Ecclesia Veritatis

In the 8th Century, in the city of Frentanese, the pastor of St. Legontian was having doubts about the Real Presence in the Eucharist. His doubts were entirely dispelled when the Host literally transformed into live flesh and the wine literally became blood. The Host has been miraculously preserved to this day, and has undergone in-depth scientific analysis which have been proven and documented. Both the flesh and the blood were found to be real and from the human species. The flesh consists of muscular tissue from the heart, containing the mycocardium, the vagus nerve and the left ventricle. The elements chloride, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium and calcium were found in the blood. Both the flesh and the blood have the blood type AB (which is consistent with all other substantiated Eucharistic miracles).

In the mid-1200s, a woman in the city of Santarem tried to take a Host from Mass to a sorceress in order to make some sort of "potion." She hid it in her head-scarf, and while walking down the street, it began to bleed. Frightened, the woman took it home and placed it in a chest. During the night, she and her husband were awakened by a bright light coming from the chest, and they saw a vision of angels adoring the bleeding Host. They reported it to the priest, and he returned the Host back to the church, where it still remains today.  

This miracle dates back to the 1300s. A priest who was going to visit the sick and administer the sacrament irreverently placed the Host between the pages of his breviary. When he opened it again, he found that it had turned to blood, and where the Host had been, there were dark red circles on the pages. Those pages can still be seen in Cascia, Italy now.

One of the most amazing Eucharistic miracles that I’ve ever heard about was the Bleeding Host of Betania (Venezuala) only ten years ago. Pilgrims were in the adoration chapel when the Host gave the appearance of having a heart beating in the center. The thing that makes it the most incredible, though, is the fact that there is actually video footage of the miracle. Read about it here and watch it the youtube video here.

Check out this link, where you can read many more stories of incredible miracles relating to the Real Presence.

Don’t forget to take some time to meditate on Christ’s sacrifice for us today on Good Friday. I hope you all have a blessed Easter season!

Pax Christi,
~the Catholic apologist

We were recently visiting with some extended family in New England.  During the time we were there, we visited the Baptist church where my mom attended growing up.  It had been a couple of months since I had sat through a sermon in an Evangelical church.  For some reason, this sermon seemed particularly directed against the Catholic Church.  It was full of not-so-subtle references to how Catholics are so supposedly deceived.  At the end of the sermon, they distributed their monthly communion.  The pastor was very clear in saying that the "crackers and juice" were "only symbols".  He took great effort in explaining to the congregation that communion was "not a sacrament in any way", but "simply an ordinance."  He mentioned that the Catholic Church actually believed that the "crackers and juice" became the real body and blood of Jesus Christ.  The deacons and other people in the church grimaced and shook their heads in disgust.  "That’s just ridiculous,"  the pastor declared.

His last statement really got me thinking.  At first, when I heard it, I felt insulted and offended.  He was belittling my beliefs right in front of me.  However, I came to realize the truth in his statement.  Let me explain…

Pastor R. certainly wasn’t the first person to call the Eucharist "ridiculous".  In fact, we see people doing it right in the Gospel of St. John.  When you read this passage from John 6:55-66, try reading it as if you’ve never read it before.  Come at it with a fresh mind and see what you can get out of it. 

For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 

He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 

As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

These things he said in the synogogue, as he taught in Capernaum.

Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?

When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?

What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?

It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

But there are some of you that believe not.  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.

And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

Jesus lost "many disciples" over the issue of the Eucharist.  They thought that the teaching was so ridiculous that they simply left him.  They didn’t say, "Oh, we’re supposed to eat a mere symbol of his body; I can handle that!"  They deserted Him. 

Many other people have deserted Jesus because they found His teachings to be "ridiculous".  We as Christians really do believe in some pretty crazy things.  We believe that God is One, and yet He is three distinct Persons.  We believe that He made the world out of nothing.  We believe that He loved us so much that He sent His only Son into the world as a human baby.  We believe that He is 100% God and 100% man.  We believe that He died a cruel criminal’s death for our salvation from sin.  We believe that He rose again from the grave, and that He ascended back into heaven.  These are all mysteries to us.  We can’t claim to fully understand them.  We don’t know why or how God does these things.  Many people would call them ridiculous. 

I don’t remember which saint said this, but he made this point, which I thought was very good:

Jesus says, "This is my body." 
You say, "This is not His body."
Who should I believe?

If Jesus says something, we shouldn’t be too quick to condemn it because it’s "ridiculous".  I would rather err on the side of being too literal than miss out on something so huge.

If I’m going to be so extreme as to believe that God became man, that He was tortured for my sake, and that He rose from the dead, I might as well go all the way and believe that He enters the form of bread in communion so that I can bodily receive Him.  I’m not going to accept one as being reasonable and the other as crazy.  They’re both crazy.  But, I can’t think of anything more beautiful.

If I believe in it, what do I lose if it’s wrong? 

What do I gain if it’s right?

Pax Christi,
~the Catholic apologist