Praying for the needs of our bodies and souls

So you see, “Give us this day our daily bread” is a prayer, not only for everything our body needs in order to be healthy and strong, but also for everything our souls needs to become like Jesus and so to be brought in safety to Heaven.

And because we pray “Give us this day our daily bread” we are praying not only for ourselves but for people in need all over the world.  So we are including in our prayer, for example, people who are hungry, homeless, unemployed; and those Christians who, perhaps as a result of persecution, are unable to make their Communion freely as we do in this country.

SUMMARY

1. “Daily” bread means enough for today.

2. Daily bread means the things we need to keep our bodies well (such as food and clothes and shelter) and our souls healthy and strong (namely, the Holy Spirit of God and the Blessed Sacrament).

Reference

1. Church of England (1662) The Book of Common Prayer.  A Catechism.  Available from: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/worship/liturgy/bcp/texts/catechism.html  (Accessed 19 August 2010) (Internet).