When we read the Holy Scriptures, either the Old or the New Testament, we hear the descriptions of miracles that God performed for His people so that they would come to believe in Him and grow in love of Him. From the time of the apostles, the life of the Church has been marked with the miraculous deeds of Jesus and the saints.
Today we live in an age that attempts to explain everything by the scientific method. The Church is very supportive of scientific research and clearly teaches that faith and science are not in opposition to one another. However, the Church believes that God is not bound by the laws of nature and the discipline of science. Miracles can and still do happen.
There is a miracle that happens in Catholic Churches every day. It occurs on the altar during the celebration of the Sacrifice of the Mass. We believe that when the priest says the words Jesus said at the Last Supper, “Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is My Body, which will be given up for you” and “Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of My Blood” as he holds the bread and the chalice containing wine, the bread and wine actually become the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Himself. While the appearances of bread and wine remain, the substance becomes the Real Presence of the Lord. Jesus works outside of the law of nature and changes bread and wine into His very Body and Blood by the ministry of the priest.
It is amazing to think that this inexplicable change, this miraculous transubstantiation, happens for us each and every day. In order to deepen our faith in this tremendous change of bread and wine into Jesus Christ Himself, through the centuries God has made this change manifest in a sensible way. These phenomena are termed “Eucharistic miracles.” Documented cases of consecrated hosts assuming the appearances of flesh, and cases of consecrated wine in the chalice at Mass having the visible properties of blood date from the 8th century. In our own time, in the last 20 years, human myocardial tissue appeared spontaneously in a host consecrated at Mass on a number of occasions. Again and again, God has intervened in the order of nature to remind us of the truth about the Blessed Sacrament—it is really Jesus Himself.
No matter how dramatic and awe inspiring these miraculous occurrences may be, they serve only to drive home for us what truly happens at Mass: the Sacrifice of the Cross is made present so that we may receive Jesus and be united intimately with Him. These Eucharistic miracles remind us that He does this for us and that each of us has an important place at Mass. We are called to be immersed in the Mystery of Passion, Death and Resurrection and to encounter Him in His real and substantial Presence in the Holy Eucharist.
During his lifetime (1991-2006) Blessed Carlo Acutis established a website to highlight some Eucharistic miracles that the Church has approved. Just recently we have acquired the Blessed Carlo Acutis Eucharistic Miracle Exhibit for or own diocese. Stay tuned for information that will be available soon that will enable this exhibit to come to our parishes and schools. Its visit will enable us to deepen our faith in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and increase our appreciation of God’s power to draw us to Himself.
As we look forward to the Feast of Corpus Christi, let us rejoice in the great miracle of the abiding Presence of the Lord in the Holy Eucharist. He is always true to His word and really meant what He said when He proclaimed, “Lo, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid
Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh