Stories
From St. Boniface Church, Piqua, Ohio
by Ray at THCIn 1990, Fr. Angelo Caserta was the pastor of St. Boniface Church in Piqua, Ohio. The June 10th bulletin for his parish contained the following account that he wrote:
I don’t recall the exact time when this happened but that does not really matter. Some two months ago or more someone had received Holy Communion and then took the Sacred Host out of his/her mouth, leaving it in the church pew. Annie Koenig was cleaning up the church when she noticed the host and brought it to her mother, Carol, who gave it to me. Someone had definitely put it in his/her mouth. I took the Sacred Host to the sacristy, put water in a small glass container and then broke up the Sacred Host into small pieces so that it would disintegrate. I placed it on the far end of the counter but shortly forgot about it.
On May 25th when I was putting things in order I noticed the glass container had something in it. When I had it to the rectory to clean it I noticed that there were blood stains on the glass. Upon examining it I saw where there was a great deal of blood and not just a faint sprinkling of it. I know with certainty that it is the precious blood of Jesus. There is no other explanation. Jesus let this all happen and while I do not know the reason, yet I am also sure that He had something definite in mind…
Source: Kaczmarek, Louis, Hidden Treasure, The Riches of the Eucharist (Plattsburgh, N.Y., Trinity Communications, 1990) p. 100-01.
“Papa, why is that lamp burning there?”
by Ray at THC“Papa, why is that lamp burning there?” This was the question that a 5-year-old girl asked her father when she first entered a Catholic church. Her father was a Protestant minister. He answered her that the lamp, “signifies that Jesus is in the church, behind the little golden door which you see upon the altar.”
When they later entered a Protestant church, the girl asked, “Papa, why is there no lamp here?” He said, “Because Jesus is not here.” Over and over afterwards, she would tell her father, “I want to go where Jesus is.”
The family later converted to the Catholic faith.
Source: Kaczmarek, Louis, Hidden Treasure, The Riches of the Eucharist (Plattsburgh, N.Y., Trinity Communications, 1990) p. 74-75.
The Daughter of General Clement
by Ray at THCA woman, the daughter of General Clement, had suffered severe pains for 17 years. One leg had lesions that went all the way to the bone. Although she could not walk, she decided to go to Lourdes, Frances. Her condition was so infirm and weak that, on the way from the station to the Sanctuary, she fainted 3 times. On the morning of September 16, 1903, she received Communion, and in the afternoon, she attended the procession of the Blessed Sacrament. The Savior passed by her and she fell backward on her couch, as if, according to at least one there, she was disappointed. The Bishop, Monsignor Dubillard, who was carrying the ostensorium, noticed her and turned back. He blessed her and placed the ostensorium on her very head. The woman felt she was cured, uttered a cry and leaped down onto her feet. Although her feet had not touched ground for a number of years, she now walked behind the Holy Eucharist, following the procession on her own. The crowd was not unperceptive and gave her a loud reaction.
Source: McHugh, Joan Carter, My Daily Eucharist, (Lake Forest, IL, Witness Ministries, 2012), entry for August 13 with an excerpt from The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist by Cardinal Gaetano De Lai.
Seventh Century Eucharistic Hymn
by Ray at THCBody and Blood under sacramental veil,
Rescue all Christians from the gates of hell,
Bringer of salvation, Christ the Son of God,
Saved all mankind by his cross and blood.
– from the oldest known Eucharistic hymn (c. 680-91)
Source: Gaudoin-Parker, Michael, The Real Presence Through the Ages (New York, Alba House, 1993) p. 69.
He Loved the Junk Parts
by Ray at THCA couple was having marital trouble. They ran a business together and had two children. The woman, however, was very critical of her husband, as well as her children. Apparently, she had grown up in a home where her father was very critical of her, leading to the lasting and stinging impression that she could never measure up to his expectations.
Marriage counseling revealed an inner turmoil from knowing she could not achieve perfection in how she lived her life but trying to maintain the façade that she had. Trying to overcome that scared her, because removing the façade meant removing God from her life. She equated God with the reason for her need to be perfect, saying, “to think of God as a father and me as his daughter is totally suffocating.”
Her friend advised Eucharistic Adoration, once a week, for an hour each time. He told her to hold nothing back, relax and just bring all her feelings, frustrations and anxieties to Him. It was very hard, but after only a few weeks, she reported back to him, that:
“one night I experienced for the first time in my entire life the feeling of being washed with unconditional love from God the Father. You know what a big deal that is. I was a total wreck … but here’s the million dollar insight I got—I can only love myself when I know I’m loved like that by somebody who knows me through and through and not just the fake me that was most of my life … God noticed everything inside of me. All the [blank] especially. But here’s the new part: that’s what he loved. The [blank]! Not just the “perfect” parts of me which were the only parts I ever felt were lovable. Excuse my French, but that’s just [blank]ing wild…
Epitaph of Pectorius
by Ray at THCReceive the honied food that the Savior gives to His saints. Satisfy your hunger when you receive the Fish in your hands.
– epitaph of Pectorius, from the 2nd century (estimated)
Source: Gaudoin-Parker, Michael, The Real Presence Through the Ages (New York, Alba House, 1993) p. 9.
Revulsion
by Ray at THCIn 1954, Chief F.R.A. Marinho was a student at St. Gregory’s College and was assisting at Mass. The presiding priest was Fr. T.J. Moran, the principal of the college. It was a “Sodality Sunday,” meaning that all the students has to attend, no matter what their religious affiliation happened to be. He was a witness to the following.
It seems that, at the time for Communion, another one of the students came to the altar rail and received the Eucharist. When the Host was placed on his tongue, he slumped to the ground and began to foam at the mouth. Fr. Moran removed the Host, and the boy recovered. The boy again presented himself to receive, and the priest, thinking the first occasion might merely have been an oddity, gave him the Eucharist once more. Again the boy began to foam at the mouth and lose control of himself. Again, the Host was removed, and again the boy instantly recovered. Fearing that the boy might be malnourished, the priest gave instructions that he be taken to the school dining hall and provided some food. He then consumed a serving of breakfast bread and tea without any ill effects.
It was then learned that the boy was a Muslim cathecumen who had not yet received the sacrament of baptism.
Source: Mbukanma, Fr. Jude O., Power in the Bread (Clifton, VA, MET Publishers, Ltd., 1994) p. 114-115.
Von Balthasar on the Eucharist
by Ray at THC“Here, again, is the Risen Lord, living in the eternity of the Father, his earthly time transfigured into his eternal duration, the eternal Christ accompanying ‘his own’ thoughout time.”
– Hans Urs von Balthasar
Source: Billy, Dennis J., C.S.s.R., The Meaning of the Eucharist: Voices from the Twentieth Century (En Route Books and Media, not yet published)
St. Rose of Lima Walking Home from Mass
by Ray at THCSt. Rose of Lima lived in Peru during the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century. It was often the case that, when walking to Mass, she would have to stop for rest because she was so weak. This weakness was caused by the severe fasts and penances to which she subjected herself. However, after having received Communion at Mass, she would walk so quickly that her mother had trouble trying to keep up with her.
Source: Cruz, Caroll, Eucharistic Miracles (Charlotte, North Carolina, Tan Books, 2010) p. 242.
The Love that Surpasses All Loves
by Ray at THCThe Eucharist is that love which surpasses all loves in Heaven and on earth.
– St. Bernard
Source: Kaczmarek, Louis, Hidden Treasure, The Riches of the Eucharist (Plattsburgh, N.Y., Trinity Communications, 1990) p. 51.