Meat Eaters Prayer

A prayer to say before eating meat:

“Holy One of Love and all Good,

Please bless the animal prepared as meal here for us with our gratitude, peace and love for the life given and nourishment received. Please extend this blessing to all relatives of this animal. We also call on your love and blessing to be upon the person who killed this animal and upon those involved in the keeping and care of this animal. We look now upon this beautiful meal with an understanding and reverence to it’s source and journey. We offer prayers of peace, love and blessing as our thanksgiving. Amen. “

–CSS

Though I do not eat meat in general, I still eat some salmon and humanely raised chicken eggs. I try to keep it to that. But sometimes I am at a person’s house and I know there is meat in the soup or such and I offer a prayer like this in my mind and heart to bring honor and reverence for the life given and for the journey that was part of that life.

For some, eating meat is not negotiable. I have an understanding of that, even though becoming vegetarian is one of the greatest postive environmental impacts we can use for the health of the Earth. Eating less meat would be a big step in the right direction as well.

Nevertheless, for those eating meat, however much, it is also so important on the spiritual and mental level to connect with what we are eating and to realize — it is not just a nugget, burger, hot dog, fish stick, fried chicken, bacon or whatever name we are calling it. It is a life that was taken and given to you for nourishment.

The prayer I offer above is a way of honoring that life, and calling on the healing powers of love and blessing for those involved in that animal’s life and death. This kind of mindfulness when we eat does more good than we can imagine. This is one way to be a healer in ones own life and in the world.