WEEK 4

Dear Parish Family,

When we think of prayer, needs often come to mind. We consider our own needs and those of the ones we love. It is also worthy to think of the needs of strangers and even of the whole world. As you pray the Our Father, I encourage you to feel the whole world and to lift up the whole world, even if your own needs are most keenly felt. 

We recognize our needs. We have physical needs like food, shelter, clothing, water, and sleep. We have emotional, intellectual, and relational needs. We also have spiritual needs, right? We have the need to connect with God. Your life needs a higher purpose to give it meaning and direction. 

You and I are very needy people. We are so needy that we often rush to our needs in prayer. The Our Father teaches us not to start with our needs but in acknowledging God’s greatness and power as well as our relationship with him. When we acknowledge God’s goodness and greatness and our relationship with him, it puts our needs into the proper context. 

Let us focus on two words here: give and daily.

The word give reminds us that we cannot produce anything on our own. Everything we have in life we received as a gift from God and his gracious provision. The food on your table, the car you drive, the house you live in and the bed you sleep in all are gifts from God. We can fall into the illusion that we provided these for ourselves, which falsely lessens our need for God, and can make our connection with God feel more tenuous. When we remember that every breath is a gift from God, his love and concern become more apparent in our lives.

All that we have is given, and despite God’s gracious providence, we can often worry that there will not be enough. To this anxiety, Jesus contrasts two parables, the man who built bigger barns (Lk 12:16-21) and the ravens and flowers who neither plan nor worry (Lk 12:22-34). We have a wonderful opportunity to recognize God’s goodness and share what we do not truly need with those who do.

Much ink has been spilt over the word daily (epiousios), which is rare in the literature, giving it a mysterious sense. It can mean what we need to live for today, but it can also include our spiritual needs which gives a strong eucharistic overtone. Sometimes translated as “super-substantial” we are not just asking for bread for the body, but also for bread for the soul, our Eucharistic Lord, the Bread of Life.

We should think of the manna in the desert, which many saints saw as a foreshadowing of the Eucharist. God sent provisions daily. God gives us the grace we need for today, a daily portion. God provides for us daily. In this way we are connected and dependent like children, like daughters and sons of our Father in heaven.

I would invite you this week to seek out a particular need from our Father in heaven. What is on your heart to pray for? And recognizing the way God provides for you, try to give something of value away, maybe a donation to church or to a worthy cause. Pass something on that you no longer need. And our Father who sees in secret will repay you.

Have a blessed day!
Fr. Wilson