Grace Before and After Meals.

Only recently has the word "grace before meals" been brought up so frequently amongst my peers and fellow family members. In relating to the fact that I take ages to say my grace before meals, a topic on what grace before meal is exactly, was struck.

So, I decided to look it up and this is what I found:-

The word grace, as applied to prayer over food, which always in pre-Elizabethan English took the plural form graces, means nothing but thanksgiving.

"Grace before and after meals" commonly found in the catechisms for children and used by the laity consists substantially of a translation of two items, the blessing spoken before the meal and the thanksgiving afterwards.

"Without Thy presence, nought, O Lord, is sweet,
No pleasure to our lips can aught supply.
Whether 'tis wine we drink or food we eat,
Till Grace divine and Faith shall sanctify."

Grace before meals often appears as something of no particular importance. Something we merely utter under our breath due to routine or what we have been taught to do in the church. But true understanding towards this Christian culture, I feel, must be emphasized upon.

As it is stated above, grace before and after meals is a form of blessing and thanksgiving. We pray before meals to ask God to bless the food that He has so graciously laid on the table for us. We pray after meals as a form of saying "Thank You" to God for the food that we have just consumed.

Now, many of us are aware of this but just don't know how to start. To be perfectly honest, I too, only after reading these particular articles on grace at meals, have just found out about grace after meals. I, personally, feel motivated to take on this new challenge in practicing age old culture and giving thanks to Our Lord every chance that we get. Food does not come easy for all. Cherish it and be thankful for it. =))

I encourage you all to take up saying grace before and after meals. Just a short one will do. And just in case you experience a little difficulty in finding the right words to say at grace or end up saying a half-hour long one as yours truly, here are some examples of grace before and after meals that might be able to help you all.


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We started one of our nieces out at a very young age with this short little table grace that would be easy to remember and allow her to participate.

Thank you Jesus for this food. Amen

This soon spread for use with all the children in the family. As they got older, more would be added. The standard has become

Thank you Jesus for this food and for this time together.
with more added as a person or situation dictated (child or adult)

Contributed by David and Jackie Parker <dandjparker@neo.rr.com>
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My little son made this prayer and prays it everyday at dinner, sometimes he extends it with things that happened that day.

Thank you Lord Jesus for this food,
and for Your love and mercy.
Thank You that you were with us today.
We love You very much and are happy because You are so close. Amen.

Contributed by Sam Mulock Houwer <sam@mulock.myweb.nl>
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A simple childrens prayer before all meals, even the youngest will get involved:

Now I fold my hands and say

Thank you God for my supper today

(Insert meal of choice in place of supper)

Contributed by zeb <jsm1@buffnet.net>
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The Edmondson family has a search on for the shortest grace:

Good food,

Good meat,

Good Lord,

Let's eat. Amen.

OR

Lord, Bless this bunch

As they munch

Their lunch.

Amen.

Contributed by Rick Edmondson <rick@hunter.co.uk>
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Simple, right? ^^

All the best.

* Words in green and prayers were adapted from http://home.pcisys.net/~tbc/mealpryr.htm#prayer10_1 and http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14554c.htm

Corpus Christi?

Corpus Christi (Latin for Body of Christ) is a Christian feast in honour of the Holy Eucharist. It was originally assigned to the Thursday following Trinity Sunday, thereby mirroring Holy Thursday, the Thursday of Holy Week, the day on which Christians commemorate The Last Supper of Jesus Christ and his apostles, seen as the first Holy Eucharist.

The appearance of Corpus Christi as a feast in the Christian calendar was primarily due to the petitions of the thirteenth-century Augustinian nun Juliana of Liège. From her youth she claimed that God had been instructing her to establish a feast day for the Eucharist and later in life petitioned the learned Dominican Hugh of St-Cher, Jacques Pantaléon (Archdeacon of Liège and later Pope Urban IV) and Robert de Thorete, Bishop of Liège. At that time bishops could order feasts in their dioceses, so in 1246 Bishop Robert convened a synod and ordered a celebration of Corpus Christi to be held each year thereafter. The decree is preserved in Anton Joseph Binterim's Vorzüglichsten Denkwürdigkeiten der Christkatholischen Kirche, together with parts of the first liturgy written for the occasion.

Tonight's Corpus Christi mass was truly something. I'm not sure why but being a part of that grand celebration made me feel very much at home. I felt as if I had been invited so exclusively to that mass. An overwhelming feeling filled me up inside. And for once in my life, I felt very very much a part of that mass. Not physically, but deeply spiritually. He was there. I could feel it.

