What is the Holy Eucharist?
The Holy Eucharist is a sacrament
and a sacrifice. In the Holy Eucharist, under the appearances of bread and
wine, the Lord Christ is contained, offered, and received.
- The whole Christ is really,
truly, and substantially present in the Holy Eucharist. We use the words
"really, truly, and substantially" to describe Christ's presence in
the Holy Eucharist in order to distinguish Our Lord's teaching from that of
mere men who falsely teach that the Holy Eucharist is only a sign or figure of
Christ, or that He is present only by His power.
- All Christians, with but few
minor exceptions, held the true doctrine of the Real Presence from the time of
Christ until the Protestant Revolution in the sixteenth century.
- The word
"Eucharist" means "Thanksgiving."
The Miracle of the Eucharist - Santarem, Portugal
Around the year 1225 there was a woman living in Santarem, who was very unhappy
with her marriage. She was convinced that her husband did not love her, and was
unfaithful. After many prayers and no relief from her problems, she turned to a
sorceress for help.
The sorceress promised the wife that her husband would
return to his loving ways, if the wife would bring her a Consecrated Host.
The woman was aware of the grave offense to God, and
was frightened with the prospect of committing a horrible sacrilege but
unfortunately gave in to temptation. She went to Mass at the Church of St.
Stephen, and received Communion, but did not consume the Host.
Instead, she left the Church immediately, and took the Host
out of her mouth, putting It into her veil.
As she headed for the sorceress' cave, the first miracle
occurred. Within moments, blood began to issue from the host. The amount of blood was
such that it soon dripped from the cloth and attracted the attention of
bystanders who asked if she needed assistance. Becoming even more frightened by
the unexpected turn of events, she hurried home instead of the sorcerer's cave,
and put the veil with the host in a wooden chest in the bedroom.
The second miracle took place that very night when both she
and her husband were awakened by a mysterious light penetrating through the
wooden chest. The woman then confessed her sin to her husband and they both
spent the remainder of the night on their knees in adoration. The following
morning, the parish priest was informed and people rushed to the house to
contemplate the Holy Miracle. The priest brought the host back to the church in
solemn procession, placed it in a small case of wax; and deposited it in the
tabernacle.
A Church investigation was promptly organized.
A third miracle occurred later when the priest opened the
tabernacle door and found the wax container had broken into small pieces. In
its place was a beautiful crystal pyx with the blood of the host inside.
The pyx is approximately 1/2" thick and 2" in
diameter, crystalline clear and with a small protrusion on the side that
contains the largest collection of blood. It is irregularly shaped crystal
through which can be seen the real flesh with delicate veins running from top
to bottom and a quantity of blood which is collected at one end.
It was later placed in a gold and silver pear-shaped
monstrance with a sunburst of 33 rays where it remains today. The reliquary
that houses the miraculous Host rests above the tabernacle, and can be viewed
atop a set of stairs from behind the main altar.
After the investigation and approval by the Church authorities, the Church of
St. Stephen was renamed "The Church of the Holy Miracle."
The little house where the miracle occurred was on Via delle
Stuoie in Santarem.
From the time of the miracle until now, every year, on
the Second Sunday of April, the incident is re-enacted by local actors. The
actual Eucharistic Miracle is processed from the house, which was converted
into a Chapel in 1684, to the Church. Miraculously, after 750 years, the
precious blood still remains in liquid form, defying the natural laws of
science.
The Host is somewhat irregularly shaped, resembling real flesh with
delicate veins running from top to bottom, where a quantity of blood is
collected in the crystal.
This case, along with many other Eucharistic miracles,
gives witness to the real presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy
Eucharist.
(resources:http://www.qsl.net/kf7dwb/aprl_holysacrament.html, http://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/eucha1a.htm)
