Sophia Marx

The ritual I decided to practice this week was praying before every meal. Whether I was at the cog or eating in my room, I prayed in my head before each meal. I was saying my thanks to God for the food and the nourishment. The times I typically did this around were 11 to 12 and 5 to 6. This was different from just eating a meal normally because I was paying respect and thank you to the person who provided this food for me. I don’t know if this follows under one of the ritual definitions that Grimes proposed but, I think that rituals are very personal and my own definition of ritual is something that is sacred, is repeated, can bring you closer to a higher power, and fulfills your beliefs. I think the big concepts and beliefs that were in this ritual is the belief of God and that God created everything on this earth. From humans to food to the environment. Everything was created by Him. This was a way of saying, thank you and respecting all that God in Jesus sacrificed for us humans to have the best life possible. Something even as simple as prayer before each meal brings me closer to God and truly shows him how thankful I am for these meals and these nutrients and sustainability and keeping me alive and healthy. I embodied this ritual by doing the sign of the cross, folding my hands, speaking to God through my head and the scents of the meal that was under my nose. The biggest sense that I wanted to feel was that connection with God that he was there with me sitting across from me at this meal eating with me. Showing him how thankful I am to eat the food that he has provided and placed on this earth. This goes to say that this might not be some huge and super special tradition or ritual, it brings me closer to God every single day. This small conversation that I had with God benefited my day and made my day different. This ritual was personal, but it’s very common in the Catholic faith to pray before meals. When my family was at home and my parents were still together, we prayed before every single meal. But after my parents were divorced, it didn’t really happen as much because family meals didn’t feel the same. So for me to make a tradition of my own, was really important and special.