They Know the Eucharist
Betty Brennan had been a worshiper of Satan and then decided to go back to church. When she did, she picked the Roman Catholic Church. Speaking to a Pentecostal prayer group, she explained why:
“every Satanic ritual is a take-off on the Roman Catholic Sacraments. They (satanists) know what the Eucharist is … Do you know that if there was a bona fide witch here and you put out thirty hosts, or a thousand hosts, and only one was consecrated, they would know immediately which one was consecrated—because of the presence!”
Source: Kaczmarek, Louis, Hidden Treasure, The Riches of the Eucharist (Plattsburgh, N.Y., Trinity Communications, 1990) p. 129.
Arquata, Italy
In August, 2016, an earthquake rocked central Italy, including the town of Arquata, and including Our Lady of the Assumption church located in the town. It was not until a year and a half later, on February 27, 1018, when people were sifting through some of the rubble, that certain consecrated Hosts were found in the church.
The ciborium containing them, though overturned, was still inside the tabernacle. The lid was still on it. When the ciborium was opened, those present surprisingly found the Hosts in pristine condition.
According to the Italian daily newspaper Avvenire, the Bishop of Ascoli Piceno, Giovanni D’Ercole said: “A fresh baked aroma was still noticeable, which is very moving. It is a sign of hope for everyone. It tells us that Jesus also suffered the earthquake like everyone else, but he has come out alive from among the rubble.”
Fr. Angelo Ciancotti, of the Ascoli Piceno cathedral, said that the Hosts, had not undergone “any change in color, shape or scent.” He said, “there was no bacteria or mold as happens with hosts after a few weeks. Even though they were more than a year and a half old, they seemed to have been made the day before.”
In his opinion, “this prodigious and inexplicable discovery” is “a miracle, but above all a message for everyone: it is a sign that reminds us of the centrality of the Eucharist.” He added, “Jesus is telling us … ’I am in your midst. Trust in me.’”
Source: https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2018/02/27/eucharistic-miracle-hosts-found-intact-in-church-destroyed-by-earthquake/
The Best Method of Prayer
“There is no need for many words in order that we may pray properly. By faith we believe that there, in the sacred tabernacle, the good God is present. We open our hearts to Him. We rejoice that He has admitted us into His presence. This is the best method of prayer.”
– The way St. John Vianney used to teach prayer to his parishioners, according to Pope John XXIII.
Source: McHugh, Joan Carter, My Daily Eucharist II, (Lake Forest, IL, Witness Ministries, 2004), entry for August 4, with an excerpt from On the Priesthood, by Pope John XXIII.
Listening to the Car in the Radio
Yesterday, I was driving in the car, listening to a Catholic radio talk show. The subject was the extent to which the priest scandal was even causing people to question their commitment to the Catholic faith. The conversation was ranging in various directions, when a woman called up and said that she, personally, would never question her own faith. She could sympathize with or understand why some may be very affected by the scandal and the betrayal of trust by leaders who are supposed to believe (in the Pauline sense of belief producing corresponding actions) in the core precepts of Christianity more than the rest of us, who have not overtly dedicated our entire lives to the service of Christ. She will never, however, leave the Church for a larger reason – Christ Himself. And why does the Roman Catholic Church mean Christ to her? The reason, she was, was “an extraordinary experience” she had in the presence of the Eucharist. She did not volunteer more.
Was this experience merely a singularly unique moment in prayer? Even that will not explain the resulting effect, which caused her to believe in the teachings of the Church such that no amount of corruption, scandal or wrongdoing could make her leave. The teachings of the Church on the Eucharist are of course that it is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ Himself. The word, “extraordinary,” simply means something outside the ordinary. An experience in Adoration or at Mass that is “extraordinary,” with the effect she admits, undoubtedly points to something with a mystical aspect.
It is not necessary for us to know the details. The salient point is she had this experience. It happens to people. It happens and they are reluctant to talk about it. It happens more than we know. It happens because Christ cares for each of us, cares about our problems, our struggles and our daily lives.
Still Good Advice, 17 Centuries Later
St. Cyril of Jerusalem wrote, in the 4th century, about how to receive Communion in the hand: “When you approach, do not come with outspread hands and fingers, but make the left hand as it were the throne of the right, which is destined to receive the King, and receive the Body of Christ into the hollow of your hand and say, ‘Amen.’ After you have purified your eyes by cautiously applying them to the Sacred Body, be careful in consuming it, that no particle fall to the ground.”
