The most important prayer you already know

Want to hear a secret? You likely know a prayer that can reorient you to everything in your life. And it goes like this:

"Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen."

(Or as you might have learned it growing up: “BlessusOLordandthesethygifts,” spoken in one breathless prayer, racing at break-neck speed to get to dinner, stomach rumbling.)

The traditional Catholic grace before meals is familiar to many families, dating all the way back to the Gelasian Sacramentary of the eighth century. The prayer asks God's blessing and offers gratitude for Christ's abundance.

At mealtime, some opt for particular petitions, blessing the food and all the hands who prepared it, or thanking God by name for each person gathered around the table. But there is a beauty in the wideness of this traditional grace, casting a wide net to draw in the bounty that God provides. We become like the disciples, fresh from fishing, amazed at the overflow in our nets.

What's more, the words at the heart of the prayer -- Thy gifts, which we are about to receive -- can open our eyes to all the gifts God is ready to give, beyond the warm food waiting to be enjoyed.

Over the years, these words sprung to mind for me on the threshold of great change, like the final days before we welcomed a new baby. I've found myself praying this line while we were keeping vigil at the deathbed of beloved family members or while wrapping presents on the night before each child's birthday.

In each of these moments, our family was about to receive God's gifts, all over again.

Sometimes the words we rattle off without thinking are precisely the place to pause and reflect. At least three times a day our family sits and speaks these words aloud over meals -- but what other gifts might God be waiting to give us?

More than a mealtime blessing, this prayer invites us to bring our whole selves into a stance of openness toward God: a dependence on divine mercy that will transform our entire life. To pray like this keeps us on our toes, arms open, waiting to receive, trusting that God will provide.

Just as Jesus prayed over meals, from the miracle of the loaves and fishes to the Last Supper, we too return to this daily practice of thanksgiving. We believe that whatever is good, loving and fruitful -- grace beyond what we deserve -- is exactly what God desires to give. We are always about to receive God's gifts, standing in each moment on the threshold of Christ's self-giving love, the same agape we celebrate in the Eucharist.

"Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts" could fittingly be used as morning prayer, orienting us to receive whatever God has to offer today. Or we might pray it as evening prayer, giving thanks for the gift of rest and the promise of another tomorrow.

These familiar words can become a prayer for labor and delivery, a blessing over a new school year, a petition for marriage preparation, or even a prayer in grief, as we strive to trust that God will offer mercy even in our hardest moments.

As we turn from one season to the next, what surprises of grace might be waiting around the corner? Can we trust that God will not only provide, but will pour out blessings upon us?

Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive: always about to receive.