Joan Carroll Cruz - Eucharistic Miracles

Nihil Obstat:	Rev. John H. Miller, C.S.C. Censor Librorum
Imprimatur:		Philip M. Hannan Archbishop of New Orleans April 25, 1986

Copyright 1987 by Joan Carroll Cruz.

Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 8650850

Cover design by Chris Pelicano.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

TAN Books
Charlotte, North Carolina
2012

The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed.

John 6:5356

This book is dedicated to the School Sisters of Notre Damewith appreciation, affection, and admiration.

C ONTENTS

Part One
EUCHARISTIC MIRACLES

P art Two
EUCHARISTIC PHENOMENA IN THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS

A UTHORS P REFACE

The greatest treasure in the Catholic Church is, without question, the Holy Eucharistin which Jesus Christ humbly assumes the appearance of bread. Whether retained in simple chapels or grand basilicas, the Eucharist remains a sign of the Heavenly Fathers unwillingness to be physically separated from His children.

His children, on the other hand, have not always appreciated this presence and, as painful as it is to consider, many have abused the gift by receiving it unworthily, by doubting the Real Presence of God in the sacred Host, or by treating the Sacrament with indifference. For these reasons the Saviour has seen fit at times to prove His presence by performing Eucharistic miracles of various kinds.

In order to learn of these miracles and to determine their approximate number, I have examined numerous books on the Eucharist, but only two volumes mentioned Eucharistic miracles, and these gave only one or two reports. Since miraculous happenings were excluded from the vast majority of these scholarly works, it seems that they were deemed unnecessary to prove the points made by the authors, or were perhaps little regarded by them. However, if a picture is worth a thousand words, surely miracles of the altarin which the species are still preserved or the event is well documentedwill encourage a keen awareness and appreciation of the Sacrament and will prove what many pages of print expound, namely, that Jesus is truly present in the Holy Eucharist.

Since the books mentioned have already dealt with the theological aspects of the Blessed Sacrament, this present work will be primarily a compilation of miracle accounts. These accounts were gleaned from various sources, and were, in turn, authenticated by the churches involvedthrough correspondence and from materials which they generously provided. There also have been many other such miracles, but research would be endless if an attempt were made to include every single one.

It is hoped that the reader, after reflecting on the contents of this volume, will be blessed with a deeper reverence for this Holy Sacrament and will repair as much as he is able the abuses that are directed to this Heavenly Presence that was given to us by a loving Creator and Saviour.

J OAN C ARROLL C RUZ

I NTRODUCTION

The Catholic Teaching on the Holy Eucharist

The holy Catholic Church teaches that at the moment of the Consecration of the Mass, the bread and wine on the altar truly become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The bread and wine cease to exist, though the appearances and properties, or accidents , of bread and wine remain. This momentous change is known as transubstantiation change of substance.

The consecrated Host and the Precious Blood under the form of wine are given the adoration that is reserved for God alone, since they are, indeed, Almighty God Himself. This highest form of veneration is known as latria. The opinions that Christ is only in the Eucharistic elements as in a sign, or that Christ is received only spiritually, were condemned by the Council of Trent. (Trent, Session XIII, canons 1, 6, 8, Oct. 11, 1551).

Both the bread and wine become the whole Jesus ChristHis Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, so that the recipient receives Christ whole and entire under either form. Furthermore, the tiniest particle of a consecrated Host or the smallest drop of consecrated wine is Christ. Yet Christ is not divided, He remains one.

Our Lord is present as long as the appearances of bread and wine remain. When a consecrated Host is digested or dissolved in water, and no longer has the appearance of bread, it is no longer Jesus. Thus Our Lord is present in a communicant for about 15 minutes, and one should adore Him within oneself as long as He is sacramentally present. A famous story is told about St. Philip Neri, who saw a woman who had received Holy Communion leave the church right after Mass, disregarding Christ within her. The saint sent two altar boys with lighted candles to accompany her, as she was still a living tabernacle of the All-Holy God.

While it is true that God is everywhere, as the Creator and Sustainer of all things, and that He is present by sanctifying grace in all souls in the state of grace, these are spiritual presences. The Eucharistic presence of ChristBody, Blood, Soul and Divinityis entirely unique, and it alone is referred to as the Real Presence.

To receive Holy Communion worthily one must be in the state of grace, that is, free of having committed a mortal sin that has not been confessed and absolved in the Sacrament of Penance. To receive Holy Communion in the state of mortal sin is itself a mortal sin of sacrilege. A person who has committed a mortal sin must first cleanse his soul in the Sacrament of Penance before receiving Communion. St. Paul declares ( 1 Cor. 11:29) that anyone who would receive the Eucharist unworthily eats and drinks judgment to himself. (The sin of sacrilegious Communion is of course forgivable in the Sacrament of Penance.)