Fr Ben Garren

Today the Church remembers Basil the Great.

Dear Siblings in Christ,

The Lord’s Prayer has us ask “give us this day our daily bread.” Most of us, as we go about our life of prayer, think of this primarily in the positive… we give thanks that this day we have the food we need. As one builds relationships with Christians across time, however, what one will also come across an understanding of this verse as a prohibition. Basil the Great, amongst many others, wants us to pray the Lord’s Prayer and reflect upon where we have more than enough for our needs… with the expectation that we will give of our surplus until we have just our daily bread and perhaps not even that. 

The implications of Basil’s words for our overall society are great, and we shouldn’t lessen those. In the midst of this moment, I only want to prompt us towards a personal inventory of where in our lives we have just the bread we need for the day, where are we needing to be nourished, and where is there an abundance that can be shared. The hope is that we will always be praying the Lord’s prayer as not only a thanksgiving for our safety and satisfaction but also consistently from the place of our needs. The hope is that in the midst of praying it we will begin to ask how can we be God’s means for the needs of those around us to be filled.

Let us pray,

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;t
hy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us
.And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,t
he power and the glory,
for ever and ever.Amen.

Pax,
Ben