Corpus Christi is a celebration of the Holy Eucharist. A Eucharist that is a memorial of His death, a memorial of His love for us. The Eucharist is to remind us of the sacrifice that He has made for us through His death out of love. It is so that the memory of His death does not stay a mere memory, rather that it leaves an impact in our lives so great that we begin to radiate His love in our every action and in our every decision.

It's true that when people say life is short, you should live it to the fullest. So, take the opportunity to live the life that He is offering. Grab your chance at true joy, true life, true love. =))

I will post up the pictures of the Corpus Christi procession that was held tonight after the mass. I did not get a chance to be a part of it but I heard that it was magical. ;)

Lonely?

That lonely feeling we get, every time no ones around.

Sometimes even when we're surrounded by people.

Things you just cannot tell your friends, things that you feel your family will never understand.

So, who's there to tell..?

We often go looking for that perfect individual who will listen to everything you have to say and all that your heart has to express. High and low we search for that one solitary person. Just one person is enough. Just to eliminate the loneliness inside of us.

But we search at all the wrong places, for all the wrong people.


So, what if I told you I knew someone? Someone who could remove all the emptiness, someone who could be there all the time like no one else could?

The thing about this certain someone is, well, he's perfect. You couldn't find another out there just like him. There will be impostors, people who claim to be like him, people who tell you they're the whole package and that you do not need this "someone" but the truth is, there is no one like him.

You can talk to him, when you're down, when you're alone or when you're happy and have something you need to share.

You can tell him, secrets you could never share, moments you just want to forget or feelings that you are forced to suppress.

You can cry with him, let go of the load that has weighed u down for far too long or let out the hurts that have so often been inflicted upon your heavy heart.

You can rejoice with him, let out your heart's innermost joy and content that you feel others would find petty and silly.


The thing about this certain someone is, he doesn't judge, doesn't misunderstand, doesn't get impatient, always forgiving and ever-ready to serve.
How ironic is it that this certain someone is our God and yet He serves us. And I don't mean the whole slavery kind of thing. I mean, really serve us. I mean, think about it. He goes all the way just to be there for one solitary human being whom most times defies his authority. We sin over and over again and yet He still keeps loving us. And the best part is, no less is His love for us, even after we make the mistakes that we have made before.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm gonna grasp this opportunity. As hard as we can, let us never forget, always remember and never take for-granted this amazing gift that has been bestowed upon us. The gift of an ever-loving friend who will never let you down.

Generation Revival!

The GENREV community once again does not fail to deliver in abundance a message so powerful to many. Returning from Fan Into Flame II 2007, I am once again empowered and filled with a greater understanding of what it is I must do to progress one step further into my relationship with God.

To be perfectly honest, one of the reasons I have not been updating this particular blog is because I found myself slowly feeling more and more lost in my religion, feeling that maybe it was time for that next step, deeper into our relationship. The problem was, I didn't know what it was that I had to do to progress.

Tonight, the GENREV community has touched my life. They have proven that all prayers, if in His will, will be answered. And that if you truly want something enough, He will grant it if He feels you are ready. After a long time of praying and seeking, I got my answer through this concert. I wondered, initially, what it was that kept me away from Him. I asked that He keep me close always, that I may not stray too far in the process. He answered my prayers, showed me what it was that I had to do and renewed my faith so deeply that words alone could not begin to sum it up.

The words that Kiddo spoke through his sharing had really hit the nail on the head for me. We are one people. A community. Together, we walk in the same direction and stand together for always. We are one people. We are a royal priesthood, a holy nation. Everybody One. And He asked us to go out and baptize the world, to immerse others in His Word! Not separately, not alone but together. This, as Kiddo said, is my next step closer to Him. To live out the faith. To spread His word and to share His joy with others. To renew our relationship, we must continue to take these few steps, deeper into the relationship with Him. Do not be content with what you have now. Continue to seek. If you feel you love Him now, then seek Him even more and love Him more!


Our God is a God of endless possibilities and loves us unconditionally. Return the favour. Spread the salt, not alone but as one people. His people.

All the best, friends. =)) God bless.



-- "I'm gave my heart to Someone who will never leave"

Late Easter Post

It is Easter. And so often we forget the true meaning of Easter and that is the rising of our Lord Jesus Christ. This post will be a short one for it is left for us to ponder upon. Jesus promised, when He left, that He would return. I'm not sure about the rest of you but that tells me that among the many qualities of Our Lord, one of them is that He is a man of His word. He fulfills His promises to us.

