Looking for a Miracle?

Supposing I could guarentee you a miracle, intersted? How about not just 1 miracle but 126 would you be interested now? I thought you might. I noticed that you didn't ask what kind of miracle. Well, I'm talking about a very special kind of miracle. I'm not talking about the little coincidence type. They type that I am talking about contain certified, bona fide, scientifically examined miracles like no other. The type I am talking about have been going on for centuries (at least since the 3rd Century AD) all over the world. I am talking about Eucharistic Miracles. In fact they are still occuring. The most recent approved miracle occured in 2001.

From the start, the Catholic Church has taken Jesus at His word when he said that the bread & wine at Mass became His Body & Blood. In post the other day I talked about St. Cyril & what he had to say about the Real Presence in his Jerusalem Catecheses. As he said in Lecture 22: "Since then He Himself (Jesus) declared and said of the Bread, This is My Body, who shall dare to doubt any longer? And since He has Himself affirmed and said, This is My Blood, who shall ever hesitate, saying, that it is not His blood?"

The sad fact is, that human nature being what it is, men & women often fail to take Jesus at His Word. So, over the years God has allowed miracles to take place that confirm what Jesus said when He walked on the Earth. The Catholic Church has approved over 150 of this Eucharistic Miracles. Each of the miracles has been approved by the local bishop & at times also by the Pope. Like private revelations approved by the Church, a person is not required to believe in any of the miracles. But it does hold them up for us as an aide in the strengthening of our faith.

(Photo of Miracle of Lanciano)

Whenever Eucharistic Miracles are mentioned, 1 of the 1st that comes to mind is usually the miracle at Lanciano, Italia. A Basilian Monk was struggling with doubts about whether or not the bread & wine became the Body & Blood of Christ (transubstantiation) at the consecration during the Mass. 1 day as he said the words "This is My Body" the host he was holding turned into a piece of human flesh. Then as he said "This is My Blood" over the chalice the wine turned into blood which coagulated into 5 different sized globules. After a few moments of awe he turned towards the congregation, & with tears of joy said: "0 fortunate witnesses to whom the Blessed God, to confound my disbelief, has wished to reveal Himself in this Most Blessed Sacrament and to render Himself visible to our eves. Come, brethren, and marvel at our God so close to us. Behold the Flesh and Blood of our most beloved Christ." The people rushed forward & moved to tears by what happenned began to cry out to God for mercy. Soon the story spread & people came from all over to see the miracle. The transformed Host was put into a silver Monstrance & the globules of blood are in a crystal chalice.

Now, for "the rest of the story". In 1970 the Archbishop of Lanciano & the Franciscan Provincial Superior (Franciscans now care for the Church where the miracle is kept), with the approval of Rome, allowed a rigorous scientific examanation of the miracle. The examination was conducted by Professor Odoardo Linoli, eminent Professor in Anatomy and Pathological Histology and in Chemistry and Clinical Microscopy, and Professor Ruggero Berteli of the University of Siena. Their findings:

1. The Flesh of the miracle is real Flesh and the Blood is real Blood.
2. The Flesh and the Blood belong to the human species.
3. The Flesh consists of the muscular tissue of the heart, which would be impossible to obtain through dissection.
4. In the Flesh we see present in section: the myocardium, the endocardium, the vagus nerve and also the left ventricle of the heart for the large thickness of the myocardium. The Flesh is a heart complete in its essential structure.
5. The Flesh and the Blood have the same blood type, AB, which is also the same blood type found on the Shroud of Turin and all other Eucharistic Miracles.
6. In the Blood there were found proteins in the same normal proportions (percentage-wise) as are found in the sero-proteic make-up of the fresh normal blood.
7. In the Blood there were also found these minerals: chlorides, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium and calcium.
8. There is no trace whatsoever of any materials or agents used to preserve the Flesh or Blood.
   

Another interesting fact about the blood is that if 1 globule is weighed it weighs the same as when they are weighed together. You can see some of the slides from the exam & what they mean here. You can also read a Zenit interview with Dr. Linoli.

Another miracle involved St. Anthony of Padua. Unlike the other miracle, this 1 doesn't have any relics for evidience. It relies on the testimony of witnesses. & as often occurs when it is passed down before being written down sometimes a few of the details get muddied. But the basic story remains true. In this case St. Anthony was challenged by a man to prove that the teaching about the Real Presence was true. St. Anthony agreed & a test was devised. A donkey would be starved for 3 days. At the same time St. Anthony went off to fast & pray. When the time came, St. Anthony went to the town's Catholic Church & got the Blessed Sacrament. The people of the town gathered in the town square to watch the test. There the man brought the donkey & tied it down 20 feet away from a bale of hay. When St. Anthony arrived the donkey was untied & headed toward the hay. St. Anthony spoke. "Mule, in the name of the Lord our God, I command you to come here and adore your Creator!" At that point the donkey turned & approached toward St. Anthony. When it neared where St. Anthony was holding the Blessed Sacrament it bent its foreknees & bowed it's head to the ground. (Depicted in the picture at the right.) The man was convinced & became a Catholic.

As I said earlier, the Catholic Church has authenticated over 150 such miracles. Recently the Pontifical Academy Cultorum Martyrum, together with the Real Presence Association has made available in English the Vatican International Exhibit, The Eucharistic Miracles of the World. This exhibit is a series of plasticized panels that show information about many of the miracles world wide. Each of the 142 panels has informational text as well as many color pictures. This exhibit has already toured Italy & elswhere, being translated into many languages. It is now touring the USA.

The exhibit will be coming to St. Mary's Catholic Church, East Dubuque, Il from 19-22 April 2007. The parochial administrator, Fr. James W. Parker, was able to arrange for it to be brought to our area. He scheduled it for that weekend because that will be when the parish is celebrating 1st Holy Communion. (As a special personal aside, it was on 19 April 1962 that I made my 1st Holy Communion, so this is a sort of 45th Anniversary gift for me.)

This exhibition is an excellent opportunity to have your faith in God's promises strenghtened. “Eucharistic miracles can encourage us to understand, appreciate and love the Eucharist…They can help a person discover the mystery, the beauty and the riches of the Eucharist…We must never forget nor fail to mention that the Eucharist is the true, great, inexhaustible daily miracle…It is indeed true that the most important and astounding miracle is the one that takes place whenever the Eucharist is celebrated, during which Jesus Christ is present in a ‘unique and incomparable way’. He is present, in a true, real, substantial way, with his Body and Blood, with his Soul and Divinity. In the Eucharist, therefore, there is present in a sacramental way, that is, under the Eucharistic species of bread and wine, Christ whole and entire, God and Man’ (Compendium, n. 282). In making his Sacrifice of the Cross present and actual, he becomes our food and drink, with his Body and Blood, uniting us with him and with each other, becoming our viaticum on our earthly pilgrimage toward our eternal homeland.” (Monsignor Raffaelo Martinelli, Vatican International Exhibition Brochure)

If you are in our area at this time I would recomend contacting St. Mary's (815-747-3221) for the exact times & location. If not you can check out the schedule of other locations here to see when it will be near you.