Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetere Sunday)

When I was young, our family would drive to Springfield to visit my Aunt Therese at the Monastery of the Mother of God. I was always curious about my aunt’s life in the Monastery, so, when I was allowed to speak, I would ask many questions. When I was about ten years old, I asked, “How do you get food if you can’t go shopping?”

My aunt looked at me and answered, “God provides for us.” As I left her, I wondered, “How does that work?” The next time that my family visited my aunt, I went with my father to the side of the Monastery and helped him put large boxes of food down a chute that led into the kitchen. Later when I got a chance to talk to my aunt, I told her what I saw and asked, “Doesn’t this mean that it’s my father who provides the food and not God?” Aunt Therese winked at me and whispered, “God uses many different ways to provide what we need.”

Today’s readings made me think of those long-ago visits. Joshua tells us: “On that same day after the Passover, on which they ate of the produce of the land, the manna ceased.” The manna that had been miraculously provided for the ancient Israelites as they wandered through the desert for forty years ceased when, instead, they were able to “eat the produce of the land.” This shows me that God always provides for His people. God will do it miraculously, if needed, or God will do it through common every day experiences.