A leap of faith

So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”  “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”  Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (Gv 6, 30-35)

Jesus is our bread of eternal life. When Jesus walked this earth as the Word incarnate, his body hid his divine nature. In the same way, today, his body is hidden in the consecrated host and wine, that is, in the two species of the Eucharist. Just as faith was necessary in the presence of his physical body in order to accept that Jesus was also God, it is also true today we need faith when before Eucharist to recognize his body and his blood. We totally trust in Jesus so as to do His will and, thus, satisfy our hunger and thirst for eternal happiness.