
created to sustain
the life of every living
being, blessed be Thou,
the Life of the universe.-from To Be A Jew,
by Rabbi H.H. Donin
Hindu
Affirmation to my Body
I recognize you are the temple in which
my spirit and creative energy dwell.
I have created you from my need
to have my spirit manifested on earth
so that I may have this time
to learn and grow.I offer you this food so that you may
continue to sustain my creative energy,
my spirit, my soul.
I offer this food to you with love,
and a sincere desire for you to remain free
from disease and disharmony.I accept you as my own creation.
I need you.
I love you.
-Kripalu Kitchen
Bless our hearts to hear
in breaking of
bread the song
of the universe
-Fr. John GiulianiThe Benedictine Grange
West Redding, CT
Bless
O Lord,
this food
to our use
and us
to Thy
loving
service
Excerpted from: 100 Graces: Mealtime Blessings
by Marcia M. Kelly, Jack Kelly
With kind permission of the authors.
