“Who Wants To Say Grace?”

November 21, 2017

The Paulist Fathers wish you and your loved ones a very blessed and happy Thanksgiving!

Do you need a prayer for your Thanksgiving dinner table?

If so, here is a recently composed prayer by Paulist Fr. Frank Desiderio for you, your family members and friends:

 

Prayer Before a Thanksgiving Banquet

 
Gracious God, 
giver of all good gifts 
great and small,
this day we offer our thanks
for them all. 
 
Awaken in us that gratitude 
which is the heart of all prayer;
in recognizing the good 
we turn to you the giver. 
 
As our ancestors did before us
we give you thanks 
for the bounty of this table
to share with family and friends.
 
May we always be hospitable 
to those outside our tribe 
as the Native Americans 
sustained the Pilgrims. 
 
We give you thanks 
for the blessings we enjoy
and pray for a generous heart
willing to share with others.
 
We give you thanks
for the people who love us;
and for those who don’t,
may we live with them in peace. 
 
We thank you for good health 
and the endurance you give us 
when we are sick.
We thank you for hope
when we are in troubled times. 
 
Give us the grace to find the best
in each other, forgive past hurts
and speak our truth with charity. 
 
As Jesus shared the loaves and fishes
as Jesus shared his very self,
may we mirror his generosity
and be life-giving to each other. 
 
Loving God,
you created us 
and continue to sustain us.
You call us to live in harmony with creation 
and to be at peace with each other.  
 
We pray all this in the name of the law:
God’s law, 
which is the law of love. 
 
Amen.

 

Paulist Fr. Frank Desiderio is first consulter (chief advisor) to the president of the Paulist Fathers.

The photo above is an “Autumn in New York” look at the north tower of our mother church, the Church of St. Paul the Apostle, in New York City.  The image was captured by St. Paul’s parishioner and choir member Jeanne Bossé.