My book, Discovering Jesus in the Holy Eucharist through the Bible, the Catechism, and the Saints has been out and has been selling well.
Since I published it myself, I can print excerpts of it without getting permission from a publisher. This is freedom. So, I’m using my blog to share parts of my book with the public. I hope you will read these bits and learn more about the Holy Eucharist, which is a Greek word that means thanksgiving, and it is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ under the appearance of bread and wine.
The Heart of Christ Meditation
Pondering upon the Heart of Christ present in the Eucharist brings up the thought of a miracle that occurred in Buenos Aires in 1996 when Jorge Bergoglio, the future Pope Francis, was auxiliary bishop.
A woman had found a discarded Eucharistic Host. She brought it to the priest who placed it in a dish of water so it could dissolve properly inside the tabernacle. The next day the Host had turned into a bloody piece of tissue. After having stayed in this condition for three years, Church officials contacted scientists to study the Eucharistic Host but did not tell them from where it had come or that it was a Host. After having analyzed it, Dr. Frederic Zugibe of New York reported:
“The analyzed material is a fragment of the heart muscle found in the wall of the left ventricle close to the valves. … The heart muscle is in an inflammatory condition and contains a large number of white blood cells. This indicates that the heart was alive at the time the sample was taken. It is my contention that the heart was alive, since white blood cells die outside a living organism. They require a living organism to sustain them. Thus, their presence indicates that the heart was alive when the sample was taken. What is more, these white blood cells had penetrated the tissue, which further indicates that the heart had been under severe stress, as if the owner had been beaten severely about the chest.”[1]
What this tells me is that, although the Eucharist contains the whole Christ: Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, it is Jesus’ heart … that waits for me in the tabernacle or the monstrance at Adoration.
It seems that sometimes the Eucharistic Host has turned into living flesh and blood in the presence of doubt or when it has unfortunately been desecrated. This is a sad but amazing event, and it can help those who have questioned the truth about the Eucharist; however, this has happened very rarely—and for good reason. Through faith, not by marvels, are we to believe that Jesus’ Body and Blood are present in the Holy Eucharist. The Eucharist alone is the greatest miracle!
[1] “The Eucharistic Miracle Pope Francis Witnessed in Buenos Aires,” MAGIS CENTER 5 MIN READ, March 18, 2022, accessed June 9, 2023. Available from https://www.magiscenter.com/blog/the-eucharistic-miracle-overseen-by-archbishop-bergoglio-now-pope-francis. Internet.
