Every person, created by God, has a unique personality with distinct characteristics and is endowed with abilities and natural talents. It is beautiful to ponder that each individual is an unrepeatable gift. As a person grows, develops and matures, the desire naturally arises to know the answer to the question: “Who am I?”
Each of us are created in the image of God, which means we possess dignity; we are not just something, but someone. We are able to think and choose good over evil, and we are created to be in relationship—relationships based on truth and care for the other, friendship and love. Fundamentally, it is through relationships that we begin to discover our true identity: that we belong to and are loved by our family, that we are human beings, and that we are either male or female.
Our character is shaped by such things as family upbringing, education and formation, various interactions we have with others throughout our life, as well as how we respond to these experiences. It is essential to note that identity is based primarily on who we are rather than what we do.
The Effects of Original Sin
The sin of our first parents affects the way we understand ourselves. Prior to Original Sin, Adam and Eve enjoyed union with God through grace. Their relationship with God was based upon the Lord’s steadfast love, truth, faithfulness and trustworthiness. When Adam and Eve rejected God’s love through their disobedience, they separated themselves from Him through the loss of grace.
Our first parents’ relationship with Him was now burdened by fear, alienation and distrust, and they turned from being primarily focused on God our loving Father, to being selfishly focused on themselves. Their God-given abilities to think and freely choose good over evil, along with their conscience, remained intact but were weakened, leaving them with an inclination—a “pull”—toward sin.
Adam and Eve transmitted to their descendants, including us, this fallen state of being estranged from God—“orphaned,” as it were—along with a disordered drive for power, pleasure and self-glorification.
Redemption – Our New Identity in Christ
God so loved each one of us that He sent His Son to break the power of the evil one, death and our slavery to sin. The redemption won by Christ is this: He came “to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mt 20:28) He willingly entered into His tortuous passion and death on the cross, taking upon Himself the effects of sin, the consequences we deserved. The victory was completed by the resurrection of Jesus on the third day and the sending of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. These events enable us to share in the very life of the Blessed Trinity, by receiving God’s divine life through the sacraments, the means by which we are strengthened to overcome selfishness and become more Christ-like.
Since we have been saved by Jesus—and through the sacraments, given the means to be reunited with our Heavenly Father within the family of God—we now live with a new identity in Him. God reveals that we are adopted into His family as beloved children through Jesus Christ. We are no longer bound by the fear and bondage of sin; instead, we have received the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to cry out to our Heavenly Father. God’s adoption of us (cf. Rom 8:15) brings us into a new, liberating relationship with God—one built on love, trust and freedom, as well as obligations and responsibilities, just as all love entails.
Our Eucharistic Identity
The “Incarnation” means that God became man in Christ. Jesus, a divine person, assumed a human nature and lived a human life similar to ours, except that He never sinned. We can better understand who we are – what it means to be truly human – through the example and teachings of Jesus. He teaches us how to avoid self-harm—sin—which creates inner conflict and leads to sadness. Our Lord also shows us the path to joy, peace and fulfillment, making it possible through the power of His grace.
The Scriptures help us understand the difference between our old self and our new self. “You should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph 4:22-24)
We come to know ourselves best in Jesus, when we are united with Him through the reverent reception of His body and blood in the holy Eucharist. When we receive Jesus in Communion, we relinquish ourselves to Him. In turn, Jesus draws us into Himself, healing, transforming and elevating us through the gift of His life within our souls. Through fruitful reception of Communion, we are progressively transformed more and more into His image and likeness. (cf. 2 Cor 3:18) We will experience not just a change of heart but even an exchange of hearts. This will foster our true and unique identity—our eucharistic identity—and we will become who God created us to be—another Christ.
The human heart’s fulfillment depends on it becoming more like the Sacred Heart. Jesus explained what that means when He gave the Church the gift of the Eucharist for the first time at the Last Supper. His words, “This is My body which is given for you,” make plain that, in and through Christ, we discover and find ourselves in self-giving. As Father Check wisely observed, “The more we give ourselves to Christ, and to others in loving service, the happier we will be.”
A Role Model Who Lived Out this Eucharistic Identity
Pope St. John Paul II provides a compelling image of what it means to live out this eucharistic identity. Karol Wojtyla was born in 1920 in Poland and grew up in a Catholic family. He enjoyed playing soccer with his friends, many of whom were Jewish. Young Karol experienced deep suffering when his mother died when he was 8 years old, followed by the death of his dear brother when he was 11. His father found solace in God, and Karol similarly found consolation in prayer as they attended Mass together every morning. This grief opened his heart to spiritual depths, leading him into a deep relationship with Jesus Christ, where he found his true identity in Him.
In 1939, the Nazis invaded Poland and Adolf Hitler intended to exterminate the Jewish people and destroy Polish culture. Karol, along with his fellow Poles, resisted the Nazi regime’s ungodly plans. He witnessed the rounding up of many Jews who were taken to concentration camps and never seen again.
During this tumultuous time, Karol heard God’s call to be a priest. He entered the seminary, clandestinely, as the Nazis were also executing or deporting priests to concentration camps. He began studying theology while also working in the salt mines under Nazi occupation. Amidst this living hell, Karol sought answers to the most important questions: the meaning of life, the dignity of the human person and the goodness and unconditional love of God—and then began to teach these lessons to others, especially young adults. As a priest, Karol drew strength from his personal encounters with Jesus in adoration and His Real Presence in the Eucharist.
As pope, St. John Paul II’s life centered around this same intense and passionate love for the Lord’s eucharistic presence. His long days included celebrating Mass and time before the Blessed Sacrament. During the 27 years of his papacy, there were times that his assistants could not find him. After closer searching, they would often find the pope lying prostrate before the tabernacle in his private chapel, praying and adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
Pope St. John Paul II reveals to us the beauty of living a eucharistic identity, which is a life of freedom, respect for the dignity of every person, love, joy and peace. Let us, as he often proclaimed, “Be Not Afraid” to follow in his footsteps in loving our eucharistic Lord. Spending time with Jesus in church, even for a short while, is well worth it.
By Ann Lankford, Director of the Office for Catechesis and Evangelization
Published in the Summer 2025 issue of Catholic Life Magazine