The Eucharist Miracle

The Eucharist Miracle

Blessed in every way! Our collaborative’s Eucharistic Procession, held last Sunday on the Solemnity of the Holy Body and Blood of Christ, was an incredible public testament honoring the presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Following the 9:30 Mass, the Blessed Sacrament was carried under a canopy through the streets of Wrentham and to the Alliance Maples Nursing Home. The Procession allowed us to display our faith and belief in the Eucharist as Christ’s body, blood, soul, and divinity.  With clergy, altar servers, musicians, the Knights of Columbus Honor Guard, First Communion children, and 150 faith-filled parishioners from both parishes, we reverently and jubilantly reminded the world that Christ walks among us. 

The Eucharist is a miracle and the pinnacle of our Catholic faith. During the consecration at Mass, the bread and wine become the actual body and blood of Christ. We eat the host, we drink the wine, and then Christ is within us. We become like living monstrances, who can take Christ into the world. 

As a child, although I memorized the Eucharistic concepts from the Baltimore Catechism as part of my “Sunday School” faith formation, I didn’t really believe that when the priest said “the body of Christ” at communion, that I was indeed receiving the BODY OF CHRIST! 

My faith and belief in the Eucharist has greatly deepened over the years.  I’ve attended several Eucharistic Miracle exhibits which provided documented affirmation of the Real Presence of Christ in the Consecrated host. The Catholic Church has officially recognized around 100 such miracles, spanning from the early centuries to modern times, with most being supported by scientific investigation. The exhibited phenomena has included bleeding hosts, the presence of human cardiac tissue (similar to the blood type found on the burial cloth of the crucified Christ), and images of the Holy Face of Jesus. 

Eucharistic miracles help to strengthen our faith and are signs of Christ’s presence. Indeed, they occur daily, because at every Mass around the world a miracle occurs when the substance of bread and wine is changed into the body and blood of Christ. The Eucharist is not a reminder of the Lord, it is the Lord Himself, and we are changed people when we receive it with faith. The Eucharist is the food we need for life’s journey and, as stated in John 6:58, “whoever eats this bread will live forever.” 

On a much larger scale than our recent Eucharistic Procession, a National Eucharistic Pilgrimage is currently underway as part of our country’s 250^th celebration of American independence.  The 2,200-mile procession began in Florida on Pentecost Sunday and will end on July 4^th in Philadelphia. The pilgrimage, themed “One Nation Under God,” will have many adoration stops along the route, including arrival in Boston on June 26-28, and stops in Easton and New Bedford on June 29^th and in Fall River and Providence on June 30^th. (click for details!)This adoration is an opportunity for personal devotion, but it is also a nation  al movement allowing Catholics to deepen their relationship with Christ in the Eucharist and to publicly exhibit their faith.

We shall pray that our recent Eucharistic Procession and the National Pilgrimage, through the adoration of Jesus, will renew hearts, and unify the local community, our country, and the world. The Eucharist is a miracle for us all!