Michael Leunig We give thanks for the blessing of winter:Season to cherish the heart.To make warmth and quiet for the heart.To make soups and broths for the heart.To cook for the heart and read for the heart.To curl up softly and nestle with the heart.To sleep deeply and gently at one with the heart.To dream…
Category: Prayers
A ‘grace’ from the Hindu tradition
As thou has set the moon in the sky to be the poor man’s lantern, so let thy light shine in my dark life and lighten my path; as the rice is sown in the water and brings forth grain in great abundance, so let thy word be sown in our midst that the harvest…
A ‘grace’ from the Inuit people
The lands around my dwelling Are more beautiful From the day When it is given me to see Faces I have never seen before. All is more beautiful, All is more beautiful, And life is thankfulness. These guests of mine make my house grand. The Eskimo people of Northern Canada and Alaska are known as…
A ‘grace’ from Chief Dan George
The beauty of the trees, the softness of the air, the fragrance of the grass, speaks to me. The summit of the mountain, the thunder of the sky, the rhythm of the sea, speaks to me. The strength of the fire, the taste of salmon, the trail of the sun, and the life…
A ‘grace’ from Walter Rauschenbusch
A circle of friends is a blessed thing. Sweet is the breaking of bread with friends. For the honour of their presence at our board We are deeply grateful, Lord. Thanks be to Thee for friendship shared, Thanks be to Thee for food prepared. Bless Thou the cup; bless Thou the bread; Thy blessing rest…
A ‘grace’ from Robert Louis Stevenson
Lord, behold our family here assembled. We thank thee for this place in which we dwell, for the love that unites us, for the peace accorded us this day, for the health, the work, the food, for the bright skies that make our lives delight, and for our friends in all parts of the earth….
A ‘grace’ from Pakistan
God, we thank you for all your gifts. This day, this night, these fruits, these flowers, these trees, these waters— with all these treasures you have endowed us. The heat of the sun, the light of the moon, the songs of the birds and the coolness of the breeze, the green, green grass like a…
A ‘grace’ from the Dead Sea Scrolls
Author of my wellbeing, source of knowledge, fount of holiness, height of glory, all-mightiness of eternal splendour! I shall choose that which he shall have taught me and I shall rejoice in that which he shall have appointed unto me. When I put forth my hands and feet, I shall bless his name; when I…
A ‘grace’ from Julian of Norwich
Be a gardener, dig a ditch, toil and sweat, and turn the earth upside down and seek the deepness and water the plants in time. Continue this labour and make sweet floods to run and noble and abundant fruits to spring. Take this food and drink and carry it to God as your true worship….
Poetry from the kitchen #6
Give us this day our daily taste O Lord, refresh our sensibilities. Give us this day our daily taste. Restore to us soups that spoons will not sink in, and sauces which are never the same twice. Raise up among us stews with more gravy than we have bread to blot it with, and casseroles…
A prayer as we set the table
Setting the table As I lay a fork near a plate, let me remember this is Your table, not mine. As I set the water glasses down and fold the napkins, let me be reminded that every setting at this table is Yours, not mine. Each one who will partake of this meal is a…
A prayer at the kitchen sink
Doing the dishes My life will always have dirty dishes. If this sink can become a place for contemplation, let me learn constancy here. I gaze through the window above the sink. There I see the constancy of dawn, the constancy of dusk, the constancy of the seasons, of the sun and moon, and the…
A prayer for the kitchen
COOKING Peeling, chopping, cutting, mincing, slicing, measuring, pouring, stirring, poaching, bubbling, frying, turning, simmering, serving. These are the words I cook with. They are all motion, all process. I know as I create this meal there is another cooking going on. It, too, is all motion, all process — an inner transformation. Help me to…
A ‘grace’ from the Osage Indians
Footprints I make! I go to the field with eager haste. Footprints I make! Amid rustling leaves I stand. Footprints I make! Amid yellow blossoms I stand. Footprints I make! I stand with exultant pride. Footprints I make! I hasten homeward with a burden of gladness. Footprints I make! There’s joy and gladness in my…
A ‘grace’ from Christ’s College Cambridge
Christ, the gladdener of all, without whom nothing is sweet or pleasant, bless, we beg of you, the food and drink of your servants, which you have provided for our bodily sustenance; and grant that we may use these gifts to praise you, and may enjoy them with grateful hearts; grant too that, just as…
Poetry at the café #2
The coffee lover’s psalm (with apologies to David) Caffeine is my shepherd; I shall not doze. It maketh me to wake in green pastures: It leadeth me beyond the sleeping masses. It restoreth my buzz: It leadeth me in the paths of consciousness for its name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of…
Feast Yourselves: a prayer
God beyond all our gods Lord of lords You offer us life’s bread crusty warm yeasty buttered dark– as healthful as good– and we gum day old white; in the midst of Your banquet we nibble away at the same Old Kraft cheese sandwich There is…
EATING HEAVEN 