It is surprising today how the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.  The whole community.   There will always be grumblings from disaffected few members of a family, but when the whole family is against then there is something for family to consider.  Maybe God is lacking in the family life.  Maybe the family is drifting away from the faith. Maybe more prayer is needed, for a family that prays together stays together.  Sometimes families delude themselves in thinking everything is all right but in the end many problems abound and the whole family is affected. There are so many things that can affect a family life, and when dissatisfaction spreads to the whole family, it is something to worry about.  The complaint of the people of Israel is like the complaint of today in families. Things were better before.  In Egypt we had fleshpots and onions to eat, and we had abundance.  Before we had so much, things were better previously, but now!  Even if there is scant evidence to sustain the claim, we still long for days in the past when we had it good! There is a lot of grumblings happening in family life and thus it is very important to instill from early on a spirit of gratefulness on each of the members of the family.  There are families where members take everything for granted and they feel they deserve everything. Remember the primary task of the parents is to feed their children with the Bread of Life. If parents are trying faithfully to celebrate the Eucharist, what more can we ask of them?  The people of Israel made an outlandish accusation, they said “You had to lead us to this desert…for the whole community to die of famine!” So much anger toward Moses and Aaron, judging their motivations.  This too can happen nowadays when the members of a family judge the intentions of their parents regarding matters of faith.  It’s hurtful when they (the children) think parents are going to lead them to a deserted place (an empty waste), but the tree is known by its fruit.  There is so much transferring of negative feelings and attributing false intentions to parents.  Oh! How it pains, when a parent has much love for all the family, and their children think they have bad intentions. How it pains when parents are trying to lead their children to green pastures to rest and be fed, and they grumble all the way there!  How painful it is when parents do so much for their children so they can be fed by the Eucharist but after leaving their house they soon abandon their faith?  And how painful it is when parents have given so much to their children in abundance, and they don’t even receive a thank you on the way out the door.  There is so much grumbling, and so much ungratefulness happening in some families that they don’t make it to the Eucharist! Parents are not called to be discouraged. The people of Israel asked a question, “What is this?”   The same question can be asked again by members of a family about the Eucharist.  What is this? Why do we have to go again to mass? What is this purpose? They can ask the questions, and the answer will always be the same because the Eucharist is sustenance for life. The Eucharist can change family life for the better. Parents are called to bring their children to where Jesus is.  Jesus will sit them in small groups, where there will green pastures to sit. Jesus will feed them.  For all those parents struggling to raise their children, please know you don’t have to go through it alone.  Jesus wants to offer a community to support the faith journey of your family.  God will give enough, a daily portion to continue sustaining the faith of each family.  God will give the family bread from heaven to sustain them in their trials.    Parents trust in God, even when the members of the family seem to be veering off course. The moment the Eucharist is lacking, then we can start to worry.  Sometimes family members will grumble about coming to the Eucharist, but continue to search for this sustenance, and all will be strengthened with bread from heaven even in the middle of the desert of problems. What prevents your family from feeding the Bread of Life? What will separate your family from this Divine Sustenance?  Despite the grumblings, God wants to feed your family with the Bread of Life.