A Meal Blessing
by Joshua Tenpenny
For all who gave of their bodies and lives for this meal,
I give blessings and praise.
For all who toiled to harvest and prepare this meal,
I give blessings and praise.
For all who share this meal with me,
I give blessings and praise.
Sometimes the meals we eat are a prayer unto themselves. Food fresh from your own garden, bread baked by hand, a holiday feast shared with friends. These clearly nourish our souls as much as our bodies, and it is easy to see the sacredness in these things. A blessing spoken at these times just affirms what was already apparent. But for most of us, most of the time, modern life obscures the sacred connection between the food in front of us and the life which was sacrificed for it. This blessing prayer is meant to be an opportunity to be mindful of how and what we eat.
First, take the opportunity to look at (or speculate about) the ingredients of what you are eating. The food we eat was all alive at some point. It can be challenging when facing a brightly colored snack cake or box of chicken nuggets, but remember that Life comes only from Life. No matter how obscure or distant the connection, all food comes from the bodies of living things. So take a moment to reflect on the fields of grain, the vegetables growing on some distant farm, the wildlife displaced and the pests killed at that farm, the livestock and the grain that fed them, the dairy cows, the laying hens, the trees full of fruit. Think about where the ingredients came from, and give thanks to the living things whose sacrifice has provided this meal. Whether the sacrifice was of their life or an offering from their body, whether it was animal or plant, give them your heartfelt blessing and praise their sacrifice.
Next, take the opportunity to think about how the food got to you in its present form. Think about the people who raised the animals and grew the vegetables, and the people who did the harvesting, butchering and packing. Think about the factory workers who process the foods, the truckers who bring it from farm to factory to store, and the business men who coordinate the whole thing. Think about who cooked the food, and who taught them how to do it. Maybe this food traveled only from your garden to your plate, making a brief detour to the sink, in no one’s hands but your own. Maybe this food had a trans-continental voyage, with components coming through dozens of factories, its origin shrouded in mystery. Whatever the journey, take a moment to offer a blessing to all involved in the process and thank them for their part in bringing this nourishment to you.
Finally, take the opportunity to reflect on this meal in the context of family and community. Sharing food is one of the basic forms of social bonding. Honor the bonds of kinship and hospitality which are nourished by this meal. On a more abstract level, think about other families sitting together for dinner as you are, other harried office workers having a quick lunch at their desk like you are, other parents feeding their children as you are, other commuters eating fast food while driving like you are. Think about how this meal reflects social customs or honors family traditions. Think about how this meal connects you to others, whether they are present with you or not. Offer blessing and praise for these connections.
To give this blessing formally, you might include a brief statement about the key ingredients, people, and connections involved in the meal. For a group meal, after the person offering the prayer says each line (using “we” and “us” as appropriate), the group can reply with “Blessings and praise!” For a more participatory blessing, people in the group might suggest specific things about the meal to offer blessings and praise for. For example, someone might say, “For Aunt Mimi who taught me how to make this pie, I offer blessings and praise.” to which everyone replies “Blessings and praise!”
To offer the blessing briefly and informally, just let your mind wander over each of these things as you start the meal, and say to yourself, “Blessings and praise. Blessings and praise. Blessings and praise.” The point isn’t to turn each meal into a research project, but to encourage mindfulness and curiosity about the process by which living things become food for us. We are part of a complex network of nourishment and obligations, and this prayer traces those threads which bind us together. Let it train you in mindfulness, helping you to see how every meal is sacred.