† Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread! †

Bread is referred to as the staff of life and comes in a variety of forms around the world. It sustains the physical life. “Because bread is so basic to our life, God was wise to nourish us with divine life in the form of bread, the Eucharist. Jesus foretold this marvel when he claimed, “I am the bread of life…. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” (John 6:48, 51). This was not just a figure of speech. Jesus meant the words literally. At the Last Supper the night before he died, he held bread in his hands and said to his friends, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24). Ever since then Christians have been celebrating the breaking of the bread. We come together to share a meal and be fed with the bread and wine that is Jesus. The Eucharist is a gift of Jesus’ love through which we remember his death and resurrection and share in them” (Loyola Press).