Doing Good by the Dead
All Saints Day (11/1) and All Souls Day (11/2) are traditional days for visiting the grave of a family member or friend, as is the whole month of November. The prayer, from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers, is an appropriate prayer that can be used during such a visit during this month. Click here for the PDF of the prayer.
It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins (2 Maccabees 12:46).
Blessing of Food for Thanksgiving Day
In our country Thanksgiving Day is a holiday with special religious significance. Originally it was celebrated by the Pilgrims and the Native Americans to give thanks to God after the harvest of 1621. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday of November should be a national day of thanksgiving.
What follows is a blessing for the food you will enjoy on Thanksgiving Day:
God most provident, we join all creation in raising to you a hymn of thanksgiving through Jesus Christ, your Son. For generation upon generation peoples of this land have sung of your bounty; we too offer you praise for the rich harvest we have received at your hands. Bless us and this food which we share with grateful hearts. Continue to make our land fruitful and let our love for you be seen in our pursuit of peace and justice and in our generous response to those in need. Praise and glory to you, Lord God, now and for ever. Amen.
David J. Conrad
All Saints Day (11/1) and All Souls Day (11/2) are traditional days for visiting the grave of a family member or friend, as is the whole month of November. The prayer, from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers, is an appropriate prayer that can be used during such a visit during this month. Click here for the PDF of the prayer.
It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins (2 Maccabees 12:46).
Blessing of Food for Thanksgiving Day
In our country Thanksgiving Day is a holiday with special religious significance. Originally it was celebrated by the Pilgrims and the Native Americans to give thanks to God after the harvest of 1621. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday of November should be a national day of thanksgiving.
What follows is a blessing for the food you will enjoy on Thanksgiving Day:
God most provident, we join all creation in raising to you a hymn of thanksgiving through Jesus Christ, your Son. For generation upon generation peoples of this land have sung of your bounty; we too offer you praise for the rich harvest we have received at your hands. Bless us and this food which we share with grateful hearts. Continue to make our land fruitful and let our love for you be seen in our pursuit of peace and justice and in our generous response to those in need. Praise and glory to you, Lord God, now and for ever. Amen.
David J. Conrad
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