Catholic Prayer: Easter Blessing of Food (old Roman Ritual)
Description:
The Easter blessings of food owe their origin to the fact that these particular foods, namely, fleshmeat and milk products, including eggs, were forbidden in the Middle Ages during the Lenten fast and abstinence. When the feast of Easter brought the rigorous fast to an end, and these foods were again allowed at table, the people showed their joy and gratitude by first taking the food to church for a blessing. Moreover, they hoped that the Church's blessing on such edibles would prove a remedy for whatever harmful effects the body might have suffered from the long period of self-denial. Today the Easter blessings of food are still held in many churches in the United States, especially in Slavic parishes.
Prayer:
Blessing of Lamb
Leader: Our help is in the name of the Lord. All: Who made heaven and earth. Leader: The Lord be with you. All: May He also be with you.
Let us pray. God, who by your servant Moses commanded your people in their deliverance from Egypt to kill a lamb as a type of our Lord Jesus Christ, and prescribed that its blood be used to sign the two door-posts of their homes; may it please you to bless + and sanctify + this creature-flesh which we, your servants, desire to eat in praise of you. We ask this in virtue of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you forever and ever. All: Amen.
Blessing of Eggs
Leader: Our help is in the name of the Lord. All: Who made heaven and earth. Leader: The Lord be with you. All: May He also be with you.
Let us pray. Lord, let the grace of your blessing + come upon these eggs, that they be healthful food for your faithful who eat them in thanksgiving for the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you forever and ever. All: Amen.
Blessing of Bread
Leader: Our help is in the name of the Lord. All: Who made heaven and earth. Leader: The Lord be with you. All: May He also be with you.
Let us pray. Holy Lord and Father, almighty everlasting God, be pleased to bless + this bread, imparting to it your hallowed favor from on high. May it be for all who eat of it a healthful food for body and soul, as well as a safeguard against every disease and all assaults of the enemy. We ask this of our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, the bread of life who came down from heaven and gives life and salvation to the world; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. All: Amen.
These are all sprinkled with holy water. (©1964 Roman Ritual, edited by Philip Weller)
