Stories
Zaragoza, Spain
by Ray at THCIn the town archives of Zaragoza, there can be found a document written in 1427 by Don Dorner, archdeacon of the city. The report states:
“A married woman consulted a Moorish evil sorcerer for a remedy to cure her husband of his violent nature and to make him treat her more gently. To change the husband’s behavior, the sorcerer told her he needed a consecrated Host. The very superstitious woman went to the church of Saint Michael, went to confession and received the Eucharist. With diabolical cunning, she took the Blessed Sacrament from her mouth and hid the Host in a small coffer which she took immediately to the sorcerer. When they opened the coffer, instead of the Host they saw, with great terror, a little Baby surrounded by light. The sorcerer told the woman to take the coffer home, burn the Holy Eucharist, and bring the ashes to him. The unscrupulous woman did as she was told, but with great amazement saw that though the coffer was completely burned, the Baby remained unharmed.
“Stricken with terror and out of her mind she ran to the house of the sorcerer to tell him what happened. The sorcerer on hearing the words of the woman, began to tremble, fearing a vengeance from heaven. They decided to go to the cathedral to inform the bishop don Alonso, confess their sin and ask for baptism.
“The bishop consulted some prelates and theologians of the diocese to shed light on the event and finally decided to take the Miraculous Baby in solemn procession from the house of the woman to the cathedral. The whole city accompanied the procession and was deeply moved at the sight of the marvelous Baby. Once in the cathedral, the Miraculous Baby was put on the altar of the chapel of Saint Valerio so that the people of Zaragoza could see Him and venerate Him. The following day while the bishop was celebrating Mass at the same altar, at the words of consecration, a Host, immediately consumed by the bishop, appeared where the Baby was.”
Source: “The Eucharistic Miracles of the World,” a Vatican international exhibition, as reported by The Real Presence Eucharistic Education and Adoration and Association, http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/english_pdf/Zaragoza.pdf.
A Cure for Theresa
by Ray at THCIn her book, The Way of Perfection, St. Theresa of Avila modestly writes the following:
“And do not imagine that this most sacred food is not an excellent food for our bodies and a splendid remedy even for bodily ills! I know for a fact that it is. I know a person who suffered from serious illness (meaning herself) and was often in the greatest pain. That pain was lifted from her when she received the Eucharist so that she felt completely well.”
Laon, France
by Ray at THCA woman was possessed and a number of exorcisms were performed to try to rid her of the evil spirit. None worked. Finally, the bishop approached the woman with a Host. The spirit made a horrible cry and left the woman. The Host was removed and the devil returned. This repeated a number of times.
Then, the bishop made a command and the evil spirit replied. He confessed, “I acknowledge that here is truly the Son of God. He is my Lord. It pains me to confess it, but I am compelled to do so; yes, I will be obliged through the power of this Body to depart from hence.” The devil now departed a last time. He did not return again.
This occurred in Laon France in 1566 and was witnessed by thousands.
Source: Kaczmarek, Louis, Hidden Treasure, The Riches of the Eucharist (Plattsburgh, N.Y., Trinity Communications, 1990) p. 102 – 103.
Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich
by Ray at THCBl. Anne Catherine Emmerich was a German mystic of the 18th and 19th centuries. She was known for receiving tremendous visions of the life of Christ.
For twelve years, the last twelve years of her life, she lived on nothing but water and the Holy Eucharist.
Source: Cruz, Caroll, Eucharistic Miracles (Charlotte, North Carolina, Tan Books, 2010) p. 243.
An Exorcism After Mass
by Ray at THCOne day, a priest went to a possessed woman for the purpose of performing an exorcism. He had attempted a number of exorcisms on this same woman before, with no success. This was 1617, in Cambrai, France.
This particular day, however, he had just celebrated a Mass. As he approached, the devil cried out, “Thou art very strong today on account of the bread which thou has eaten at the altar.”
The priest responded, “If what I have eaten today in Holy Communion is but common bread, then my voice shall be without power and authority against thee, but if, as I believe with my whole soul, it is the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, then I command thee in His name to leave the woman instantly.”
A frightful cry was then heard and the devil left the woman. He did not return and the woman was free from him afterwards.
Source: Kaczmarek, Louis, Hidden Treasure, The Riches of the Eucharist (Plattsburgh, N.Y., Trinity Communications, 1990) p. 102.
St. Columba of Rieti
by Ray at THCAt the age of 20, St. Columba or Rieti began an absolute fast on the Eucharist alone. Pope Innocent VIII heard of this and had a stringent investigation conducted. It confirmed the authenticity of her fast.
When her confessor asked her how it was that she could live only on the Eucharist, she replied that after receiving her Lord, she felt fully so satisfied that all desire for earthly food left her.
Source: Cruz, Caroll, Eucharistic Miracles (Charlotte, North Carolina, Tan Books, 2010) p. 240-41.
The Grab Rebuffed
by Ray at THCThe Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary is a fraternal community of priests and brothers that was founded in Poland in 1673. In the U.S., the Congregation has a national shrine in Stockbridge, Massachusetts devoted to the message of Divine Mercy disseminated by St. Faustina. They also have a website that contains the certain story recounted below.