Source: Kaczmarek, Louis, Hidden Treasure, The Riches of the Eucharist (Plattsburgh, N.Y., Trinity Communications, 1990) p. 91.
Celestine V
Pope St. Celestine V was elected to the papacy in 1294. The vote occurred in the last election that did not take the form of a papal conclave, an event in which the cardinals are actually locked in seclusion until a decision is reached. That was one of the reasons the election took two years and its eventual choice was something of an act of desperation. Celestine, however, found the rigors of his office too dramatic and wished to step down. Late in 1294, he did, but his successor, Pope Boniface VIII, feared that he might be installed as an antipope and, therefore, had him kept captive in a castle.
Celestine still said Mass within his confines and, one day, his guards were astonished at a sight present before their eyes. Celestine, bathed in light, was suspended in mid-air.
Source: Cruz, Caroll, Eucharistic Miracles (Charlotte, North Carolina, Tan Books, 2010) p. 290.
Scott Hahn
Within a week or two I had fallen head over heels in love with the Mass. I was transformed. The Eucharist became, in a sense, the all-controlling central desire of my life! I can’t describe to you the passionate thirst and hunger that came me day after day as I saw all of these people going up and being fed with the Body and Blood of our Lord!
– Scott Hahn, Catholic theologian, professor and speaker, former Protestant minister
Source: Kaczmarek, Louis, Hidden Treasure, The Riches of the Eucharist (Plattsburgh, N.Y., Trinity Communications, 1990) p. 55.
Maria Domenica Lazzeri
Maria Domenica Lazzeri was born on March 16, 1815, in Capriana, Italy. For a year between the ages of 17 and 18, she fell ill, but began to help the sick, anyone who was in need, regardless of the epidemics that were prevalent or the danger to her own health.
When she was 19, she became bedridden. She began to eat less and less. Beginning at Easter, 1834, a doctor was called and began to record how much she was eating. During the course of the ensuing year, she progressed to the point where she consumed no food except the Holy Eucharist.
The following year, she received the Stigmata, soon to be followed by a mystical crown of thorns. Each Thursday, the Stigmata would reappear and on Fridays, she would relive the Passion, bleeding upwards from the feet, in ways that her doctor described as defying the laws of physics.
She is said to have a number of other extraordinary abilities, such as the knowledge of future events, the gift of bilocation, a capability in languages she never studied and the ability to hear and then repeat sermons said in a nearby Catholic church.
Her condition of being bedridden, as well as her sustenance on nothing but the Eucharist, lasted for the final 14 years of her life.
Source: http://www.mysticsofthechurch.com/2010/07/maria-dominica-lazzari-mystic-stigmatic.html
Why Catholic Cathedrals are Beautiful
“It became obvious why Catholics had built such beautiful cathedrals and churches throughout the world. Not as gathering or meeting places for Christians. But as a home for Jesus Himself in the Blessed Sacrament. Cathedrals house Jesus. Christians merely come and visit Him. The cathedrals and churches architecturally prepare our souls for the beauty of the Eucharist.”
― Allen R. Hunt, Confessions of a Mega Church Pastor: How I Discovered the Hidden Treasures of the Catholic Church
Heroine of Ecuador
St. Mariana de Jesus de Paredes was canonized by Pope Pius XII on June 4, 1950. She lived more than 300 years earlier.
Born on October 31, 1618 in present-day Ecuador, she went to live with her married sister at age 7, when she was orphaned. She lived a life of seclusion in her sister’s house, except for visits to the Blessed Sacrament in the nearby Jesuit church.
She received Holy Communion each morning, and except for only an ounce of food every 8-10 days, she lived on the Eucharist alone.
A number of miracles are accorded to her, including predictions of the future, cures of the sick and, in one case, bringing someone back to life.
In 1645, an earthquake besieged her home of Quito. During a homily, a priest publicly offered his life to God in exchange for an end to the turmoil. She then immediately came forward and said, “No Lord, the life of this priest is necessary to save many souls, but I am not necessary.” She offered her own life instead.
The next day, she began to take ill and, shortly thereafter, on May 26, 1645, she died at the age of 27.
In 1946, Ecuador awarded her the title, Heroine of the Nation, and several years thereafter, she was canonized as related above.
Source: https://aleteia.org/2019/02/10/this-heroine-of-ecuador-lived-on-nothing-but-the-eucharist/.