The Pope: the food is not a private property, think of hungry children

Griselda Mutual – Vatican City

"The food is not a private property – Let's put this in your head – the food is not a private property, but a providence to share, with the grace of God ": in the catechesis of Wednesday, March 27, Pope Francis began his reflections on the second part of the prayer of the the Lord's prayer, in which we present our needs to God, and the first is the bread.

Bread means everything that is necessary for life

"The first is that of bread, which means what is necessary for life: food, water, house, medicines, work, it's a call that comes from human existence itself, with its concrete and daily problems, which underlines what we sometimes forget: that we are not self-sufficient, but depend on the goodness of God ".

We must be fed every day

The pontiff pointed out that this "urgent request" that we address to God the Father, "very much like that of a beggar," stems from the evidence that we often forget, namely "that we are not creatures self-sufficient, and that we must feed ourselves every day. " "

"The gospels show us that for many people, the encounter with Jesus is precisely through a supplication, a need: from the most fundamental, that of bread, to others no less important, such as liberation and salvation. "

The request is based on reality, it is not an exercise for ascetics

"In the invocation:" Give us today our daily bread ", Jesus teaches us to ask the Father for his daily bread, united to so many men and women, for whom this prayer is a painful cry that accompanies the burning desire of every day, because there is not enough life ".

"How many mothers and fathers, even today, sleep with the torment of not having enough bread for their children the next day!", Exclaimed the pope; and invited to imagine this prayer recited "not in the safety of a comfortable apartment, but in the precariousness of a room in which we adapt, where there is not enough of life".

In this context, "the words of Jesus acquire a new strength," he said, because prayer "is not an exercise for ascetics" but "a part of reality, of the heart, and of the flesh of those who live in need, or who share the condition of those who do not have what it takes to live. "

The bread is not "mine", it is "ours"

"That is why Jesus invites us to plead" our "bread, without selfishness, in fraternity, because if we do not pray in this way, the Lord's prayer ceases to be a Christian prayer. Let us say that God is our Father, we are called to present ourselves before him as brothers, united in solidarity and eager to share bread with others, in short, to feel in "my hunger" also the hunger of many who are still missing today from what is necessary ".

In my hunger I feel the hunger of the crowds

In Italian, Pope Francis called to be attentive to the request we make to God: "The bread that the Christian asks in prayer is not" my bread "is" our bread. "This is how Jesus wants it, "he said. He "teaches us to ask for it not only for ourselves, but for all the fellowship of the world". This is because "in my hunger, I feel the hunger of the multitudes". Like that of hungry children in countries at war, in countries "without bread", in which the Roman Pontiff makes us stop thinking:

"Let's think about children in war-torn countries: starving children from Yemen, hungry children in Syria, hungry children in many countries without bread, in southern Sudan … Let's think about these children and think of them. together, aloud, prayer: Father, give us today our daily bread"

The food is not a private property

Speaking of the miracle of the multiplication of bread made by Jesus, the Pope emphasized that the Master multiplied "the act of generosity" of the boy willing to share his provision, the five loaves and the two fish. The boy, he said, "understood the lesson of the Lord's Prayer: that food is not private property – let's put that in the head: food is not private property – but a providence to share, with the grace of God. " "The true miracle accomplished by Jesus that day was not so much multiplication – which is true – as sharing: give what they have and I will do the miracle," he said. declared.

In greeting the Spanish-speaking pilgrims, he encouraged them to ask the Lord "not to make us miss our daily bread and to help us understand that it is not a private property but, aided by His grace, it is a providence to share and seize, to go out to meet others, especially the poor and the needy ".

As a gesture of the Pope, gratitude to the missionaries of the world

At the end of the hearing, he paid tribute to Sr. Maria Concetta Esu, 85, Italian missionary to Africa, whom she met during her visit to Bangui:

"With this gesture dedicated to you," he said, "I would like to express my gratitude to all the missionaries, priests, religious and laity who sow the seeds of the Kingdom of God all over the world."