Grace Before Meals
Benedic, Domine
The Latin “Benedic, Domine” is found in monastic customaries from the Middle Ages, and the English wording has been stable for centuries. It asks God to bless both the people at the table and the food, and it calls the food “gifts”, which is the whole point: nothing on the plate was earned outright. Saying it with the Sign of the Cross before and after is the older custom.
Traditional, medieval monastic form
Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts,
which we are about to receive from thy bounty,
through Christ our Lord.
Amen.