Giving Thanks At The Dinner Table

The only person I can remember saying grace before eating was my maternal grandmother and she always recited the same grace. (I heard it so often, that even to this day I know it by heart: "Before we eat we bow our heads and thank Thee God for our daily bread.") When I found (or refound) in a shopping bag in my kitchen a small hardcover book called Grace Before Meals, she came immediately to mind. The book, compiled by A. William Nyce and Hubert Bunyea, and published in 1939 by the John C. Winston Company in Philadelphia, arranged a mealtime prayer for every day of the year, including national holidays like Independence Day (July 4th). (I think this book originally belonged to a late aunt whose apartment I had to clear out after her death.)

The compilers, in their foreword, stated that Grace Before Meals "has been prepared for the home circle, in the hope that it may encourage reverence and gratitude by supplying appropriate graces to be spoken before meals at which the family meets together" and that its publication came about as "an answer to numerous requests that such a volume be given to the public." Obviously this book was published in the pre-television and pre-Internet days when family members sat down to eat together. Nevertheless, it's a handy book for those interested in getting into the habit of saying grace at mealtime. This particular book is probably out of print but there might be a similar book or books available, especially in religious book stores.

Here is the grace for January 14, today's date: "Lord, wilt Thou never cease Thy kindly care over us, may we also continue unceasingly to bless Thee for all Thy past and present blessings. Amen."