Victor R. Claveau, MJ
The question is actually: “How long a period of time does the sacred Host remain in the stomach without being corrupted. By the phrase without being corrupted we mean the length of time the species of bread remain what they seem to be, or the length of time an unconsecrated host would retain the nature of bread within the body; for that is the period of time the Savior is really and truly physically within us.
In reality, it is impossible to give any general rule, as the answer will vary with the individual and the actual condition of each stomach, and the efficiency of the digestive system. Physicians tell us that in a healthy stomach, the corruption of a small host could take anywhere from ten to twelve minutes, to as much as thirty minutes to one hour for a large host.
Though the effectiveness of this Sacrament, in and of itself, providing that the soul of the person communicating is in a state of grace, should not be minimized, it would do us well to remember that the special effects increase according to the fervor and dispositions of the recipient. In other words, the efficacy of God’s grace is dependent upon the level of our submission to God during this period. It is a certainty that we can, by our own prayers and disposition, receive more graces while the Body of our Lord is within us than at any other time.
Those who receive Communion should make a most devout thanksgiving and try to multiply the acts of faith, hope, charity, humility, contrition, in order that they might receive the graces of the Sacrament more abundantly. There are many degrees of Eucharistic fullness. No one can exhaust all the grace this Sacrament contains, but we should strive to derive as much fruit from it as possible.