Fr.Chris Alar, director of the Association of Marian Helpers at that shrine, had been ordained a priest on May 31, 2014. He was then allowed some time off and he decided to spend it on a trip to Indian reservations in Saskatchewan, Canada. It was on Corpus Christi Sunday, June 22nd, that he was visiting a reservation on Lake Reindeer.
He was leading a Eucharistic procession through the neighborhoods there when he was approached by two young men. They stood in his way to stop him and began yelling vulgarities and threats at him. He sensed they intended to desecrate Blessed Sacrament in some way and he gripped the monstrance more tightly. Then, one of the young men approached and grabbed the monstrance.
As he did so, his hand was immediately “thrown off the monstrance, and it appeared to have burned his hands. He gripped his hands in pain. We all saw it.”
After this, the two men stepped aside and Fr. Alcar proceeded on his way.
Source: http://www.thedivinemercy.org/news/A-Mission-to-Native-Americans-6072.
Exactly What She Needed
by Ray at THCJeanette De Rosa had a son. He was 15 and had suffered an emotional breakdown. She had prayed with her whole heart for his healing, but this did not happen.
She had begun asking God why He was not listening to her, why He had not healed her son.
Then she attended a healing Mass in Boston.
After the Mass, Fr. Lazanski began the healing portion of the services. He came up the aisle, blessing people as he passed. Occasionally, he would stop at a certain individual and offer particular prayers. Jeanette watched as he slowly made his way in her direction. As he arrived at her spot, he put his hand on her shoulder and said, “God did not turn a deaf ear to your prayers.”
She had told anyone this was her fear, certainly not the priest who had just celebrated Mass. Yet, somehow, he said the very thing she needed to hear most.
Encouraged, she continued with her prayers for her son after this. In time, he was in fact healed.
Source: Proctor, Sr. Patricia, OSC, 201 Inspirational Stories of the Eucharist (Spokane, Washington, The Franciscan Monastery of St. Clare, 2004) p. 119.
O’Cebreiro
by Ray at THCO’Cebreiro lies in a hilly region of northwest Spain. In the year 1300, the winter was cold and inhospitable. Snow was falling without abatement one day, and the wind was strong and piercing. In a convent chapel, a priest was celebrating Mass. He had thought, perhaps hoped, no one would come for the Mass, but someone did. A farmer named Juan Santin arrived.
The priest went ahead with the Mass, despising the farmer’s feelings and credulity that caused him to venture out on such a day to attend a service without real meaning. The priest did not, in fact, believe in the miracle he himself was to facilitate, the transubstantiation of ordinary bread and wine into the Real Presence.
He verbalized the prescribed words of consecration, and immediately afterwards, the Host changed to flesh and wine changed to blood. The Blood overflowed the chalice and stained the corporal.
For almost two hundred years, the Host-Flesh was kept on the paten there. Then, Queen Isabella happened to pass through the town on her way to Santiago de Compostela. She learned of the miracle and ordered a special crystal shrine be custom-made to hold the Host-Flesh, paten and chalice.
To this day, they can be viewed in the church.
Every year on the feast days of Corpus Christi, August 15th, and September 8th, the relics are taken in a solemn procession to remember the wondrous event.
Source: “The Eucharistic Miracles of the World,” a Vatican international exhibition, as reported by The Real Presence Eucharistic Education and Adoration and Association, http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/english_pdf/Ocebreiro.pdf.
The Pain That Would Not Go Away
by Ray at THCFr. Dwight Longenecker is the pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Greenville, S.C. A former Anglican priest, Fr. Longenecker converted to Catholicism in 1995 and was ordained a Catholic priest in 2006. He maintains his own website, as well as a blog on Patheos.com. It is on his blog that you can find him tell “a true story of the healing and forgiving power of the Eucharist.”
It seems that, one day, he answered a knock at his door to find a young woman, in her twenties, standing there. Her name was Jane, and she had come looking for help. It seems that she was suffering from constant pain in her abdomen, but none of her doctors could determine the cause. Even the painkillers they prescribed could not abate it. This had been going on for a year. She did not know where else to turn, and so she came to him, even though she was not even Christian.
Fr. Longenecker asked her to describe the pain. She said, “it’s like someone is ripping my insides out.” He thought perhaps she had an abortion in her past and asked her gently about it. She indicated that, in fact, this had been the case. She had gotten involved with a married man, become pregnant, was pressured by him to have an abortion and was rejected by both him and her own father.
While she knew nothing of the Mass or the Real Presence of Christ, Fr. Longenecker explained both. He told her about Christ Himself being there during the celebration. And so, a Mass was said for Jane, for the aborted child, for the abortionist, for the married man who left her and for her father. Several parishioners came to the Mass and joined in the prayers for forgiveness and peace.
A week later, Fr. Longenecker heard another knock at his door. It was Jane again. He could see from her face that she was much better. Her pain had left her the day after the Mass.
The next summer, Fr. Longenecker was present when Jane was married in church. The summer after that, she had a new baby baptized.
Source: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/standingonmyhead/2015/04/the-healing-power-of-the-eucharist.html.