592. What is the sense of the petition “Give us this day our daily bread”? (part 2 continuation)
(Comp 592 repetition) 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.
“In brief”
(CCC 2861) In the fourth petition,
by saying "give us," we express in communion with our brethren our
filial trust in our heavenly Father. "Our daily bread" refers to the
earthly nourishment necessary to everyone for subsistence, and also to the
Bread of Life: the Word of God and the Body of Christ. It is received in God's
"today," as the indispensable, (super-) essential nourishment of the
feast of the coming Kingdom anticipated in the Eucharist.
To deepen and explain
(CCC 2830) "Our
bread": the Father who gives us life cannot not but 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 (Cf. Mt 6:25-34). He is not
inviting us to idleness (Cf. 2 Thess 3:6-13), but wants to relieve us from
nagging worry and preoccupation. Such is the filial surrender of the children
of God: To those who seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, he has
promised to give all else besides. Since everything indeed belongs to God, he
who possesses God wants for nothing, if he himself is not found wanting before
God (St. Cyprian, De Dom. orat. 21 PL
4, 534A).
Reflection
(CCC 2831) But the presence of those who hunger because they
lack bread opens up another profound meaning of this petition. The drama of
hunger in the world calls Christians who pray sincerely to exercise
responsibility toward their brethren, both in their personal behavior and in
their solidarity with the human family. This petition of the Lord's Prayer
cannot be isolated from the parables of the poor man Lazarus and of the Last
Judgment (Cf. Lk 16:19-31; Mt 25:31-46). [IT CONTINUES]
No comments:
Post a Comment