Is it okay to pray before dinner in a non-believing family?

[Padraig1972]

I have a question. I am a new Catholic and was taken into full fellowship with the Church on 11/24/2010. My family really dislikes my choice in converting to Catholicism and come up with many things to make me feel bad. An issue is that they say that I fold hands and whisper my prayer before dinner, and that it is disturbing and bad. How can that be? It is not like I’m saying it out loud. Aren’t Catholics supposed to pray before eating? Or is my family right when saying to pray on the inside and let them not see it?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

What possible inconvenience can there be for your family to allow you a moment of silent prayer before you eat? Polite people who do not join in prayer before meals are expected to sit quietly and wait for the prayer to be finished. In a family in which saying grace is common, such a prayer before meals is said aloud while those who do not join in sit quietly. In your family, prayer before meals is not common so praying silently is a reasonable compromise on your part. But, in return, your family should compromise also by giving you a moment of silence so that you may say grace silently. Closing your eyes and bowing your head is all that is necessary to enter into a moment of silent prayer, but if you want to fold your hands too, that should be considered your prerogative.