A great French mystic

In Marthe's life, the words of Jesus in the Gospel became a reality.
"I am the bread of life.  No one who comes to me will ever hunger; no one who believes in me will ever thirst. Gospel according to St John, chap. 6, verse 35

Jesus, he is the one who nourishes me.

From 1930 onwards, when the disease reached her digestive tract, Marthe Robin could no longer eat. How did she survive? The Eucharist literally became her sole nourishment. It was not the substance of the host that fed her, because she only received communion once a week. She explained the following to the philosopher Jean Guitton, in 1958:

In an intimate union with God, Marthe saw the fulfilment of Christ's promise: "My flesh is real food and my blood is a real drink. " (Gospel according to St John, chap. 6, verse 55). The "Body of Christ" received during communion, gives life to the soul and even reaches that of the body. Marthe experienced the power of the sacrament in a very special way:

From the moment of her first communion, at the age of 10, Marthe experienced an intense connection with God:

Her solemn communion took place four years later. Marthe then had a real desire for the Eucharist. On Sundays, when she took care of the animals, she would sometimes find a way of receiving the Eucharist.

In the journal that she kept on a daily basis between 1929 and 1932, Marthe Robin wrote, "each communion is a transformation." When she received communion, Marthe was not content merely to swallow and consume the host. She welcomes in her the living Jesus, whom she knew was alive. Little by little, she accepted to be transformed by Him.

One day she received these words of Jesus while she was receiving communion: "I come to you, I come into you." Christ was telling her that he was coming to improve her, enlighten her, make her better...

After receiving the Eucharist, Marthe was one with her Lord and she would go into ecstasy.

Two members of the Foyer de Charité in Châteauneuf account of having received communion in Marthe's room:

"As always at La Plaine, the father placed the Blessed Sacrament in the first room, on a piece of furniture that was transformed into an altar. Then, he went to Marthe's room while we stayed together as a group praying in front of Jesus in the host. The father returned to take the host and invited us to come in to be with Marthe for the communion.

After the rosary and prayers, the father prepared to give Marthe communion. But she hastened to say, ‘please, would give it to Mireille and Jeanne first? I would like to unite myself with their thanksgiving.’”

Very graciously, Marthe wanted to experience the joy of a shared thanksgiving with both women.

Not every communion resulted in the same sense of joy or exultation: "My communion without any feeling of joy was the most fervent that I have ever experienced. At least I think.” Marthe asked that we prepare our souls for a long time before going to mass because,

Receiving communion is an amazing union with God, but not in a magical way.

Marthe also experienced spiritual communion. Even when it is not possible to receive the host, it is always possible to be in communion with Christ by being in union with one's desire not to do one's own will but that of the Father: