Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread—
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Give us this day our daily bread
When our kids are little and they say, give me this or give me that. On the surface it may seem annoying, but it betrays an unconditional trust they have in their parents. Isn’t that what they are supposed to have. The first two words of the Our Father are “Give us.” This should teach us the kind of trust we should have in our Father. “The trust of children who look to their Father for everything that is beautiful,” so says the Catechism. (CCC 2828).
Once again we are reminded of what the ancient Church called parrhesia (para-see-ah)
· Straightforward simplicity with God
· The trust of a small child toward a perfect Father
· Joyous assurance
· Humble boldness
· The certainty of being loved.
That is the attitude God wants us to have toward Him.
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Give us this day our daily Bread. Daily Bread” refers to two things
1. The Eucharist which is the Bread of Life
2. The appropriate things we need to live
“Our Daily Bread” refers primarily to the Bread of Life - the Eucharist – that God provides in Daily Mass.
In the original Greek “Daily” is (epiousios). Taken literally epi-ousios means “super-essential” or “super-substantial.” This refers directly to the Eucharist, the medicine of immortality without which we have no life within us. (see CCC 2837)
For Jesus said: I tell you most solemnly, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will have no life in you. Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. John 6:53-56
With this petition we ask Our Father to give us the Eucharist every day. He hears and answers our prayer by giving us the Eucharist in daily Mass.
St Faustina writes: “If the angels were capable of envy, they would envy us for two things: one is the receiving of Holy Communion, and the other is suffering.”
To receive the Eucharist is the greatest way to receive the love of God; to suffer for Jesus is the greatest way to love him in return.
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Give us this day our daily bread Prayer
God our Father also wants us to pray to him with trust for the earthly things we need to live
CCC 2830 The Father who gives us life cannot fail to give us the nourishment life requires – all appropriate goods and blessings, both material and spiritual. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus insists on the filial trust that cooperates with our Father’s providence.
Does this relieve us of our responsibility? Hardly…
“He is not inviting us to idleness but wants to relieve us from the nagging worry and preoccupation” that prevent us from spending time with God in prayer; time with family and friends, and time living a well-rounded and balanced life that results in happiness and peace.
St. Ignatius of Loyola summed up the balance: Pray as if everything depended on you; work as if everything depended on God.
Yet some people still lack bread. This fact does not prove there is no God. It highlights the fact that God created a world in which we were supposed to take care of one another with the blessings and gifts he has given us. The problem is not with God, but with human sin and selfishness.
CCC 2831 “The drama of hunger in the world calls Christians…to exercise responsibility toward their brethren.”
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As bad as it is, material poverty is not the worst thing.
Spiritual Poverty is worse. No one goes to Hell because they lack food; people can go to Hell if they reject God. That is why the CCC (2835) says this petition, (give us this day our daily bread)…also applies to another hunger from which men are perishing: Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God…Christians must make every effort to proclaim the Good News…There is a famine on earth, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.
The Catechism is clear – people are dying of spiritual hunger. And I would say we are spiritually hungry for two things: friendship with God and friendship with others.
On Christmas Eve of 1969 then Cardinal Ratzinger who became Pope Benedict XVI looked into the future and said: “Men in a totally planned world will find themselves unspeakably lonely. If they have completely lost sight of God, they will feel the whole horror of their poverty. Then they will discover the little flock of believers as something wholly new. They will discover it as a hope that is meant for them, an answer for which they have always been searching in secret.”
He also reminded us that people come to God through other people. So it is time…It is time for us to gather our family and friends and become the little flock of believers the lost can discover.
Pauline Jaricot wrote, “The rosary groups should invite anyone, the good, the mediocre, and others who had nothing to offer but their good will. Fifteen pieces of coal, one is well lit, there are four or five that are half lit, and the rest not lit at all. Put the fifteen together and you have a blazing fire.”
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So what should we do?
It is very simple:
· Ask Our Lady to guide you and ask her who she wants you to gather.
o Immediate family, extended family, friends, strangers…
· Start with lay-ups rather than three pointers…there are 14k people praying this Rosary podcast daily and more than 2000 Members of the Movement. You probably know many of them because YOU invited them. That’s how we got to 14k…Gather with people who already buy into this mission and this simple way of life.
· If you are not sure of who to gather with – join us as a Member of the Movement and tell us you want help and we can connect you with other members of the Movement in your parish or near where you live.
· Invite them to gather where you live or where they live
· What is the reason? I enjoy so much getting together with you and talking with you – that’s why. Who would be offended by that invitation?
· Prepare a meal, order out, have a pot-luck, have a happy hour, or coffee or desert. Everyone eats. Do it together.
· Then be interested in their lives and be interested in what they are interested in. Just ask them about the story of their experience since you last saw them.
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The goals of the time together:
A. To experience the goodness of being with family and friends and delight in them
B. To show them they are delightful – that they are good. This proclaims to them the foundational truth – it is good that you exist – how wonderful you are. Recognizing their own goodness and worth is the precondition for opening up to God.
C. To get to know, understand, love and care for them and to encourage them
D. And if the circumstances are right, invite them to an encounter with Jesus, Mary and Joseph through the Rosary. Be prudent and detached concerning the right moment but do not be timid.