At Mass, that power spreads to cover all the faithful. The light of heaven surrounds us like a bubble of bulletproof glass. "He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me and I in him," said Jesus (John 6:57).

As all the saints have stressed, He is the bread of life. He is the new manna. And His Eucharist is not earthly food but the sustenance of heaven. "Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they died," said Christ (John 6:49-50). "This is the bread that comes down from heaven for a man to eat and never die. I Myself am the living bread come down from heaven."

Except that we eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His Blood, we do not have life in us. We do not have protection. But when we do, we not only have life but everlasting life. And we will be raised up on the last day. "For My Flesh is meat indeed," said Jesus (John 6:53-56) "and My Blood is drink indeed."

As St. Francis de Sales once said, "In no action does Our Savior show Himself more loving or more tender than in this one, in which, as it were, He annihilates Himself and reduces