goods of which we stand in need to sustain our present life. The words "Our daily bread" teach us that we should ask for this kind of goods with moderation, after the example of Solomon, who asked only what was necessary: Give me only the necessaries of life.[1] It is to be remarked that in the Gospel of St. Matthew, instead of the daily bread, we read, Give us this day our supersubstantial[2] bread.[ed. 1] By this supersubstantial bread we must understand, according to the explanation given by the Roman catechism, Jesus Christ himself in the Sacrament of the Altar, that is, in Holy Communion. We ask this heavenly bread every day, Give us this day, because every good Christian should communicate every day, if not really at least spiritually, as we are exhorted by the Council of Trent.
5. Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris ("And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us"). To eat worthily of this heavenly bread, we must be free from mortal sin, or at least be washed of it by the blood of the Lamb in the sacrament of penance. We say, free from mortal sin; but it must be observed that if anyone should communicate with an actual affection for some venial sin, he could not be said to communicate without offering some indignity to our Lord—at least if he communicates often.
6. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem ("And lead us not into temptation"). How are these words to be under-
- ↑ These two expressions are not opposed to each other; on the contrary, one explains the other. We ask, in the one as in the other, what is each day necessary for the subsistence of the body and of the soul; but we chiefly ask for spiritual nourishment, and, above everything else, for the Holy Eucharist, which is pre-eminently and beyond comparison called the bread of life and the true bread of the children of God: Panis vita, vere Panis filiorum.—Ed.
