November 29

Give us this day our daily bread.—MATT. vi, 11.

Grant us not the ill

We blindly ask; in very love refuse

Whate'er Thou know'st our weakness would abuse,

Or rather help us, Lord, to choose the good.

To pray for naught, to seek to none, but Thee,

Nor by "our daily bread," mean common food,

Nor say, "From this world's evil set us free,"

Teach us to live, with Christ, our sole true bliss,

Else, though in Christ's own words, we pray amiss.

JOHN KEBLE.

What is this bread, O my God? It is not merely the support which Thy providence supplies for the necessities of life; it is also the nourishment of truth which Thou givest each day to the soul. It is the bread of eternal life, giving it vigor, and making it grow in faith. Thou dost renew it every day. Thou givest within and without precisely what the soul needs for its advancement in a life of faith and renunciation. For whatever happens to me each day is my daily bread, provided I do not refuse to take it from Thy hand and feed upon it.

FÉNELON.