It is Easter, my friends. And He is alive, in all of us. Just as He said He would be. Let us take this opportunity to rediscover Him. Grow together with your fellow Christians. I, too, am on a journey to rediscover Him.

All the best and God bless. :)

Review of E.R. 07

E.R. 07

GeT a LiFe!! (Fri)

LiVe iT oUt!~ (Sat)

Venue: Christian Ecumenical Centre, Stampin

Time: 7:30pm

I apologize for the late update on the event. As always it is due to some time constraint. So here I am, back to update those who did not attend the E.R. on how the two-night event played out.

First of all, would like to start off by extending a heartiest "congratulations" to the emPOWERed Youth Ministry for excellent efforts and preparations. The hall was set up wonderfully with a built-up stage right in the middle of the room complimented by some ravishing coloured lights and dried ice. The agenda of the night was very well-planned and the events that came up, one after the other, were pretty unpredictable. The agenda organized was truly creative and fresh.

E.R. 07 : GeT a LiFe!!

Concert session 1

First of all, would like to start off by extending a heartiest "congratulations" to the emPOWERed Youth Ministry for excellent efforts and preparations. The hall was set up wonderfully with a built-up stage right in the middle of the room complimented by some ravishing coloured lights and dried ice. The agenda of the night was very well-planned and the events that came up, one after the other, were pretty unpredictable. The agenda organized was truly creative and fresh.

Starting off with a short talk by Fr. Joseph Chai followed by an adrenaline pumping introduction by Benedict Lo, the crowd was brought to an uproar as the worship leaders made an impressionable entrance with religious rock songs which were accompanied by the emPOWERed dancers and special guest, Mark David. As it approached towards the middle of the event, there was a little sketch courtesy of the Drama Ministry followed by life testimonies by Edmund Lo, Emmanuel David and Errol Glenn. Also, there was a special message by our very own Archbishop John Ha.

My favourite and also the most expected segment was when Karen Chin sang, while playing the guitar, Kathryn Scott's "Ashes To Beauty" totally unplugged, accompanied by Cherlyn Joseph on the back-up vocals. More praise followed after in the night and the first night ended nicely.

E.R. 07 : LiVe iT OuT!!

Tonight's session was truly moving. With a more sentimental and soft choice of songs, I can personally say that the crowd was given a chance to truly reflect and worship Our Lord (based on the many opinions of a few other attendees). The night started off with a solo by Lewis Lo which lead into more upbeat songs followed by several softer ones. Karen Chin, Pius Kalang, Correine Loretta and Rainer all shared their respective testimonies boldly, all glorifying His name in the process. Loretta's life testimony was played out via a short sketch courtesy of the Drama Ministry. The rest of the night played out pretty much the same as the night before except with a different choice of songs, including Rainer and Loretta's self-written song which I found to be the most moving song of it all.

All and all the E.R.07 was a great success with the help of many supportive and generous sponsors, hardworking and dedicated ministers and helpers and above all, the goodness and grace of Our God.

May the emPOWERed Ministry continue to be showered with His blessings so that they will be able to continue to organize more unforgettable events in the future in their efforts to save our generation!

May God bless you all and keep on rocking for the Lord!

PostSecret

"Every single person has at least one secret that would break your heart. If we could just remember this, I think there would be a lot more compassion and tolerance in the world"

Just recently I came across PostSecret, an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard. Before I could not seem to grasp the point of doing all this; sending in your secrets to be posted up on a site. But then after coming across PostSecret I realized what it was all really for.

Everyone has their own personal secret. A secret that we hold deep inside of us that we could never bring ourselves to reveal. Hurts, experiences, embarrassing stories, stupid decisions, raging emotions. These secrets we carry sometimes weigh such a heavy load it burdens us so greatly. I realized that communities like PostSecret only aim to help those who are burdened by this heavy load realize that there are so many others out there just like them and that they do not have to bear it all alone. By sending in their deepest, most hidden secrets at least a little part of the burden that they have to carry on their shoulders will be lifted for they can finally let things out.

People often say that in times of need, seek God. But sometimes, we find that it is just not enough to have Him with us spiritually. Sure, His presence strengthens us but we need that little extra to relieve us completely. That is why He sends us aid in the form of the people around us. We are all interdependant, one way or the other. Take what PostSecret is doing for example. They are working based on the very grounds that we all need each other to go on with life. We help each other through these difficulties that bring us down. Sometimes all we need is to know that there are others out there who are going through the same things if not worse and that our life is not all that bad after all. It makes our problems seem so little when you compare them to such a big world.

God provides. Always.
: )