📎 Presentation: Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
Source: View original Google Doc Converted: 2026-04-22
The Fourth Petition
After the three Godward petitions (“Hallowed be Your name,” “Your Kingdom come,” “Your will be done”), the Lord’s Prayer turns to human needs. The first human need Jesus teaches us to pray for is bread — daily sustenance.
“Give us this day our daily bread.” — Matthew 6:11
This seems simple. But the Greek reveals extraordinary depth.
Greek Word Study: ἐπιούσιον (Epiousion)
The word translated “daily” is ἐπιούσιον (epiousion) — one of the rarest words in the entire Greek New Testament. It appears only here (Matthew 6:11 and Luke 11:3) and nowhere else in classical Greek literature.
The Composition of the Word
ἐπιούσιον can be broken down as:
- ἐπί (epi) — “upon,” “above,” “beyond,” “for”
- οὐσία (ousia) — “being,” “substance,” “essence,” “existence”
Possible meanings:
- “Bread for the coming day” — the bread needed for tomorrow, sufficient for the day
- “Supersubstantial bread” — bread above ordinary being, transcending material sustenance
- “Bread for our being” — the bread that sustains existence itself
The word appears to be a neologism — possibly coined by the Evangelist (or Jesus Himself) to express something that no existing Greek word could capture.
Jerome’s Two Translations
When St. Jerome translated the Lord’s Prayer into Latin for the Vulgate (c. 382–405 AD), he made a striking decision: he translated epiousion differently in Matthew than in Luke.
| Gospel | Jerome’s Latin | English Rendering |
|---|---|---|
| Matthew 6:11 | supersubstantialem | ”supersubstantial bread” |
| Luke 11:3 | quotidianum | ”daily bread” |
Why the difference? Jerome appears to have read the two Gospels as emphasizing different aspects of the petition:
- Matthew — the liturgical, theological dimension: supersubstantial bread = the Eucharist, the Body of Christ, the bread that transcends ordinary matter
- Luke — the practical, daily dimension: daily bread = bread for each day, God’s provision for material needs
This is not necessarily a contradiction — Jerome may have seen both meanings as present in the original, and chose to highlight one in each Gospel.
Three Types of Bread
The Church Fathers universally read this petition as referring to three interconnected realities — not just one:
1. Literal Bread: Daily Sustenance
The most immediate meaning: we ask God for what we need to live. Food, shelter, health — the necessities of material existence.
This is not a spiritualized away — Jesus taught us to pray for bread. Physical need is a legitimate prayer subject. God cares for the body He created.
“Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” — Matthew 6:32
The petition acknowledges dependence: “Give us.” We do not simply take. We ask. Every meal is a gift.
2. Sacramental Bread: The Eucharist
“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger.” — John 6:35
“Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” — John 6:54
St. Cyril of Jerusalem, in his Mystagogical Catecheses, interprets the “daily bread” primarily as the Eucharist:
“This bread is supersubstantial bread — not the bread that goes into the body, but the Bread of Life which is Christ our Lord, who said: ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven.’”
The petition “give us this day our daily bread” is also a prayer: give us today the Eucharist. This is why the early Church celebrated the Liturgy daily.
3. The Word of God: Scripture as Bread
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” — Matthew 4:4 (Deuteronomy 8:3)
Jesus uses Deuteronomy 8:3 when tempted to turn stones to bread. The Word of God is itself bread — it sustains the soul as bread sustains the body.
“Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart.” — Jeremiah 15:16
The daily reading of Scripture is daily eating. We are malnourished spiritually when we go days without this bread.
Pope Kyrillos VI on the Eucharist as Daily Bread
“The Eucharist is not a luxury for the advanced Christian. It is the bread without which we cannot live. As the body dies without food, so the soul withers without the Body of Christ. Come often. Come prepared. Come hungry.” — Pope Kyrillos VI (paraphrased)
Pope Kyrillos VI (1902–1971) was known for his mystical union with the Eucharist — reportedly fasting from food for long periods, sustained by the Eucharist alone. His witness is a testimony to the third dimension of epiousion: bread that sustains a different kind of life.
Practical Application
The petition “give us this day our daily bread” re-orients us daily in three ways:
-
Material dependence — before you eat today, pause. “This is a gift. I asked; I received.” Gratitude is the theological response to receiving daily bread.
-
Eucharistic hunger — come to the Liturgy with actual hunger. Prepare for the Eucharist as you would prepare for a meal with a king.
-
Scripture as food — have you eaten today? Not just physical food — but the Word. If you would not go a day without food, why would you go a day without Scripture?
“Give us this day our daily bread” — ask it for all three. Then receive what is given.