gether forgetful of the wonders God had done for them, they complained to Moses in these words: "Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat over the flesh-pots and ate bread to the full. Why have you brought us into this desert that you might destroy all the multitude with famine?"-Exod. xvi. 3.

How did God remove this cause of murmuring?

1. He sent them quails. 2. He rained manna down from heaven.

What was this manna?

It was a small seed rained down from heaven, which covered all the ground like the white frost on a winter's morning.

What directions did God give about the gathering of this manna?

1. Each person was to gather just so much as he needed to eat for each day.

2. No man was to leave of it until the morning.

3. They were to gather enough for two days on the sixth day, so as not to gather any on the Sabbath day.

Were any of these directions broken by the people

2

Yes. Some gathered more than they needed, and laid it by until the next day. But when they went to use it, they found it had corrupted.

Why was it called manna ?

It was called manna because the people did not know what it was. Manna is a Hebrew

word, meaning, what is it? "And the house of Israel called the name thereof manna; and it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste thereof like to flour with honey."-Exod. xvi. 31.

This manna is a type of the most Blessed Sacrament, is it not?

Yes. Our Lord calls the Blessed Sacrament the true Bread which came down from heaven. When the Jews said to Him, "Our fathers did eat manna in the desert, as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat; then Jesus said to them, Amen, amen I say to you, Moses gave you not bread from heaven, but My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. Your fathers did eat manna in the desert, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven; that if any man eat of it, he may not die."-John, vi. 31, 32, 49, 50.

Where else is reference made to this manna? St. Paul alludes to it as "spiritual food," that is, food that represented the Blessed Sacrament. -1 Cor. x. 3.

What is this manna called in the book of Wisdom?

It is called "the food of angels." "Thou didst feed Thy people with the food of angels, and gavest them bread from heaven prepared without labour, having in it all that is delicious, and the sweetness of every taste."—Wisdom, xvi. 20.

What application does the Church make of these sacred words?

The Church uses them at benediction.

'Pa

nem de cœlo præstitisti eis, omne delectamentem in se habentem." Thou didst give them bread from heaven, containing in itself all sweetness. The Blessed Sacrament, as being the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, is the Bread and the Manna that comes down from heaven, and which does indeed contain within itself all sweetness,-" all that is delicious, and the sweetness of every taste."

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE AMALEKITES FIGHT WITH ISRAEL, AND ARE VANQUISHED.

From the Desert of Sin, the Israelites journeyed to Raphidim. Here also they murmured. Why?

Because they had no water to drink. "Why," they said to Moses, "didst thou make us go forth out of Egypt to kill us and our children, and our beasts with thirst ?"-Exod. xvii. 3.

How did God command Moses to satisfy their thirst?

He commanded him, in the presence of the people and their chief men, to strike the rock Horeb with his rod. He did so, and the water gushed forth,

What name did Moses give the place where he performed this miracle?

"He called the name of that place tempta tion, because of the chiding of the children of

Israel. And for that they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord amongst us or not?"Exodus, xvii. 7.

After this, the Israelites encountered their first enemies. Who were they?

They were the people of Amalec, who came and fought with Israel at Raphidim.

To whom did Moses give the command of the army which he sent against Amalec?

To Josue, who was afterwards his successor.
What, meanwhile, did Moses do?

He went up to the top of the hill, accompanied by Aaron and Hur. "And when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel overcame; but if he let them down a little, Amalec overcame. And Moses's hands were heavy, so they took a stone, and put under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur stayed his hands on both sides. And it came to pass that his hands were not weary till sunset. And Josue put Amalec and his people to flight by the edge of the sword.' - Exod. xvii. 11-13.

What was signified by this holding up of the hands of Moses?

St. Paul teaches us that many things that were done under the old dispensation, were figures of deep spiritual truths. Thus Moses, holding up his hands, and enabling the people to prevail against Amalec, represents the power of prayer, which enables us to prevail against our enemy, the devil.

While Moses was still in Raphidim, who came to visit him?

Jethro, the priest of Madian, bringing with

him the wife of Moses, and their two sons, Gersam and Eliezer.

What good advice did Jethro give Moses?

He advised him to appoint judges under him, who were to share with him the government of the people; so that his strength might not be spent sitting and judging the people, all alone from morning till night.

Did Moses adopt this wise counsel ?

Yes. "Choosing able men out of all Israel, he appointed them rulers of the people. And they judged the people at all times, and whatsoever was of greater difficulty they referred to him, and they judged the easier cases only."— Exod. xviii. 25, 26.

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE GIVING OF THE LAW.

Where was the Law given?
On Mount Sinai.

How did the Lord promulgate or give this law?

He first commanded the people to sanctify themselves for three days, and then He came down upon the top of the mountain in the darkness of a cloud. Now the third day was come, and the morning appeared, and, behold, thunders began to be heard, and lightning to flash, and a very thick cloud to cover the mount, and the noise of the trumpet sounded exceeding