Abstract:

This essay describes how the grace-saying act can be a vital source in the renewal of communities and the created world. I show how it has become difficult in modern times to appreciate this act’s practical and religious significance or perform it with much sincerity. I also argue that the loss of blessing and thanksgiving has a lot to do with the destruction of the world and its neighborhoods. I propose that as we learn to understand and then recover this practice, we will also participate in the healing of the world. Saying grace introduces us to a new understanding of ourselves as creatures placed in a world of gifts.

Author: Norman Wirzba