The Miracle of the Eucharist: Faith and The Latin Mass
Summary of Headings
- Introduction to Eucharistic Miracles
- The Miracle of Transubstantiation
- Faith Beyond Appearances
- Christ's Hidden Divinity
- The Transfiguration's Significance
- Saint Peter's Human Reaction
- The Role of Miracles and Consolations
- The Journey of Faith and Lent
- Conclusion and Call to Faith
Introduction to Eucharistic Miracles
Once upon a time, I had the opportunity to be able to see an actual Eucharistic miracle in the town of Siena in Italy. It's where St. Catherine, excuse me, Cassia in Italy, where St. Rita of Cassia and her incorrupt body are. There is also one of the most perfect Eucharistic miracles. It happens very rarely that when a priest pronounces the word of consecration, he or she will be able to see the Eucharistic miracle. And this is where the Eucharistic miracle happens.
The Miracle of Transubstantiation
The Eucharistic miracle happens when the priest pronounces the word of consecration, or something else occurs, the host transforms, or seems to transform into actual flesh. And this can happen for many reasons. In this particular case, it was because a priest needed to go do a sick call. He was in a rush, and he didn't want to do the usual ceremony, which is necessary to take care of the Blessed Sacrament on the path. So he just took the Blessed Sacrament and stuffed it between two pages of his breviary as he was running out the door. When he got to the sickbed where he was going to give communion, he opened the breviary up, and the host had transformed into a piece of flesh and had bled into the pages of the breviary. And that was what was on display in Cassia.
Faith Beyond Appearances
It's a remarkable reminder that when we receive communion, that is what we are receiving. It is not what it appears. It has the appearances, it has the accidents of bread and wine. But when the priest pronounces the words of consecration, at that moment is the miracle of transubstantiation, which is that bread, that wine, turn into the body, blood, soul, and divinity. But only in their essence, only in their substance, what it is, is that. But it maintains the image, the impression, the sensory impression for us of bread and wine. It tastes and feels and looks like that. It does not look like what it is. Because there is a secondary miracle. It's not just the miracle of transubstantiation. It's not just the miracle of Christ transforming something into something else. We all know that from the miracle at Cana, when our Lord transformed the water into wine. We all know that he can do that.
Christ's Hidden Divinity
It's not just that, though. He performs a second miracle, which is to cover the reality of what it is. It's no longer just our Lord's body, blood, soul, and divinity. It is the miracle of Christ. It's also maintaining the appearances, miraculously maintaining the appearances of bread and wine. And so every time we go to communion, an act of faith is required. It isn't enough that we know what we are receiving, or that we see it, or that we taste it, or that we feel it. We have to believe truly what it is, despite what the appearances tell us. That is the whole purpose why he shrouds it from us. It is to protect us from becoming lazy in our faith. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.
The Transfiguration's Significance
This miracle is something that our Lord himself performed constantly through his life, in a very different form. Our Lord Jesus Christ is God Almighty. But even in his human nature, his humanity, he was bound to God's faith. He was bound to God, the Father, and to the Blessed Trinity through the beatific vision. He was the first human to live in the beatific vision. From the first instant of his conception, he was dwelling in heaven. His soul was before the Almighty in the beatific vision, being the Almighty himself. And us, if we praise God one day, we receive that blessing and we are resurrected on the final day, having received the beatific vision. Then we will have a glorious body.
Saint Peter's Human Reaction
And our Lord Jesus Christ should have had a glorious body all throughout his humanity. While he was here on earth, that glorious body that we see for an instant here in the Gospel, should have been his constant reality. But again, he shrouded that, voluntarily, not revealing his beatitude to all the world. Not revealing what was going on in his human nature, or that he had been confirmed in grace, because of being. He was not seen in the beatific vision. He suppressed that. Why? Because he needed us to make part of the work. He needed us to do part of the work. He needed us to actually decide that we were going to believe him. And he needed the apostles specifically to follow him out of an act of faith. That this truly is the Son of God. This truly is the Messiah.
