Sharing food is the most universal cultural experience.
Expressing thanks for food was humankind’s first act of worship, for food is
the gift of life from above. In every culture there are sacred beliefs or
divine commandments that require honoring
the giver of life — God or the divine principle — through
acknowledging the sacred gift of food.
While prayers often derive from specific religious contexts,
they may be experienced and enjoyed by all, just as religious music and fine
art transcend their origins and have universal appeal. There are many
nonreligious prayers that evoke spirituality by virtue of the beauty of the
words and the underlying humanity that shines through.
Today, the notion of the family is under siege by a barrage
of social ills, and family life may be disrupted by parents’ absence as they
work two jobs, by divorce, or by frequent separation resulting from business
travel that takes parents away from home. The family food blessing is a perfect
and reverent way for the family to experience a direct kinship with the
Almighty. A grace’s spiritual power can be felt as a profound sense of reality.
God is present. A family praying together is a beautiful thing— a wonderful
blessing all its own. When we say a grace at the table before eating, we give
thanks for our togetherness, our blessings, and our happiness. For loved ones
who are deceased, for friends and family who are far away, a grace said at the
table that mentions their names is a magical way to honor them and have them
rejoin the table in a sublime sense.
Food blessings provide a window to the profound spirituality
that we all share and that connects us to all humankind, nature, and the
infinite. Saying a blessing before a meal can bring us closer to our brothers
and sisters, parents and friends. Asking a friend to choose and recite a food
blessing is a wonderful way to welcome that person into your family setting.
The occasional gathering for prayer, no matter how brief, keeps the heart and
mind in touch with the most fundamental of joys: belonging.
Children need prayer models to see, hear, and experience in
order to learn from the ritual. The table blessing is among the easiest and
most enjoyable for children to partake in — coming as it does just before the
family feast. For children who can read, Bless this Food: Ancient & Contemporary
Graces from Around the World (New World Library, October 2007) offers
the opportunity for them to lead the family in prayer, to participate actively
in a family ritual instead of remaining a subordinate, passive member at the
table. The food blessing is a powerful medium that enriches the meaning of
family and allows us to touch a higher realm of spirituality
Consider: The first inter-human act of the newborn child is
to experience satisfaction through food. In the first hour of life, our senses
may transmit ephemeral sight, sound, or touch quanta, but it is the initial
ingestion of milk from the mother that constitutes the first inter-human act:
life-sustaining nourishment. The immediate response to this nourishment is a
systemic and psychic satisfaction, and the hunger-gratification cycle begins at
this instant and continues throughout life. The just-born infant’s first human
experience is a “gift” of milk in response to its sucking instinct and need for
food, a gratifying experience that affects the infant’s psyche on its deepest
level. This gratia (thanks) experience is imprinted on the newborn’s
uninscribed mind and is the primordial unconscious analogue to voiced prayer.
Our first common human emotional experience is the gratia response for food.
The gratia experience we encounter as infants is transformed
and intellectualized over time into an appreciation of food as both spiritual
and physical nourishment that we acknowledge in the gratia prayer.
While prayers often derive from specific religious contexts,
they may be experienced and enjoyed by all, just as religious music and fine
art transcend their origins and have
universal appeal. There are many nonreligious prayers that
evoke spirituality by virtue of the beauty of the words and the underlying
humanity that shines through.
The compelling beauty of these thanks-giving food prayers
reveals the noble spirituality of humanity. Prayer is how human beings relate
to God, nature, and their place in the divine order of things. Amid these words
you will find the soul of humanity, the song of ages.
When your family and friends gather at the table, you will
find starting your meal with a blessing will enhance the experience for all who
are gathered. Bless this Food provides an easy way for anyone, young or old,
to create a special, spiritual moment that everyone present will enjoy and
remember. A circle of friends is the ultimate blessing.
About the Author
Adrian Butash is the author of Bless this Food: Ancient
& Contemporary Graces from Around the World. He studied history and
culture of the world at Fordham University. He lives in Santa Barbara, CA.
# # #
Based on the book Bless this Food: Ancient
& Contemporary Graces from Around the World © 2013 Adrian Butash.
Printed with permission of New World Library, Novato, CA. www.newworldlibrary.com or
800-972-6657 ext. 52.
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