{"id":2749,"date":"2002-09-27T06:34:19","date_gmt":"2002-09-27T11:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/?p=2749"},"modified":"2002-09-27T06:34:19","modified_gmt":"2002-09-27T11:34:19","slug":"saying_grace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2002\/09\/27\/saying_grace.html","title":{"rendered":"Saying grace"},"content":{"rendered":"

Doyce has a reminiscing post <\/a>today about grace before meals, citing Bigwig<\/a>‘s post on the same topic. So why not weigh in myself?<\/p>\n

Grace, for me growing up, was an exceptional thing, by which I mean it was the exception rather than the rule. We’d say grace at big family dinners on holidays — Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter. It was part of the pomp and circumstance of such meals, alongside the good china and the silverware.<\/p>\n

In recent years, I note that my parents say grace before every meal. Or at least every meal that I’m at with them (which may mean something different altogether).<\/p>\n

I’ve tended to try and follow that earlier example, though (plus doing it at meals when my folks are visiting). It’s tough, both because such big meals tend to somewhat chaotic affairs, and so remembering that one extra item is difficult, and because we often as not have folks over for such meals whose religious tastes or affiliation are not the same as ours, and thus might feel uncomfortable with the whole Saying Grace thang.<\/p>\n

Which brings me to Dave’s Philosophy of Prayer. Bigwig asks, rightly, whether God “sweats the little stuff,” i.e., cares whether we pray before meals. And I’d have to answer, in terms of “Will lightning fork down from the heavens and fry the turkey if we don’t pray over it?” that clearly the answer is “No.” Indeed, I opine that God doesn’t care about prayer in terms of needing it, or wanting it for its own sake.<\/p>\n

Prayer’s use, in my own philosophy (or theology, I suppose) is not to the prayee, but to the prayer, the person saying the words. It’s an opportunity to remember that connection between God and Man, to remember things we are thankful for (but may not have articulated, even to ourselves) and things we are in need of (ditto). It’s a reestablishing, a reminder of that link, even if it’s brief, formulaic, and unilateral, not unlike sending a Christmas card to an old friend. <\/p>\n

The words may be rote, to the point of meaninglessness, but, in a sense, they remain useful because they are making time, even a few moments, for God. The words matter less than the sentiment, the intent, the act. (And to the extent that they become rote, they become meditative as well.)<\/p>\n

The common Episcopal grace I’ve learned is, Bless, O Lord, Thy gifts to our use and us to Thy service.<\/i> Not a bad prayer, at that. Maybe something I ought to say more often.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Doyce has a reminiscing post today about grace before meals, citing Bigwig’s post on the same topic. So why not weigh in myself? Grace, for me growing up, was an…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-religion"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4321,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2003\/09\/25\/the_terror_of_f.html","url_meta":{"origin":2749,"position":0},"title":"The terror of flying First Class!","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 25-Sep-03 7:24am","format":false,"excerpt":"Knives are now allowed back on airplanes. The TSA is now allowing metal meal knives -- though, of course, only first class meals need them -- to go along with...","rel":"","context":"In "Homeland Security"","block_context":{"text":"Homeland Security","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law\/homeland-security"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4483,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2003\/08\/23\/kiss_the_cook.html","url_meta":{"origin":2749,"position":1},"title":"Kiss the cook","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 23-Aug-03 8:28pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Back last October, our church had a massively successful (and entertaining) \"Harvest Auction,\" a silent auction of this and that to raise money for our parish. One of the things...","rel":"","context":"In "Personal"","block_context":{"text":"Personal","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/personal"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":133073,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/03\/16\/cutting-meals-on-wheels-is-compassionate-to-taxpayers.html","url_meta":{"origin":2749,"position":2},"title":"Cutting "Meals on Wheels" is compassionate … to taxpayers","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 16-Mar-17 10:40pm","format":false,"excerpt":"No, really, that's the argument the Trump Administration is using to support proposed massive cuts in federal funding to programs like \"Meals on Wheels\" and Head Start. Because clearly we've spent way too much time focusing on the people who need and benefit from these programs, and way too little\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5683,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2004\/01\/26\/guy_gorges_self.html","url_meta":{"origin":2749,"position":3},"title":"Guy Gorges Self at McD’s, Gets Sick","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 26-Jan-04 9:51am","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, duh. February, Morgan Spurlock decided to become a gastronomical guinea pig. His mission: To eat three meals a day for 30 days at McDonald's and document the impact on...","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/health"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10100,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2006\/09\/05\/quote_of_the_da.html","url_meta":{"origin":2749,"position":4},"title":"Quote of the Day","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 5-Sep-06 10:14am","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Looks like I picked a bad week to stop consuming mass quantities of frozen dairy confection.\" And, coincidentally, here's some cheery news: Next time you go out for that big...","rel":"","context":"In "Food & Drink"","block_context":{"text":"Food & Drink","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/food-drink"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5784,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2004\/07\/18\/vulture_food.html","url_meta":{"origin":2749,"position":5},"title":"Vulture Food","author":"***Dave","date":"Sun 18-Jul-04 8:01pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Growing up, tacos were \"Vulture Food\" in my house. 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