More Reflections on the "Our Father" Prayer: Part Two

The Lord’s Prayer “is truly the summary of the whole gospel” (CCC 2761). This quote from an early Church Father gives us a grand perspective to one of our most beloved prayers. If you were to read through and pray the psalms on a regular basis, you would notice the themes of the Old Testament coming up time and again. In the midst of those psalms is the proclamation of the gospel in the New Testament as well.

Give us this day our daily bread . . .

English is a funny language. It is no wonder so many seminarians prepare for their ministry by studying Hebrew and Greek. This simple phrase seems to repeat itself. The best way to explain this is to let the Church give the answer:

“Daily” (epiousios) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament.

Taken in a temporal sense, this word is a pedagogical repetition of “this day,” to confirm us in trust “without reservation.”

Taken in the qualitative sense, it signifies what is necessary for life, and more broadly every good thing sufficient for subsistence.

Taken literally (epi-ousios: “super-essential”), it refers directly to the Bread of Life, The Body of Christ, the “medicine of immortality,” without which we have no life within us.

Finally in this connection, its heavenly meaning is evident: “this day” is the Day of the Lord, the day of the feast of the kingdom, anticipated in the Eucharist that is already the foretaste of the kingdom to come. (CCC 2837 emphasis mine)

John’s gospel account of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish prepares us for one of the most dynamic sections in the whole New Testament. Jesus does NOT command rocks to become bread. He commands bread to multiply (John 6:1-14). Jesus asks the people, “Did you seek me because you saw the signs I did or because you ate your fill of the loaves”? (v. 26) He mentions physical food that parishes and food that endures to eternal life. There is a difference and that difference is Jesus.

Now comes the most simple, yet misunderstood passage of the New Testament. “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he (the Father) has sent” (6:29). It sounds simple, but once again, those that asked Jesus about a sign where looking at physical manifestations. For example, they bring up their fathers in the wilderness when God gave them bread from heaven. Jesus proclaims, “For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world” (v. 33).

Lord, give us this bread always!

This is the reply of the people who sought Jesus. Does this sound familiar? This is why the sacrament of the Eucharist is so very special. Bread is commanded to become the Body of Christ and it is by this that we truly abide in Christ.

“I am the bread of life” (v.48).

“I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (v. 51).

“He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (v. 56ff).

As you can see, there is more to the Lord’s Prayer than meets the eye. Read the Prayer again in light of this information and you will see how indeed it is a summary of the gospel.

Ave Maria!

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Jesus and Mary, protect and save the unborn!