Dear Pilgrims in Christ,And that is what we baptized believers are--travelers in this world—who live, and move, and have our being in the Way, the Truth, and the Life Who is the Word of God made flesh in Christ Jesus.
When we pray the prayer given us by the Son of the Living God known alternately as "The Lord's Prayer" and "The Our Father," we pray the perfect prayer of praise and Thanksgiving.
Part and parcel of giving thanks, indeed central to it, is coming before our Lord as beggars who know our life is completely in His hand and at His mercy, body and soul and all things.
So we pray together--and this together is of utmost importance as indicated by our Lord's choice in the use of the plural pronouns 'our" and "us" throughout--in THE FOURTH PETITION OF THE LORD'S PRAYER:
Give us this day our daily bread.
What does this mean? God gives daily bread, even without our prayer, to all wicked people; but we pray in this petition that He would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.
What is meant by daily bread? Everything that belongs to the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, field, cattle, money, goods, a pious spouse, pious children, pious servants, pious and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, discipline, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.
Thus, it is neither mere accident nor empty repetition that the members of Christ's Bride, His Holy Christian Church on earth pray this prayer whenever they gather for the Holy Eucharist (which means Thanksgiving) in the greatest of Thanksgiving feasts to receive the body and blood of our Lord for eternal life.
A most blessed Thanksgiving to you and yours. I hope and pray that The Holy Eucharist is the entree` to your and our every Thanksgiving.
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