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From: Exodus 16:1-5, 9-15

The Manna and the Quails

[1] They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came
to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day
of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. [2] And the
whole congregation of the people of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron
in the wilderness, [3] and said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of
the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate bread to the
full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole
assembly with hunger.”

[4] Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you;
and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may prove
them, whether they will walk in my law or not. [5] 0n the sixth day, when they pre-
pare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”

[9] And Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation the people of Israel,
‘Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your murmurings.”’ [10] And as Aa-
ron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward
the wilderness and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. [11] And
the Lord said to Moses, [12] “I have heard the murmurings of the people of Israel;
say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall be filled
with bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.”’

[13] In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning dew
lay round about the camp. [14] And when the dew had gone up, there was on the
face of the wilderness a fine, flake like thing, fine as hoar frost on the ground. [15]
When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they
did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread which the Lord
has given you to eat.”

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Commentary:

16:1-36. The prodigy of the manna and the quails was a very important sign of
God’s special providence towards his people while they were in the desert. It is
recounted here and in Numbers 11, but in both accounts facts are interwoven
with interpretation of same and with things to do with worship and ethics.

Some scholars have argued that the manna is the same thing as a sweet se-
cretion that comes from the tamarisk (”tamarix mannifera”) when punctured by
a particular insect commonly found in the mountains of Sinai. The drops of this
resin solidify in the coldness of the night and some fall to the ground. They have
to be gathered up early in the morning because they deteriorate at twenty-four
degrees temperature (almost eighty degrees Celsius). Even today desert Arabs
collect them and use them for sucking and as a sweetener in confectionery.

As we know, quails cross the Sinai peninsula on their migrations back and forth
between Africa and Europe or Asia. In May or June, when they return from Afri-
ca they usually rest in Sinai, exhausted after a long sea crossing; they can be
easily trapped at this point.

Although these phenomenon can show where the manna and the quail come
from, the important thing is that the Israelites saw them as wonders worked by
God. The sacred writer stops to describe the impact the manna had on the
sons of Israel. They are puzzled by it, as can be seen from their remarks when
it comes for the first time: “What is it?” they ask, which in Hebrew sounds like
“man hu”, that is, manna (v. 15), which is how the Greek translation puts it. In-
deed, the need to collect it every day gave rise to complaints about some peo-
ple being greedy (v. 20) and who did not understand the scope of God’s gift (v.
15). And just as manna is a divine gift to meet a basic human need (nourish-
ment), so too the divine precepts, specifically that of the sabbath, are a free gift
from the Lord (v. 28). So, obedience is not a heavy burden but the exercise of a
capacity to receive the good things that God gives to those who obey him.

The prodigy of the manna will resound right through the Bible: in the “Deuterono-
ic” tradition it is a test that God gives his people to show them that “man does
not live by bread alone, but [...] by everything that proceeds from the mouth of
the Lord” (Deut 8:3). The psalmist discovers that manna is “the bread of the
strong” (”of angels”, says the Vulgate and the RSV), which God sent in abun-
dance (Ps 78:23ff; cf. Ps 105:40). The book of Wisdom spells out the features
of this bread from heaven “ready to eat, providing every pleasure and suited to
every taste” (Wis 16:20-29). And the New Testament reveals the full depth of
this “spiritual” food (1 Cor 10:3), for, as the “Catechism” teaches, “manna in
the desert prefigured the Eucharist, ‘the true bread from heaven’ (Jn 6:32)” (”Ca-
techism of the Catholic Church”, 1094).

16:2-3. The complaining that usually precedes the desert prodigies (cf. 14:11; 15:
24; 17:3; Num 11:1, 4; 14:2; 20:2; 21:4-5) brings into focus the chosen people’s
lack of faith and hope, and (by contrast) the faithfulness of God, who time and a-
gain alleviates their needs even though they do not deserve it. At the same time,
just as Moses and Aaron listened patiently to complaints, God too is always rea-
dy to dialogue with the sinner, sometimes listening to his complaints and sorting
them out, and sometimes simply giving him a chance to repent: “Although God
could inflict punishment on those whom he condemns without saying anything,
he does not do so; on the contrary, up to the point when he does condemn, he
speaks with the guilty person and lets him talk, so as to help him avoid condem-
nation” (Origen, “Homiliae in leremiam”, 1, 1).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

From: Matthew 13:1-9

Parable of the Sower

[1] That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. [2] And
great crowds gathered about Him, so that He got into a boat and sat there; and
the whole crowd stood on the beach. [3] And He told them many things in para-
bles, saying: “A sower went out to sow. [4] And as he sowed, some seeds fell
along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. [5] Other seeds fell on
rocky ground, where they had not much soil, and immediately they sprang up,
since they had no depth of soil, [6] but when the sun rose they were scorched;
and since they had no root they withered away. [7] Other seeds fell upon thorns,
and the thorns grew up and choked them. [8] Other seeds fell on good soil and
brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. [9] He who
has ears, let him hear.”

