Prayer · Catholic devotion
Catholic Grace Before and After Meals
The Catholic grace before and after meals, "Bless us, O Lord", word for word from the 1889 Baltimore Manual of Prayers.
Grace before Meals.
Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.
Grace after Meals.
We give Thee thanks, O Almighty God, for all Thy mercies. Who livest and reignest world without end.
R. Amen.
Vouchsafe, O Lord, to reward with eternal life all those who do us good for Thy name's sake.
R. Amen.
V. Let us bless the Lord.
R. Thanks be to God.
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.
Editorial reflection
The grace asks God to bless the people at the table as well as the food, and the thanks after the meal ends with a prayer for the dead. It is the English of a Latin table blessing that Catholic manuals still printed in the early twentieth century: "Benedic, Domine, nos, et haec tua dona."
gratitude
Text: A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Catholic Laity (Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, 1889), Grace before and after Meals, pp. 58–59. Source page: archive.org · Catholic Grace Before and After Meals ↗.