Our daily bread does not mean only the food necessary for our bodies. We have a higher and more important part of our nature which needs continual sustenance, if it is to be preserved in good health. Our soul too needs its food. Therefore, by the plea for bread, we beg also, all the varied graces which we need, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the helpful suggestions of our Guardian Angel. Without this daily bread, our souls, left to themselves, would soon become weak and feeble, and quite unable to resist when temptation comes.

This food of grace with which we ask to be fed, consists in the supernatural help which God has promised to give to all who ask Him. We can do nothing good for ourselves, and the holiness of our lives depends on a plentiful supply of Divine strength to sustain us in our weakness. This strength is given to all who ask for it. Without prayer we are sure to fall; those who pray earnestly are always safe.

This bread of our souls is also given to us in the holy sacraments of the Church, and above all in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. The Body of Our Lord is that supersubstantial bread which is more especially the object of this petition. Without it, the life of our soul soon flags. "Except you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His Blood, you shall not have life in you" (St. John vi. 54). Do I value and avail myself to the best of my ability of the opportunity that I have of frequently communicating?