Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

Remember how the Israelites grumbled during their desert journey - there being no bread? And how they later rejoiced when they received manna from heaven to satisfy their physical desires?? (Image Sourc e: Wikimedia Commons ) Recall that it wasn’t too long after this food was showered upon them that they complained about seeing “nothing before us but this manna” and longing to have the food they enjoyed while in Egypt - meat, cucumbers, melons, leeks onions and garlic they enjoyed in Egypt? (Numbers 11:4-6) The Jews began to take this manna for granted. Instead of its arrival reminding them of the magnificence of the God who provided it to them and Who was delivering them from their Egyptian slave masters, they complained about what food they did not have. They preferred nourishment for their stomachs, rather than their physical and spiritual freedom. Are we Catholics much different from our Jewish ancestors in the way we treat and respond to the Eucharistic manna ...