Why do so many people receive Holy Communion day after day, year after year, without any tangible spiritual benefit? Furthermore, why do some people seem to have less and less fervor for the Faith and less and less love for Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament the more they receive Him?

Our Lord's Presence affected different people in very different ways. Hearing Jesus Christ affected the apostle Peter in one way, Judas Iscariot in quite another, and the Pharisees in still another way. Yet all were hearing and addressing the same Divine Person, Jesus Christ. And so it is with those who receive Him in Holy Communion even today.

People who approach Holy Communion with the attitude of routine laziness and slovenly indifference will leave the altar rail in a condition very different from that of those who approach with a sense of humility, gratitude, and adoration. The first type of person thinks about himself and what Holy Communion is supposed to do for him -- that it is supposed to make him feel good and give him a warm cozy feeling of self-satisfaction. He waits for the Presence of Christ to give him the sensation he wants, and when it does not happen, he becomes disenchanted and decides receiving Communion "doesn't do it for him."

Others receive Holy Communion, not primarily to make themselves feel good, but rather to express their love, their adoration and gratitude to their Lord and Savior. They receive for the purpose of giving themselves to God.

Those who go through the motions of receiving Communion without love or gratitude for Our Lord do not really "receive" Him. They allow Him inside the door, but do not welcome Him into the house. Those who receive Communion actively, expressing their love and gratitude to Jesus, really do receive Him, and in receiving Him they receive the blessings that He alone can give.