While we may have been taught that Jesus is present in the Holy Eucharist, practically speaking many of us can often live as if we didn't truly believe in that teaching.
We may attend Mass faithfully every Sunday and receive Holy Communion each time, but the act of receiving the consecrated Host has little effect on our lives.
What can happen to many of us is that the more we receive Holy Communion, the more we receive the Host as if it were an ordinary piece of bread.
This doesn't happen to everyone, but it is a common scenario that many Catholics struggle with on a regular basis.
How can we reignite our faith in the Holy Eucharist?
Corpus Christi
St. John Paul II signaled out Corpus Christi as a day when we should renew our belief in Jesus' Real Presence in the Eucharist. He spoke about it during a homily in the year 2000:
We would like to stay with Christ and for this reason we say to him with Peter: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (Jn 6: 68). With the same conviction as Peter, let us kneel today before the sacrament of the altar and renew our profession of faith in the real presence of Christ.
In fact, St. John Paul II said immediately after these words, "This is the meaning of today's celebration."
He reflected on this idea again on the feast of Corpus Christi in 2001:
Christ who died and rose for us is really present in the Holy Eucharist.
In the consecrated Bread and Wine, the same Jesus of the Gospels remains with us whom the disciples met and followed, whom they saw crucified and risen, whose wounds Thomas touched, exclaiming prostrate in adoration: "My Lord and my God!" (Jn 20,28) (cf. ibid., 17-20).
If you feel like your faith in the Holy Eucharist is lacking, ask God to help you renew that faith on the feast of Corpus Christi. He can provide you with the graces necessary to enliven that devotion.
You could also examine the many Eucharistic miracles that defy scientific explanation, marveling at how God sometimes lifts the veil of the Eucharist to show his presence in a more physical way.
Jesus is there, present in a unique way in the Holy Eucharist. It is up to us to foster that belief, letting his presence penetrate the depths of our heart.