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Commentary:

3. Chapter 13 of St. Matthew includes as many as seven of Jesus’ parables,
which is the reason why it is usually called “the parable discourse” or the “pa-
rabolic discourse”. Because of their similarity of content and setting these para-
bles are often called the “Kingdom parables”, and also the “parables of the Lake”,
because Jesus taught them on the shore of Lake Gennesaret. Jesus uses these
elaborate comparisons (parables) to explain certain features of the Kingdom of
God which He has come to establish (cf. Matthew 3:2)—its tiny, humble origins;
its steady growth; its worldwide scope; its salvific force. God calls everyone to
salvation but only those attain it who receive God’s call with good dispositions
and who do not change their attitude; the value of the spiritual benefits the King-
dom brings—so valuable that one should give up everything to obtain them; the
fact that good and bad are all mixed together until the harvest time, or the time
of God’s judgment; the intimate connection between earthly and heavenly as-
pects of the Kingdom, until it reaches its point of full development at the end
of time.

On Jesus’ lips, parables are exceptionally effective. By using parables He keeps
His listeners’ attention, whether they are uneducated or not, and by means of
the most ordinary things of daily life He sheds light on the deepest supernatural
mysteries. He used the parable device in a masterly way; His parables are quite
unique; they carry the seal of His personality; through them He has graphically
shown us the riches of grace, the life of the Church, the demands of the faith
and even the mystery of God’s own inner life.

Jesus’ teaching continues to provide every generation with light and guidance on
moral conduct. By reading and reflecting on His parables one can savor the ado-
rable humanity of the Savior, who showed such kindness to the people who crow-
ded around to hear Him—and who shows the same readiness to listen to our pra-
yers, despite our dullness, and to reply to our healthy curiosity when we try to
make out His meaning.

3-8. Anyone who has visited the fertile plain to the west of the Lake of Gennesa-
ret will appreciate Jesus’ touching description in the parable of the sower. The
plain is crisscrossed by paths; it is streaked with rocky ground, often with the
rocks lying just beneath the surface, and with the courses of rivulets, dry for
most of the year but still retaining some moisture. Here and there are clumps
of large thorn bushes. When the agricultural worker sows seed in this mixed
kind of land, he knows that some seed will fare better than others.

9. Jesus did not explain this parable there and then. It was quite usual for para-
bles to be presented in the first instance as a kind of puzzle to gain the listener’s
attention, excite his curiosity and fix the parable in his memory. It may well be
that Jesus wanted to allow his more interested listeners to identify themselves
by coming back to hear Him again—as happened with His disciples. The rest —
who listened out of idle curiosity or for too human reasons (to see Him work mi-
racles) — would not benefit from hearing a more detailed and deeper explanation
of the parable.

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Readings at Mass

First reading

Exodus 16:1-5,9-15 ©

From Elim they set out, and the whole community of the sons of Israel reached the wilderness of Sin – between Elim and Sinai – on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt. And the whole community of the sons of Israel began to complain against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness and said to them, ‘Why did we not die at the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we were able to sit down to pans of meat and could eat bread to our heart’s content! As it is, you have brought us to this wilderness to starve this whole company to death!’

Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Now I will rain down bread for you from the heavens. Each day the people are to go out and gather the day’s portion; I propose to test them in this way to see whether they will follow my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they have brought in, this will be twice as much as the daily gathering.’

Moses said to Aaron, ‘To the whole community of the sons of Israel say this, “Present yourselves before the Lord, for he has heard your complaints.”’ As Aaron was speaking to the whole community of the sons of Israel, they turned towards the wilderness, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the form of a cloud. Then the Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel. Say this to them, “Between the two evenings you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have bread to your heart’s content. Then you will learn that I, the Lord, am your God.”’ And so it came about: quails flew up in the evening, and they covered the camp; in the morning there was a coating of dew all round the camp. When the coating of dew lifted, there on the surface of the desert was a thing delicate, powdery, as fine as hoarfrost on the ground. When they saw this, the sons of Israel said to one another, ‘What is that?’ not knowing what it was. ‘That’ said Moses to them ‘is the bread the Lord gives you to eat.’

Psalm

Psalm 77:18-19,23-28 ©