Jesus - Truly Present In The Holy Eucharist

By Tom Dennehy

In the Gospel of Saint John, Chapter 6, we hear the words of Jesus, “I am the bread of life. I am the living bread come down from Heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; the bread that I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

Many of His followers found it hard to accept or understand and walked away. Jesus was adamant about the words He had spoken and the promises He had made. Jesus asked the twelve, “Will you also go away?” Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of Eternal life. We now believe and know that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6;67-69.)

In the Diary of Saint Faustina, Jesus reveals to her how disappointed He is when we go to receive Him in the Holy Eucharist, the bread of Eternal life. “My great delight is to unite myself with souls… When I come to a human heart in Holy Communion, My hands are full of all kinds of graces which I want to give to the soul. But souls do not even pay attention to me; they leave Me to myself and busy themselves with other things. They treat Me as a dead object.” (Diary entry 1385)

When we contrast these two messages of Jesus; Firstly in Scripture; “I am the bread of life, I am the living bread” and then to St. Faustina; “They treat me as a dead object,” what is our response?

The Eucharist is alive – it is the living flesh of the Lord. The host that we receive in Holy Communion is not a thing, not even a holy thing. It is not some kind of holy bread. It is a person, Jesus- and He is alive. The Holy Communion we receive is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords- Jesus Christ- His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity- as the Church teaches.

At Mass, we come forward to receive Holy Communion; we hear the priest or Eucharistic minister say over and over, to each communicant, “The Body of Christ.” Perhaps we think we are receiving the dead body of Christ taken down from the cross. But the Church teaches otherwise, our faith tells us that it is the Risen, Living and Gloriously reigning Body of Christ, now seated at the right hand of the Father which we receive in Holy Communion. The Catechism teaches; “Under the consecrated species of bread and wine, Christ himself, living and glorious, is present in a true, real and substantial manner” (CCC 1415)

We can all associate with the Lord’s complaint to St. Faustina as we have all been guilty at times of not welcoming such an awesome gift of Jesus into our hearts and souls and giving thanks for what He has done and continues to do for us.

St. Faustina, writing elsewhere in her diary about the greatness of the Mass and Holy Communion says, “It is only in Eternity that we shall know the great mystery given us in Holy Communion.”(Diary 840)

So many Eucharistic Miracles have occurred all over the world which God has given us to help us believe that the Eucharist we receive is Jesus.

Blessed Carlo Acutis, soon to be canonized a saint, has documented and researched in his website 136 Eucharistic Miracles which have happened around the world and have been acknowledged by the Church and are collected them into a virtual museum. Besides creating a website to house this virtual museum, he helped create panel presentations that have travelled around the world.

So many miraculous healings have taken place during reception of the Eucharist or during Eucharistic Healing services -The beautiful story of Jimena, the young Spanish girl who regained her sight after receiving Holy Communion at mass during World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, in August 2023.The story of Marian Carroll who was miraculously cured from multiple sclerosis while attending Holy Mass at Knock in 1989. She had suffered seventeen years of debilitating illness.

The next time we come to Mass, let us remember the words of Jesus to St. Faustina. Let us welcome Him and open our hearts to receive the many graces He wants to give us and the miracles He wants to perform in our lives.

Finally, I invite you to let these words of Jesus find a home in your heart, mind and soul; “I am the bread of Life. I am the Living bread which has come down from heaven… the bread that I shall give is my flesh for the Life of the world.”