Day 362: Our Daily Bread

"Give us": the trust of children who look to their Father for everything is beautiful. "He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." He gives to all the living "their food in due season." Jesus teaches us this petition because it glorifies our Father by acknowledging how good he is, beyond all goodness. CCC 2828

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses the next line in the Our Father prayer: "Give us this day our daily bread". In praying this, as children of God, we ask in complete trust of the Father for our daily needs and also the grace to give to others for their needs whenever possible. Finally, we can see our need for the Word of God fulfilled in this petition, as well as reception of the Holy Eucharist, which fills us with His Body and Blood for our daily needs.

The Catechism Compendium summarizes what specifically is the Christian sense of this petition:

Since “man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Mt 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. (#593)

The Catechism Companion Vol III has some good commentary on this:

Asking God for anything, even if the answer is no, is an act of acknowledging that God is good. We should come before God with our needs and not avoid prayer due to a fear of seeming selfish. Jesus ' teachings stress relying on God's care as his children. By faith, we are set free from anxiety. We have a responsibility to help others with their needs, reflecting a heart like the Father's... The fourth petition of the Our Father extends beyond physical needs to desiring the Word of God. It stresses our responsibility for bringing others the Gospel... Both Catholics and non-Catholic Christians should recognize the significance of praying for the Eucharist in the Lord's Prayer and allow this realization to deepen their desire for communion with Jesus. (p. 240)