Episode Transcript  

One

The Feast of Corpus Christi: A Gift to Strengthen Our Faith

Today is Corpus Christi, the great feast in which the Church celebrates the wondrous gift of the living Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist: His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

In 1263, a priest named Peter of Prague was struggling with doubts about the Real Presence. How could ordinary bread and wine become the living Christ? Desperate, he prayed for help. The next day, as he offered Mass at the tomb of St. Christina in Bolsena, Italy, the host bled in his hands. The linen corporal was stained with Christ’s Precious Blood. Peter fled to Orvieto to tell Pope Urban IV, who declared it a miracle. One year later, in 1264, the Pope instituted Corpus Christi as a feast for the entire Church so that, across the centuries, our faith might be fortified against doubt.

Two

The Miracle of Lanciano: The Sacred Heart Unveiled

But this was not the first time the Lord revealed His Real Presence in this extraordinary way. In the 8th century, in Lanciano, Italy, a priest doubted during Mass. At the words of consecration, the host visibly turned into human flesh, and the wine into blood. Rather than consume it, they preserved it. To this day, the flesh and blood remain.

In 1971, scientists examined the Eucharistic Host and the contents in the chalice. The results were astounding: the host was human heart tissue, from the left ventricle, still intact without preservatives. 

The Eucharist is the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

Three

The Miracle of Buenos Aires: The Same Heart of Jesus

In 1996, at St. Mary’s Church in Buenos Aires, a consecrated host was discarded and placed in water to dissolve. Days later, it had not dissolved, but transformed into a bloody piece of tissue.

The local bishop, who became Pope Francis, ordered an investigation. A fragment was sent, without identifying its origin, to Dr. Frederick Zugibe, a cardiac forensic pathologist in New York. What were his findings? It was human heart tissue from the left ventricle. The tissue was infiltrated with white blood cells, which told him two things: this heart was alive when the sample was taken and it had suffered trauma because white blood cells go to address injury. 

The Pathologist was asked how long the white blood cells would have remained alive if they had come from a piece of tissue kept in water. “They would have died in a matter of minutes,” he responded. But the sample had been kept in ordinary water for a month and then in distilled water for three years. Only then had the sample been taken for analysis. It was only then that it was revealed to the Pathologist that the sample was taken from a consecrated host. 

The DNA revealed a Man who lived in the Middle East. The lab report was then compared to a similar study of the Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano, Italy. They matched perfectly. The test results must have come from the Same Person. 

Four

Jesus’ Words in John 6: The Heart of the Eucharist

Long before any miracle, Jesus had already declared the truth plainly, "I am the living bread come down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world… Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you… My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink" (John 6:51-55).

Many found His words too hard to accept and walked away. But He did not soften His teaching. The Eucharist is not a symbol. It is Jesus Himself.

Five

Thanksgiving After Communion: Heart to Heart

If you want to be more aware of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and if you want to be more open to the graces He brings, then don’t ignore Him after you receive Him. Spend time in Eucharistic Thanksgiving. Once you receive Communion, Jesus is physically present to you for the next fifteen minutes or so. This is the closest possible union with God outside of heaven. Give him your undivided attention for that fifteen minutes and don’t run away.  

St. Teresa of Avila teaches, “Be with Him willingly; do not lose so good an occasion for conversing with Him as the hour after Communion… This is a most advantageous time for the soul, during which Jesus is very pleased if you keep Him company. Though He comes disguised, the disguise does not prevent Him from being recognized in many ways, according to the desire we have to see Him.”

Suggested Resolutions:

Choose one resolution for today to help you grow closer to God, or create your own. Here are some ideas to inspire you. 

• Today, let us renew our faith in the Eucharist, speak heart-to-Heart with Jesus after receiving Him, and beg for the grace to never lose this living miracle through indifference or routine.

• Go to an additional Mass this week and spend fifteen minutes in prayerful silence after Mass.

• Find time to go to Adoration.

If you enjoyed this meditation, subscribe below.