Growing up my Mom Cuca during holy week would always have us watch the 1955 (black & white) movie Marcelino: Pan y Vino in the Spanish TV channel. I remember my brothers and I being cap-tivated by what happened to Marcelino.

The movie is about Marcelino, a young orphan boy about eight years old who lives in a monastery in Spain. Marcelino is instructed strictly by the monks never to go up the stairwell of the monastery. But Marcelino disobeys and goes upstairs anyway, out of curiosity to see what is there. To his amazement, he finds a large crucifix in the attic. At first he’s afraid, but after many visits he begins to talk to Jesus on the cross.

One day he places bread and wine on a chair next to the crucifix, and miraculously, the Lord Jesus comes down from the cross and begins to eat and drink. Marcelino is completely astonished. Sitting next to him, Jesus talks to Marcelino, tells him he is a good, kind boy, and lets Marcelino know he can have one wish. Marcelino tells him that he wishes to see Jesus' mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his own mother.

In one of the most powerful moments of the movie, Marcelino asks the Lord Jesus, “What do mothers do?” and Our Lord responds, “They love, they always love.” Jesus tells Marcelino that he has to fall asleep in order to get his wish. Marcelino falls asleep in the arms of Jesus, after which he has a vision of Our Lady and his own mother, eventually reuniting with them both.

The monks look for Marcelino and find him next to the cross. They realize that Jesus had actually come down to talk with the boy and now has taken him to heaven. They kneel down to pray and believe that what happened was a true miracle. Jesus gave the boy the name “Marcelino Pan y Vino” — “Bread and Wine.”

Every time I watch this movie, it brings me to tears. It reminds me of that mystical moment of receiving Holy Eucharist for the very first time. The message of the movie is indeed profound; Marcelino teaches us many lessons: that to believe in Jesus, we need to talk to him and visit him often, and that Jesus is the only one that can grant us eternal life. If only we but believe with the innocence and humility of Marcelino.

For the next three years, the bishops of the United States have initiated a National Eucharistic Revival, recognizing that our world is hurting and that we all need healing due to our separation from the very source of our strength. The Lord Jesus invites us to return to the source and summit of our faith: his Real Presence in the most holy Eucharist. The goal is to restore our understanding and devotion to such great mystery and how we can respond to the gift of the Eucharist by the way we live. (www.eucharisticrevival.org)

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have also published “The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church” (available online). In this 33 page document they outline the Gift of the Eucharist, Our Response to the Gift and how we are Sent Forth. (Committee on Doctrine, USCCB 2021).

“As Christians we know that we need Christ to be present in our lives. He is our very sustenance as he reminded us: “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you’ (Jn 6:53). (The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church, 4)

Perhaps some questions we can ponder this first year of the Eucharistic Revival may be: How often do I visit the Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament? How often do I receive His precious Body and Blood? How often do I recognize him in my brothers and sisters during our everyday struggles?

We need to tell others of our own encounters with the Eucharistic Lord, like the disciples did on the road to Emmaus: “The two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. (Gospel of Luke 24:35).

As I prepare to receive Holy Communion at Mass the words; “forgive me, heal me, save me” always come to mind. I think they express my deep desire for the Eucharistic Lord to have mercy on me an unworthy creature in need of Him.

“Lord Jesus Christ, pierce my soul with your love so that I may always long for you alone, who are the bread of angels and the fulfilment of the soul’s deepest desires. May my heart always hunger for you, so that my soul may be filled with the sweetness of your presence.” — St. Bonaventure