As regards the early Christians who had never known Our Lord in the flesh, their experience was similar to that of devout Christians today: they discovered that he was divine because he answered their need and gave to them his Presence and support.

When we experience a profound conviction of sin and realise our utter unworthiness in the sight of God, our dilemma becomes apparent.  We are in no state to approach the all-holy God dwelling in light unapproachable by sinful man.  No, only God himself can bring us to his Throne; if left to ourselves we must perforce remain for ever in the outer darkness.

It is just here that Our Lord answers our need and satisfies our longing.  As God the Son he has entered the dark night of this world to restore us to his Father.  It is God the Son who has solved our dilemma, by bridging for us the yawning gulf between us sinners and the all-holy God which would otherwise be unbridgeable.  Therefore, in our approach to God now, and in our hope of eternal life hereafter, we rely not on our own righteousness – that wouldn’t get us very far – but entirely on what Our Lord, God the Son, has done and suffered for us in coming to this world to seek and to save us when we were lost (Luke 19:10).  To the converted Christian this restoration to God by Jesus Christ is a personal experience so vivid and powerful that it cannot be denied; and the same is true of the consciousness of Our Lord’s Presence in the Blessed Sacrament in fulfilment of his promise, “I am with you always”.