The Catechism of the Catholic
Church on the Our Father #6
October 8, 1995
Brother John Raymond
We pray so often "Give us this day our daily bread" in the Our
Father. On the surface one could take this as a petition to God for
daily food. Certainly it can remind us that the food we eat is
provided by God. We should thank God for our "daily bread." In this
age of supermarkets one can easily forget that our food ultimately
does depend on God. I believe farmers have a keener awareness of
this. For instance, in Florida a few days of frost in Orlando wiped
out many orange groves permanently. It doesn't take much to turn a
farm into a disaster. The rest of us feel secure that when we go to
the supermarket the food will be there. It never seems to cross our
minds that there could be a shortage. So we should be thankful to
the Father__for what we receive. Like children we look to Our Father
to sustain us and give us what we need.
But are we only praying for food in the Our Father? In the Old
Testament Moses crossed the desert relying totally on God for their
life's sustenance. In the New Testament Jesus had compassion on the
crowds and multiplied a few loaves of bread and fishes to feed five
thousand men, not including women and children. But Jesus' concern
for the people did not stop at satisfying their hunger. He promised
a "living Bread." St. John's Gospel gives us the deeper meaning of
this "Bread" mentioned in the Our Father. Jesus said, "'I am the
Bread of Life. Your fathers ate the manna in the desert and have
died...The Bread I will give is My Flesh for the life of the
world.'" (6,48-52) The Christian sense of this petition "concerns
the Bread of Life: The Word of God accepted in faith, the Body of
Christ received in the Eucharist." (Catechism #2835) St. Augustine,
considered by many to be the greatest theologian of the Church,
understood it in these two ways, also.
The Greek word "epiousios" (daily) is not found anywhere else in
the New Testament and can be taken in various ways. In the temporal
sense we have a similarity to the "this day" found in Exodus
16:19-21. In the qualitative sense it can mean that which is
necessary to sustain life or those goods sufficient for subsistence.
Taken literally this word means "super-essential." In this sense we
are asking for our "super-essential" bread, which can only refer
"directly to the Bread of Life, the Body of Christ." (Catechism
#2837)
Amazingly enough, the Holy Eucharist has provided for some people
more than spiritual food. In Portugal, Alexandrina de Costa
(1904-1955) lived for many years only on the Holy Eucharist. She had
no other source of nourishment. Some people did not believe that
this could be true. So they placed her in a hospital and monitored
her closely. Sure enough, she ate nothing else. Others in the past
have had this experience too.
Thanks be to God that we have this "Bread from Heaven" to sustain
us on our pilgrimage through life. Such a great miracle takes place
on the altars of our churches every day! The Father provides His Son
through the power of the Holy Spirit to be our food, our life. How
thankful we should be for such a great grace. There are many who
have never received Holy Communion once in their entire
life__perhaps never will. Jesus is so happy when we desire to be
united with Him in Holy Communion. The Father is happy to give us
His Son. Can we let a day pass without eating? How much more without
Jesus__"Give us this day our super-essential Bread."