Pope John Paul II says in his 2003 encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia that he wants to rekindle Christians’ “amazement” at the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. He writes in a very personal way about his relationship with the Eucharistic Lord.

“During the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 I had an opportunity to celebrate the Eucharist in the Cenacle of Jerusalem where, according to tradition, it was first celebrated by Jesus himself,” he writes. “The Upper Room was where this most holy Sacrament was instituted. I am grateful to the Lord Jesus for allowing me to repeat in that same place, in obedience to his command: ‘Do this in memory of me,’ the words he spoke 2,000 years ago. …

“The thought of this leads us to profound amazement and gratitude. … The priest says these words, or rather he puts his voice at the disposal of the One who spoke these words in the Upper Room and who desires that they should be repeated in every generation by all those who in the Church ministerially share in his priesthood. I would like to rekindle this Eucharistic “amazement” by the present encyclical letter. …

“I cannot let this Holy Thursday 2003 pass without halting before the ‘Eucharistic face’ of Christ and pointing out with new force to the Church the centrality of the Eucharist. From it the Church draws her life. From this ‘living bread’ she draws her nourishment. How could I not feel the need to urge everyone to experience it ever anew?”