In The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, numbers 592 and 593, we find a precise summary of the explanation of this invocation.
N. 592: “Asking God with the filial trust of children for the daily nourishment which is necessary for us all, we recognize how good God is, beyond all goodness. We ask also for the grace to know how to act so that justice and solidarity may allow the abundance of some to remedy the needs of others.”
N.593: “Since ‘man does not live on bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’ (Matthew 4:4), this petition equally applies to hunger for the Word of God and for the Body of Christ received in the Eucharist as well as hunger for the Holy Spirit. We ask this with complete confidence for this day – God’s today – and this is given to us above all in the Eucharist which anticipates the banquet of the Kingdom to come.”
Going Against Greed
To pray this invocation with the right spirit, we must go against the flow of the economic system we have in our society these days. It is not based on the legitimate needs of every human being. No, it is based upon greed which is fed by publicity through insistent proposals of new things we do not need at all like selfish and unrestrained passions. We need love at all levels and for all people. I believe that if every person could limit himself/herself to what is needed, nobody would be without what is necessary for a dignified living. It would be a matter of sharing and fair distribution; a matter of unselfishness; it would mean a renunciation of an economic system based on greed and showing off.
The petition ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ expresses our dependence on God. I do remember what my parents used to stress over and over again: “Without God, we have nothing.” Every time we were about to eat, the whole family prayed together, guided by my father or mother, asking God to bless the food and asking Him that all people might have their bread. My parents believed that God listens to our prayer when we pray in communion with all people who pray and also on behalf of those who do not pray. What deep faith they did have! Naturally, as we ask God for bread, we do not forget the duty of working for bread to cooperate with Him for our sustenance and share with others what we have. We do this day after day avoiding greed and without entering the logic of possessing.
In Communion With All
Pope Francis has invited all the followers of Christ Jesus to be united with the many men and women for whom this invocation is a cry accompanying the anguish of daily life. How many mothers and fathers go to bed with the torment of not having sufficient bread for their children the next day. If we do not pray the “Our Father” in communion with all people, then this great prayer ceases to be Christian.”
As we pray the “Our Father”, it is important for us to remember that in our human nature we have not only hunger for bread, but we also have a hunger for God. And so when we pray this invocation, we ask God to give Himself to us, to sustain us in our deepest selves, and to give us His merciful love and all the gifts necessary for our salvation.
Pope Francis has said that as we pray for bread, we have in mind also the Eucharist in which Jesus, our God, and Savior gives Himself to us as nourishment. Only the Eucharist satisfies our hunger for God which is present in every human being. If we ask for our daily bread in this context, then we understand that the daily Eucharistic Celebration is fitting.
Through the intercession of Mary and all saints, may we share the bread given to us with as many people as possible.
