V: You have given them Bread from Heaven.
R: Having all sweetness within it.
This is the exchange of words made between the minister and the people during Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. These words are reflective of what was heard in Exodus concerning the manna, the miracle of the feeding of the multitude, and the Last Supper when Christ institutes the Eucharist.
To put this into perspective there were people who grumbled because they were hungry and perceived life to be a lot easier under the slavery of Pharaoh. God heard their grumbles and poured out bread from Heaven upon them so they would have their fill. The people collected this bread for it would only last one day except in the case of the Sabbath in which enough bread would be collected to last for two days.
Some claim that the Eucharist is simply bread and wine which is symbolic of Jesus’ Body and Blood. This is not the Church’s understanding concerning the Eucharist. What takes place here through the words of consecration is the taking of bread and wine and having it become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ our Lord.
This manna was often referred to as being the “bread of angels” as is referenced in Psalm 78:25. If the Eucharist is symbolic then what we have through Christ would be lesser then this bread which was found in the desert. As Christ reminds in our Gospel: “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life.” Those who claim the Eucharist to be symbolic fail to see the importance that this manna played in the life of the Jewish people and how this claim lowers Christ’s gift to us to be lesser then this Heavenly bread.
Some of this manna was collected into a golden pot and was placed within the Ark of the Covenant along with the commandments and the rod of Aaron. To be in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant was to be in the presence of God. God continues to dwell here as He dwelt among the Israelites. He dwells with us in the dwelling place known as the Tabernacle in the Eucharist which is the fulfillment of all that has taken place. To be in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist is not a symbolic statement, but instead is a reality for Jesus is truly present with us here.
