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Pope Francis and the Eucharistic Miracle of Buenos Aires

Pastor’s Column

Corpus Christi

June 7, 2015

One of the great themes of the gospel for those who are listening is that things are quite frequently not as they seem in this world, and nothing typifies this more than the Holy Eucharist. Here, Jesus hides himself under the form of bread and wine, not unlike he hid his divinity while on earth, all of this so that those who follow him will have faith.

The great Eucharistic miracle of Buenos Aires occurred in 1996, when Pope Francis was an auxiliary bishop there. This great miracle began when someone found a discarded consecrated host that had been stuck to a candleholder. Things like this happen occasionally in our church as well, and the common way of handling this is to place the host in a glass of water in the tabernacle until it disintegrates, after which it is no longer the Body and Blood of Christ. This is precisely what they did in 1966, giving it to the local priest. Eight days later, this priest, Fr. Alejandro Pezet, discovered that the host had turned to a bloody substance in the glass where it was soaking, after which he promptly informed Bishop Bergoglio (now Pope Francis), who immediately ordered that the potential miracle be photographed and then placed back in the tabernacle. There it sat for three years.

After three years, having become now Archbishop, he had the miracle (still in existence and not in any way dissolved) examined scientifically. Archbishop Bergoglio decided not to let the scientists studying it know from where the sample came so as not to prejudice the investigation. And what they found was startling! One of the investigators was a very well known cardiologist, Dr. Frederick Zugiba, who concluded that the sample he was given was human flesh with human DNA, a fragment of the heart muscle from the left ventricle of real human heart. Furthermore, the doctor concluded that the sample was alive (!) at the time the sample was taken, since it was full of living white blood cells!

The doctors also concluded from where the presence of the white blood cells were in relation to the heart tissue that the person had been severely beaten. When the scientists were informed that the sample had been soaking in plain water for three years prior to the investigation, they were dumbfounded, as such a piece of tissue should have died almost immediately without nourishment and then dissolved. So the Archbishop, now Pope, approved this Eucharistic miracle and has allowed it for public veneration. Please feel free to look this up on the internet, as well as another approved miracle I have spoken of often, the Miracle of Lanciano, Italy, which has been equally scientifically studied, is also inexplicable to science and has existed, without embalming of any kind, for over 1100 years now.

While there are many other such (approved) Eucharistic Miracles in the world (whole books have been written about them), the reality is that every single Mass properly celebrated is a Eucharistic Miracle, for Christ is truly present there. The question is, do we really believe this? It wasn’t any easier for the disciples who actually saw Jesus in person with their own eyes. Jesus wants us to have faith in him. Jesus wants us to prepare a place for him to live within us by regular confession and reverence when we receive him! Father Gary

Reflections from Scott Hahn

Blood of the Covenant: Scott Hahn Reflects on Corpus Christi

June 01, 2015

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Readings:

Exodus 24:3-8
Psalm 116:12-13, 15-18
Hebrews 9:11-15
Mark 14:12-16, 22-26

All of today's readings are set in the context of the Passover. The First Reading recalls the old covenant celebrated at Sinai following the first Passover and the exodus.

In sprinkling the blood of the covenant on the Israelites, Moses was symbolizing God's desire in this covenant to make them His family, His "blood" relations.

Quoting Moses' words in today's Gospel, Jesus elevates and transforms this covenant symbol to an extraordinary reality. In the new covenant made in the blood of Christ, we truly become one with His body and blood.

The first covenant made with Moses and Israel at Sinai was but a shadow of this new and greater covenant made by Christ with all humankind in that upper room (see Hebrews 10:1).

The Passover that Jesus celebrates with His 12 apostles "actualizes," makes real, what could only be symbolized by Moses' sacrifice at the altar with 12 pillars. What Jesus does today is establish His Church as the new Israel, and His Eucharist as the new worship of the living God.

In offering himself to God through the Spirit, Jesus delivered Israel from the transgressions of the first covenant. And, as we hear in today's Epistle, by His blood He purified us, and made us capable of true worship.

God does not want dead works or animal sacrifices. He wants our own flesh and blood, our own lives, consecrated to Him, offered as a living sacrifice. This is the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving that we sing of in today's Psalm. This is the Eucharist.

What we do in memory of Him is to pledge our lives to Him, to renew our promise to live by the words of His covenant and to be His servants.

There is no other return we can offer to Him for the eternal inheritance He has won for us. So let us approach the altar, calling upon His name in thanksgiving, taking up the cup of salvation.