In today’s Wall Street Journal ($), columnist Daniel Henninger, referring to secularist Democrats, writes:
Thanksgiving dinner must have been a cause of some discomfort for many of these folks, especially at that familiar moment when all those gathered at the table turn quiet.
As if compelled by the antique code of a more settled religious time, they incline the communal gaze toward the paterfamilias for the ritual saying of once-a-year grace.
And Dad knows that Aunt Hattie, who passed the prior hour boiling Dick Cheney in oil, won’t much like releasing religious karma into the atmosphere.
(Emphasis and extra paragraphing added.)
We had 20 people for Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, family members from both sides, plus neighbors and a few “strays.” As it happened, all present were either Episcopalian or Roman Catholic.
The group had a nice time catching up, or getting to know new people. My wife announced that dinner was ready. Everyone slowly drifted toward the dining-room table and the spare table we’d set up in the next room, both fully leafed-out.
We always serve buffet-style, so people cheerfully milled about, waiting to serve themselves, continuing to talk. My wife and my mother put the last few dishes on the serving tables. My sister and a neighbor handed out copies of the blessing our family says.
My wife judged that things were ready. She caught my eye and nodded.
I raised my voice: “The Lord be with you!” The chorus came back (loudly): “And also with you!” Together, all hands said the blessing, attributed to Anglican priest John Wesley:
Be present at our table, Lord;
Be here, and everywhere, adored.
Thy people bless, and grant that we
May feast in Paradise, with Thee.
Amen.
Did your family say grace yesterday? How?