Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Congratulations with the feasts of the Resurrection of the Lord and the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God!

In the fourth petition of the Lord’s Prayer we pray to the Lord that He “give us our daily bread.” This at first glance simple and understandable petition can be understood differently depending on what context these words are said in. Of course, the simplest explanation of these words are a request that God grant us food that is essential to our existence. This explanation is especially poignant when we sing or read the Lord’s Prayer before we sit down to eat. In general, we can think that when we pray these words in our everyday prayers, we are asking not only for food, but for everything that is needed for our physical existence – clothing, shelter, physical health. It’s important to note that for a Christian, whose goal is the future spiritual life in the Kingdom of Heaven, it is not proper to excessively fret about the future here on earth. Therefore, we pray not for an overabundance of goods, but only for that which is necessary for today. We firmly believe that the Lord will not abandon us, but will provide us with earthly good things tomorrow also.

These simple words take on a completely different meaning when we sing them at the Divine Liturgy. As bread or other food is imperative for our physical existence, so is spiritual food vital for our the existence of our soul. This spiritual food, is of course, Communion – the Body and Blood of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ, which is offered to us under the guise of bread and wine at the end of the Divine Liturgy. Perhaps it is not by chance that the fourth petition is positioned in the middle of the ‘Our Father,’ because for us, communing of Christ’s Mysteries must become the central event of our lives.

Today let’s remember these two explanations of the petition “give us this day our daily bread,” and let’s pray in like manner: in the mornings and throughout the day – that the Lord send us everything that is necessary for our physical existence, before eating – that we are not deprived of food, and when preparing for Communion and during the Divine Liturgy – that He preserve us from any sins that would deprive us of being able to approach the Chalice.

priest Alexis