My Aunt and the Epiousios Bread

About 15 months ago
It’s evening. My aunt and I are sitting at the dining room table, just her and I. We’re about to begin reading the gospel of Matthew.

“I’ve never read the bible before,” my aunt says.
“Let’s read from the gospel of Matthew. The gospel is a book about Jesus’ life.”
We begin reading the gospel account.
She shivers.
“This is de ja vu,” she says.
I don’t know what she is speaking about, but I sense something spiritual is happening.
“What do you mean?” I inquire.
“I had a vision a few days ago that we were reading this, just as how we are reading it now. You and I were sitting at this table and we were reading this passage from the bible.”
Premonition.
Amazing. Praise God.
She shivers again.

As we read on, we come to Matthew 6:9, the Lord’s Prayer. She reads the words that Jesus gave us, “give us this day our daily bread.”

“What is ‘our daily bread?” She asks.
“It’s everything we need from God-our spiritual food,” I answer.
“Oh, I thought it meant the bread they give at church,” she responds.

At this time, “our daily bread” for me was mostly Scripture and prayer. I was hungry for them. I would pray and be filled. I would read Scriptures and be filled.

Then, over time “our daily bread” became: Epiousios.

About Two weeks Ago

Two weeks ago, I learned that what my aunt and I had stumbled upon, “our daily bread,” was something truly rare and special in Scripture.

Epiousios.

When our Lord Jesus says, “Give us this day our daily bread,” the word “daily” is translated from the Greek word epiousios.
“Daily?” I know. It doesn’t seem at all special. We use it, well almost daily.
I can say: I go to school daily or I read daily or I brush my teeth daily. “Daily” in our English is not at all special, right?
Yet epiousios is special. How many times does epiousios appear in Scripture?
Not 20 times. Not 10 times. Not 3 times.
Not 2 times.
Only one time. That’s right- once.
We can’t cross-reference this word to determine its meaning. In fact, I’ve read that there has not been another discovery of epiousios in any other ancient Greek literature that is extant. No legal document, no story, no historical account containing epiousios.

Pretty amazing, huh. The word epiousios is seen only in this prayer from our Lord. St. Jerome in his translations used “daily,” but that’s not all. It is interesting to note that there’s another word he uses to translate this word. And that is the word “supersubstantial” or as the Church Catechism says, “super-essential.”


This week

Today, I am reminded of the time my aunt had “premonition.” And I remember her thinking of “our daily bread” as being the bread distributed at church services.

Even though she had never read the bible on her own, I can say that I’ve realized she was giving me a “premonition.” It was the premonition of what I too would come to see as “daily bread.” She was right.

Each morning, through the Lord’s will, I rise from sleep and pray. And an indescribable yearning for our Lord Jesus is within me. I yearn to be in communion with Him. To be filled by Him and with Him.

I read Scripture, pray and spread the good news on my own. I attend a Church history class and I meet with a few people and enjoy fellowship. And the Lord fills me through these experiences.

Yet there is a more powerful way I am being filled. It is a “supersubstantial” way and it has become “super-essential” in my life.

It is when my knees touch the pews of the household of God. I see the truth of who I am and the truth of who Jesus is.
It is when I confess my membership of poor sinnerhood that I repent and beseech the Lord for mercy.
It is when I attentively listen to the Scriptures being read publicly. Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, Gospels…
It is in total humility that I glorify God totality.
And then understanding how an unworthy soul like me could ever partake in the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus I say ,“Lord I am unworthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.”
To understand this is to understand the love Jesus has for us.
It is with all this in mind and heart, that the Eucharist is placed on my tongue. This is the bread of life.
It is participation in the body and blood of Christ. (1 Cor. 10:16)
That is when I experience…
Epiousios.

This is humility in front of God. This is proclaiming the death of the Lord until he comes (1 Cor. 11:26).
This is partaking in the Last Supper. This is being a beloved disciple at the table with our Lord.
This is communion with our Lord Jesus through the daily mass.
This is love.

This is Epiousios.
An indescribable word for an indescribable experience.
Available to us-
“daily.”


May the Almighty God bless you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.