Manna from Heaven

Gathering the daily Manna, the Bread of Heaven, the food in the wilderness, the children of Israel ate and had their fill, protected as they were by God's loving providence. This we hear in the first reading, as the Liturgy of the Word nowadays works its way through Exodos. And it's not just a story, wonderful story that it is. Anymore than the lembas on which Frodo & Sam survive is just a story, wonderful story that it is. Such stories point to a reality in our lives that is very real indeed--the daily Manna, the Bread of Heaven, the miraculous lembas that is our daily bread--Jesus Christ Himself, Who comes to us in the Eucharist.

"Give us this day our daily bread" we pray three times a day, at Morning & Evening Prayer, but most of all at Holy Mass. How wonderful it is to go to Mass daily, to hear the Word of God and then to eat the Word of God, the gift of Christ Himself to us.