Personal Prayer Before Meals?

[AaronSawyer]

I’m a convert to Catholicism and have been Catholic strong for the past year and half or so. I saw a post on here about prayer before meals. I’m the only Catholic in my family, and the side of my family that is Christian, I do not live with. But when I am with them, they say a prayer before each meal, nothing scripted, just something on the lines of thanks being to God for giving this food and blessing it to our bodies and so on. Is this wrong, can it be something more personal than a scripted prayer? Because that’s the way I have been doing it when I am by myself.

 

[thequietsinger]

I’m a convert to Catholicism and have been Catholic strong for the past year and half or so. I saw a post on here about prayer before meals. I’m the only Catholic in my family, and the side of my family that is Christian, I do not live with. But when I am with them, they say a prayer before each meal, nothing scripted, just something on the lines of thanks being to God for giving this food and blessing it to our bodies and so on. Is this wrong, can it be something more personal than a scripted prayer? Because that’s the way I have been doing it when I am by myself.

I personally believe if you are taking the time to pray before you eat, which all Catholics/Christians should, that it doesn’t matter what you say, as long as you are thanking God for the food before you. A prayer that’s been in my family for generations, and the one that my Priest uses, is: “Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from Thy Bounty, through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.” I believe that this is scripted, but that doesn’t matter, so long as you are sincerely thanking God for giving you food to eat, I don’t think he’ll mind what words you use or what you say.

 

[dshix]

I’m a convert to Catholicism and have been Catholic strong for the past year and half or so. I saw a post on here about prayer before meals. I’m the only Catholic in my family, and the side of my family that is Christian, I do not live with. But when I am with them, they say a prayer before each meal, nothing scripted, just something on the lines of thanks being to God for giving this food and blessing it to our bodies and so on. Is this wrong, can it be something more personal than a scripted prayer? Because that’s the way I have been doing it when I am by myself.

You can go either way and it is certainly not wrong to make your own prayer; however, I consider a scripted prayer, such as the one thequietsinger mentioned above, to be useful in some respects. These scripted prayers “cover all the bases,” so to speak, in asking for God’s blessing, making proper mention of Christ, who is at the center of all we do, and thanking God for the “meal we are about to receive.”

A very advisable method is to do you own, “freestyle” prayer, and then close the prayer with a scripted prayer. This I have heard done in many households and it sounds very natural and edifying.

In the end, though, it’s your choice. There is no Church doctrine on the matter.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

Personal prayers are fine.

Every Catholic should also know the ancient prayer before meals:

“Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
In Latin: “Benedic, Domine, nos et haec tua dona quae de tua largitate sumus sumpturi. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.”

 

[DaveBj]

It’s always nice to add, “. . . and bless the hands the prepared it.”

Of course, if it’s leftovers, then you can say, " . . . and bless the hands that RE-paired it."

(Okay, back in my hole.)

 

[thequietsinger]

It’s always nice to add, “. . . and bless the hands the prepared it.”

Of course, if it’s leftovers, then you can say, " . . . and bless the hands that RE-paired it."

(Okay, back in my hole.)