Wedding Reception Grace ideas

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phil8888

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Hey guys,

I’ve been asked via my girlfriend to say grace at a friend’s wedding. Neither the bride nor groom are religious, and I don’t know anyone who will be at the reception beside me and maybe one or two others who are Catholic.

They are being married at a United Church. So my question is what do you think about grace in this context. Since I am leading it, should I bless myself and say “In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”, or just say it without blessing myself.

Also, just wondering what kind of language I should include in the actual prayer.

What are your thoughts?

Phil
 
phil8888 said:
Hey guys,

I’ve been asked via my girlfriend to say grace at a friend’s wedding. Neither the bride nor groom are religious, and I don’t know anyone who will be at the reception beside me and maybe one or two others who are Catholic.

They are being married at a United Church. So my question is what do you think about grace in this context. Since I am leading it, should I bless myself and say “In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”, or just say it without blessing myself.

Also, just wondering what kind of language I should include in the actual prayer.

What are your thoughts?

Phil
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I say go with the sign of the cross. If people are afraid of the trinity, then they aren’t christians.
 
My view as a non-religious person is that if you have been asked to do something based on your beliefs you should express those beliefs in a way which is proper to you, i.e. without leaving anything important to you out, while as far as possible understanding and respecting the positions of those you are with. There will be quite a bit in common with the non-believers, as meals shared for fellowship and celebration are a big part of their lives as well as Christian tradition. Non-believers may appreciate careful use of pronouns: ‘we give thanks’ without saying to whom, but “I ask this in the name …” have a happy wedding with your friends.
 
This is from the USCCB’s “Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers”:
**
TABLE BLESSING FOR WEDDINGS**

This blessing may be used before the meal at a wedding reception.
A member of the wedding party or one of the parents of the newly married couple may serve as the leader.

When everyone has gathered at table and the meal is ready to be served,
all make the sign of the cross.

The minister says:
Blessed be God who has brought us together in joy.
R. Blessed be God forever.

The leader introduces the blessing in these or similar words:
We have gathered here to celebrate the love of N. and N.
God has brought them together, and we pray that God will hold them in his love always.
As the food we share will strengthen our bodies, may our time together strengthen the love that binds us.

After a time of silence, the leader prays:
Let us pray.

Lord God,
you sustain all creatures
and never cease to give your children the food they need.
We bless you for bringing us together
in the love that unites us around this table
where the food we take strengthens our bodies.
We pray that, nourished by your Word,
we may grow ever stronger in faith
as we strive for the coming of your Kingdom.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.
 
“When everyone has gathered at table and the meal is ready to be served, all make the sign of the cross.”

Sounds like that was designed for a specifically Catholic group. At the one I will be attending, I doubt anyone will make the sign of the cross.
 
I just have one suggestion. Regardless of what you decide to do, be brief and don’t drone on. This could be why you were asked as a Catholic rather than a protestant. Whenever I’m eating and someone who is protestant says grace they go on and on forever.
 
They asked a Catholic to give the blessing - they should never expect you to put your faith in the closet just to attend their wedding and fulfill this role.

You are Catholic, so pray like a Catholic. I don’t see why who they are or where they are getting married should make any difference.

~Liza
 
lizaanne said:
They asked a Catholic to give the blessing - they should never expect you to put your faith in the closet just to attend their wedding and fulfill this role.

You are Catholic, so pray like a Catholic. I don’t see why who they are or where they are getting married should make any difference.

~Liza
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Ditto! They might have even asked you because they wanted catholic prayer, not some 10-minute rambling protestant prayer about anything that comes to the person’s mind.
 
Hokomai said:
My view as a non-religious person is that if you have been asked to do something based on your beliefs you should express those beliefs in a way which is proper to you, i.e. without leaving anything important to you out, while as far as possible understanding and respecting the positions of those you are with. There will be quite a bit in common with the non-believers, as meals shared for fellowship and celebration are a big part of their lives as well as Christian tradition. Non-believers may appreciate careful use of pronouns: ‘we give thanks’ without saying to whom, but “I ask this in the name …” have a happy wedding with your friends.
Click to expand...
lizaanne said:
They asked a Catholic to give the blessing - they should never expect you to put your faith in the closet just to attend their wedding and fulfill this role.

You are Catholic, so pray like a Catholic. I don’t see why who they are or where they are getting married should make any difference.

~Liza
Click to expand...
Both great answers
 
TheMc said:
Ditto! They might have even asked you because they wanted catholic prayer, not some 10-minute rambling protestant prayer about anything that comes to the person’s mind.
Click to expand...
:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
Did you read what I wrote previously? This is exactly what I was thinking.
 
You are a Catholic, I don’t see anything wrong with crossing yourself and invoking the Trinity. All truly Christian churches believe in this doctrine and should not be offended by it. I would simply pray that the Lord bless the food, those who prepared it, and bless the couple/marriage. Keep it pretty simple, and end the prayer in the name of the Trinity at the end as well. Should be fine.
phil8888 said:
Hey guys,

I’ve been asked via my girlfriend to say grace at a friend’s wedding. Neither the bride nor groom are religious, and I don’t know anyone who will be at the reception beside me and maybe one or two others who are Catholic.

They are being married at a United Church. So my question is what do you think about grace in this context. Since I am leading it, should I bless myself and say “In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”, or just say it without blessing myself.

Also, just wondering what kind of language I should include in the actual prayer.

What are your thoughts?

Phil
Click to expand...
 
TheMc said:
Ditto! They might have even asked you because they wanted catholic prayer, not some 10-minute rambling protestant prayer about anything that comes to the person’s mind.
Click to expand...
I think that what you say makes a lot of sense. We must remember that the apostles fell asleep when Jesus was spending more than 10 minutes in the garden saying his rambling prayers. He did that more than once and He even dared to chastise them for sleeping. What a protestant attitude He had! :rolleyes:
 
Cristiano said:
I think that what you say makes a lot of sense. We must remember that the apostles fell asleep when Jesus was spending more than 10 minutes in the garden saying his rambling prayers. He did that more than once and He even dared to chastise them for sleeping. What a protestant attitude He had! :rolleyes:
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It is true about protestant prayers. My uncle is Greek Orthodx turned protestant and insists on saying grace before every meal we have together. He literally drones on and on rambling about whatever pops into his head while the good gets cold. My grandpa even scolded him for bringing his protestant prayers into a Catholic house.
 
Love_Divine said:
It is true about protestant prayers. My uncle is Greek Orthodx turned protestant and insists on saying grace before every meal we have together. He literally drones on and on rambling about whatever pops into his head while the good gets cold. My grandpa even scolded him for bringing his protestant prayers into a Catholic house.
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I think that this is not a problem with protestant prayers but with spontaneous prayers independent of the context. I know a lot of Catholics that can go on and on, and trust me just before a meal I am really thankful for the gifts but my bodily desires are stronger than my spiritual ones. When my uber-orthodox Catholic son leads the prayer before the meals he often tends to drag it on just to remind me that when we pray we have to think about God and not about filling our stomachs.:o
 
As a Catholic deacon who is asked frequently to say a prayer before a wedding meal, I always start with the sign of the cross…and I say, Let us begin as we should all things…In the name of Father…

I ask the Lord to bless the love that is being demonstrated today, bless all married couples, & bless the food and those who have prepared it as well as close with a prayer that Jesus takes all the calories out of the food that we are about to eat.
 
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