A prayer before preparing Thanksgiving dinner

This week the United States celebrates the Thanksgiving Holiday. I’m always reminded of the Martha-Mary Gospel story during these days (I tend to be Martha). But why must we choose to be one or the other, or why does one way need to be better than the other? It seems that these holiday gatherings call us to be equal parts both.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families, near and far!

A prayer before preparing Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner
(based on Luke 10:27, 38-42)

Lord, you know
all the things that still
need to be done—
the cooking and cleaning, the preparation
and anticipation,
the anxiety and worry that everything
will be just right.
As I prepare this meal, help me also
to prepare myself
that I may not be distracted
by all these concerns.
And when you enter
this home and sit
at this table,
may I sit beside you
and remember
that only one thing is needed:
to love you with all my heart, with all my being,
with all my strength, and with all my mind,
and to love my neighbor as myself. Amen.

This prayer by Diana Macalintal originally appeared in Today’s Parish Minister, Vol. 39, No. 7, November/December, 2007.
Copyright © 2007, Diana Macalintal. All rights reserved.
Photo: courtesy of Jermaine Justice, via flickr, CreativeCommons license.

Diana Macalintal

Diana Macalintal is the Director of Worship for the Diocese of San Jose in California and holds a Master of Arts in Theology, cum laude, from Saint John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota. She has served as a liturgist, music, and catechumenate director in campus, parish, and diocesan ministries for over 25 years and has authored numerous articles on liturgy, music, and the catechumenate. She was a contributing author for <em>The Catholic Connections Handbook for Middle Schoolers</em> and wrote <em>The Eucharist Catechist's Guide</em> (both Saint Mary's Press, 2009). She is an adjunct faculty member of the Institute in Pastoral Ministries of Saint Mary's University of Minnesota (Winona) and serves as a team member of the North American Forum on the Catechumenate. She founded and maintains a blog for the Diocese of San Jose called "Work of the People" and is a co-founder of TeamRCIA.com.

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Comments

4 responses to “A prayer before preparing Thanksgiving dinner”

  1. claire bangasser

    This is lovely, thank you. It is good for Thanksgiving and all these other occasions when the form of the dinner seems more important thant the intent…

    Reply
  2. Jennifer Odegard

    Thank you, Diana. What a lovely prayer! Wishing you and yours, and all Pray Tell readers a wonderful holiday.

    Reply
  3. Linda Reid

    Thank you for this beautiful prayer, Diana! I tend to be a “Martha” too and have great difficulty being a “Mary”, so I will try to remember this as I prepare!

    Reply
  4. Diana R. Rodriguez

    What a wonderful prayer Diana, that was a great Job, in praeparare your tongue for Practice during the preparing for Thanks Giving Meal.

    Reply

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