The Role of Miracles and Consolations
Despite the fact that he was poor. Despite the fact that he was simple. He was a carpenter. He was not necessarily kingly. In all outward appearances. It's the same thing as the Holy Eucharist in that aspect. But for one brief moment, like the Eucharistic miracles that appear around the world from time to time. For one brief moment, our Lord Jesus Christ revealed his beatitude to the apostles. Why? The first explanation is because the fathers and doctors of the church explained that when Moses and Elias appeared to our Lord, it was an act to confirm the faith of the apostles. This truly is the Messiah because look, Moses and Elias are coming to pay homage to him. They are speaking to him as a superior. Elias represents the prophets. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of every prophecy of the Old Testament. Moses is the one who brought the law to the Jews. Our Lord Jesus Christ is not only the founder of that law. But he is the perfection of it.
The Journey of Faith and Lent
The one who gives it life. Because he is God himself. It is a testimonial to the apostles. A witness. A perfect witness to the apostles. This is truly the Messiah. Their act of faith is rewarded. But it is also a preparation. Because this is only about two weeks before the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. And what he was speaking about with Elias and Moses was his passion. He was conferring with them about his passion. Fulfilling the prophecies and perfecting the law through sacrifice. And the apostles heard this. And they were able to know that even though our Lord Jesus Christ was going to suffer and die. Even though according to all worldly compass he was going to be defeated. Victory was his because he is truly the Messiah. At least that is what they should have gotten from it.
Conclusion and Call to Faith
But Saint Peter, always Saint Peter the impetuous. Decided to react very humanly. This is how things should be. This is how our Lord should be at all times. And so let's build three tabernacles. Three tents up here. You can live in one. Elias can live in one. Moses can live in one. And we'll just sleep on the ground. It's okay. But just stay up here and be glorious. Because this is how we are going to show the rest of the world that you are truly the Messiah. All people will believe in you if you just reveal yourself this way. That was a very human mindset of Saint Peter. Not quite learning his lesson yet. And that is why God the Father himself in one of the few personal interactions he has with the world. That he has in the New Testament. Reveals to Saint Peter the error of his ways. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him. Our Lord Jesus Christ regardless of being in glorified body or in his hidden state. Is God. The Eucharist. Whether hidden behind the veil of bread and wine. Or whether revealed in its reality in the Eucharistic miracle. Is our Lord Jesus Christ. Body, blood, soul and divinity. Christ defeated on the cross. Is Christ victorious.
Being God and man. The sacrifice of the mass. Hides the reality of the sacrifice of the cross being performed again in an unbloody manner. And yet it is real. Saint Peter's reaction is a reality. Is a reality. Is a reality. That has a unit in the Jordan. Relaangt in Christ with the blessing of God. But in this time too he has himself found the baby of God. Is here to be firstborn again on earth. Is here to be brought home. Is here to be loved again. Any time. Div지만 e Ben Evam. Terrestrial. It's in the world. Waybender. It's in the world. Waybender the the Holy Spirit. magnificent way possible, because he is hidden and he expects us to work for our faith, to defend it, to protect it, to support it, to strengthen it. But that requires labor on our end too. We must make that act of faith when we approach the communion rail. We must make that act of faith when the priest offers up the host and the chalice. We must make that act of faith when the priest elevates them immediately after genuflecting for the recently arrived Lord on the altar. This is one of the reasons for the elevation, so that the faithful can gaze upon him and make an act of faith despite the fact of appearances.
We know that that is our Lord Jesus Christ. That simple act of faith will do wonders to strengthen our faith against all temptations. Again, our Lord Jesus Christ revealed it only to these three. apostles. And knowing the history of the apostles up to that point, you can imagine they all felt pretty special. Yeah, we're the ones who are set apart from everybody else. We're the ones who get to see this. And when our Lord told them to stay silent about it, you can imagine that their attitude was a bit like, I have a secret that you don't know to the rest of the apostles. Because they were very human and their reaction is very human. We have the same attitude. We have the same temptation. We have the faith. Other people don't. We have grace. Other people don't. We have been set apart. God's truth has been revealed to us. The mysteries of the Eucharist and the mass and the sacrifice and the incarnation, all of these things have been revealed to us. Now we can, like Saint Peter, desire to hoard that. For ourselves. Or we can become missionaries with it. Let it explode out of ourselves and our words and our works.
