Page "Historical roots of Catholic Eucharistic theology" Paragraph 34

Many prayers exist within Roman Catholic spiritual life, reflecting on the dogma of the Eucharist.

From St. Thomas: Sit, Jesu dulcissime, sacratissimum Corpus tuum et Sanguis, dulcedo et suavitas animae meae ,... ( Sweetest Jesus, Body and Blood most holy, be the delight and pleasure of my soul ...).

Also: " Not through any merit of my own, but only through the goodness of Your mercy, You have considered me — a sinner, a useless servant — worthy to be nourished with the precious Body and Blood of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

" The Pater Noster contains the important line, " Give us this day our daily bread.

" Here the word " daily " is used to translate the Greek word epiousios.

But " daily bread " can also be translated " supersubstantial bread " ( as found in some Bible translations and in some prayers such as the " Prayer of St. Bonaventure " which begins: " Pierce, O most sweet Lord Jesus, my inmost soul ...").

The Catholic Mass is offered daily, as are Eastern Orthodox communions.

The active liturgical life of the Catholic faith is a key element in the theology of the Eucharist.

At the Mass, it is prayed, Perceptio Corporis tui, Domine Jesu Christe, quod ego indignus sumere praesumo, non mihi proveniat in judicium et condemnationem: sed pro tua pietate prosit mihi ad tutamentum mentis ot corporis, et ad medelam percipiendam ... essentially meaning, ' though I am unworthy, I presume to receive Thy Body ; may it not turn to my judgment and condemnation '.

( The Mass is available in Latin in hundreds of locations worldwide.

) The daily bread in this prayer given by Jesus is a reference to the Eucharist according to many Church Fathers including St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom, St. Jerome, and St. Cyprian of Carthage who in 251 wrote: " As the prayer continues, we ask and say, ' Give us this day our daily bread.

' ... And we ask that this bread be given us daily, so that we who are in Christ and daily receive the Eucharist as the food of salvation, may not, by falling into some more grievous sin and then in abstaining from communicating, be withheld from the heavenly Bread, and be separated from Christ's Body.

...

He Himself warns us ... ( Jn 6: 54 )" ( Jurgens § 559 ).

Cyprian again: " We can understand this petition us this day our daily bread in a spiritual and in a literal sense.

For in the divine plan both senses may help toward our salvation.

For Christ is the bread of life ; this bread does not belong to everyone, but is ours alone.

When we say, our Father, we understand that he is the father of those who know him and believe in him.

In the same way we speak of our daily bread, because Christ is the bread of those who touch his body " ( Liturgy of the Hours, 1975, Vol.

III, Eleventh Week, Thursday, Office of Readings, Second Reading, emphases added ).

From the very earliest Church, it is clear that the Pater Noster refers to the Eucharist in conjunction with traditional Christian belief ( faith ) that it is the body and blood of Jesus Christ.