We can also rely too heavily upon those consolations. Read those beautiful stories of the miracles of the saints, about the Eucharistic miracles, about so many phenomena that God reveals to try to support and strengthen our faith. That our faith becomes based upon those things when it's not supposed to be. And we can rely too heavily upon those consolations. And we can read all these stories and we can see how the scriptures are a good prop. We also believe theyигbe with us or they'll ignore this. The New Testament's 站 t in the So we want to do most things within the Bible to support this thing that's Loc infant. We shouldn't when you grow in person. If you cross those things to the Bible, We only bring with us верen eat, we sow the word for us . . . status was the road to righteousness. Аtom, divinity, and the proof for our soul were gonna be there at the end of the let visiting of us. A And he does the same thing for us. He gives us miracles. He gives us great saints. He gives us examples constantly throughout history to be able to sustain us and help us in dark moments. But let's not kid ourselves. Those are not the basis of our faith. Our faith is based upon the constant battle that we must wage to strengthen our faith and to maintain it in the worst possible moments.
The world does not like the faith. It will do everything it can to crush it one way or the other. The devil will try to distract it, weaken it, undermine it, whatever else. But the worst enemy and the most proximate enemy is our own selves because we do not like what the faith means. Because we have received the faith, we are bound to everything St. Paul says in the epistle. It is the will of God, your sanctification. But that means that you cannot be like the pagans. You cannot be slaves to your lusts. You cannot be like everybody else. You have to set yourselves apart. That is what St. Paul is warning to all of us. Because of the faith that we have received, we must give it back in spades. We must give it back as best we can and as strongly as we can.
We must believe, despite the fact that our Lord doesn't reveal himself in the most direct or perfect way. Despite the fact that the consolations that we receive, those little moments where we can, where God is almost tangible, his presence is almost physical, we can see him, we can touch him, we can feel him in a much more human way. Despite that those are brief moments that we have in our lives, those are not the basis of our faith. Those are consolations and they are things to uplift us and to encourage us. Just like the transfiguration, the battle is still going on. Once in a while, God gives us a little bit of a rest. And that's what it is. It is a rest. It is a rest. So that we can go back into the fight. Because the fight for souls demands all of our energy. It demands for us to respond to grace. It demands for us to defend our faith. It demands for us to be wary of the snares and traps and mutilations of the faith by the world, the flesh and the devil. And we must be conscious of the fact that God is truly present.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is truly guiding us. He is truly leading us. He is truly illuminating us and showing us the path. Even if we can't see him or hear him or touch him. He truly is. Just as he truly is present in the Blessed Sacrament. Just as he is truly sacrificing himself in the Mass. Just as he is truly God despite the fact of his human appearance. Despite the fact that it looks like he is a simple human being. He is God and he is a beatified. He is a beatified man. And that same act of faith that the Apostles should have made at that moment. Surrendering themselves not to what we wish God would do. But to what God actually does. It's one of the purposes of Lent. This is my beloved Son. Hear ye him. God the Father was well pleased with the human costume of our Lord Jesus Christ. The simple. Costume. He was well pleased with the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he was well pleased when we obey and follow him. No questions asked. No complaints made. How he guides us is how he guides us. Not how we wish he would. And subjugation. Submission. Total annihilation of our own will. Is the purpose of the sacrifices we make during Lent. To follow Christ regardless of everything else. This is the goal of Lent. To walk this path that our Lord Jesus Christ following his guidance. And following in his footsteps. Because Christ is walking to Calvary. And we must follow him. Without failure. Without failing. Without deviating. Without getting distracted. And always relying on the strength and the encouragement and the illumination. That he gives us. Because by those things. We'll be able to walk with him all the way up to Calvary. Be crucified and annihilated with him. So that we can join him in the eternal resurrection of heaven. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.