Why Do We Have Eucharistic Miracles? St. Michaels 40 Min. Talk

Transcription

1 Why Do We Have Eucharistic Miracles? St. Michaels 40 Min. Talk In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit John Chapter 6, verse 54 - He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day At the time he was betrayed, he took bread, gave thanks, and said to his disciples: Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body, which will be GIVEN UP for you Miracles, from his 1st miracle at the wedding feast in Cana where Our Lord turned water into wine to the time of his glorious resurrection, WHY, why did the man named Jesus of Nazareth go on to perform so many miracles throughout the course of his 3 years public ministry? On December 9, 1987, while addressing a general audience, John Paul II broached this topic. On that day, he spoke about how Christ's Miracles MANIFEST SALVIFIC LOVE. JP II went on to say that: Jesus performs them (MIRACLES) to overcome every kind of evil existing in the world: physical evil, moral evil which is SIN, and finally him who is "the father of sin" in human history, namely, Satan The miracles nearly always radiated the divine power, which the disciples and people sometimes grasped, to the extent that they recognized and exalted Christ as "Son of God " Miracles distort upon the world through the life and actions of Jesus Christ have it as their end to A. Overcome every kind of evil B. Radiate DIVINE POWER SO THAT C. The world might recognize and exalt Jesus Christ as the Son of God!!! As such, I invite all believers view the phenomenon of NOT ONLY the EUCHARISTIC MIRACLES OF THE WORLD displayed by The International Vatican Exhibition present within our midst under this lens, but indeed: EVERY MIRACLE that's ever been worked by the Son of Man when he walked the earth ought to be understood in light of those 3 reasons why they came to pass; To manifest SALVIFIC LOVE bubbling forth from the heart of Our Heavenly Father at work among a land that is filled with enslaving hatred unchained from the depths of the heart of the prince of this world: Satan I'll say it again, every miracle that has ever been worked by Jesus Christ - and that will continue to be worked by he who is to return to judge the living and the dead - is meant to manifest the presence of SALVIFIC LOVE on earth. Miracles are meant to reveal the IN-BREAKING OF THE KINGDOM. And while many of them have happened and will continue to happen to certain individuals who benefit from their coming into being, the reality of these great gifts among us are meant for much more than just one person - miracles have it within their DNA to AFFECT THE MULTITUDES The year was 1980, the day was May 18 th, and the time was 8:32 in the morning Suddenly, Mount St. Helens Volcano exploded!! 1

2 The explosion itself ripped 1,300 feet of rock right OFF THE FACE of the MOUNTAIN The force needed to do that comes out to using around 10 million tons of TNT. Which works out to about the same devastating impact that 500 Hiroshima explosions would have. That morning, SEARING HEAT - with a temperature of over traveled at 200 miles an hour killing people as far as 16 miles away. The force of power behind the blast was so intense, that 17 MILES AWAY, there were Douglas Fir Trees that happened to be 170 feet tall leveled flat to the ground Much like a VOLCANIC ERUPTION initially forever impacts the mountain out of which it explodes - leaving it unrecognizable before others - and then from there it going on to affect everything around it, in the same way: whenever a miracle is unleashed from the heart of God - the IMPACT IT IS MEANT TO HAVE UPON PEOPLE OF FAITH is the same!! Back in August of 1999, THE CATHOLIC SOCIETY OF EVANGELISTS NEWSLETTER printed these words within their pages: The following TRUE STORY was related to Sr. M. Veronica Murphy by an elderly nun who heard it from the lips of the late Reverend Father Stanislaus SS.CC. One day many years ago, in a little town in Luxembourg a Captain of the Forest Guards was in deep conversation with the butcher when an elderly woman entered the shop. The butcher broke off the conversation to ask the old woman what she wanted. She had come to beg for a little meat but had no money. The Captain was amused at the conversation which ensued between the poor woman and the butcher. "Only a little meat, but HOW MUCH ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE ME?" "I am sorry I have no money - But I'll Hear Mass For You." Both the butcher and the Captain were good men but very indifferent about religion, so they at once began to scoff at the old woman's answer." All right then, you go and hear Mass for me and when you come back I'll give you as much meat as the Mass is worth." The woman left the shop and returned later. She approached the counter and the butcher seeing her said, "All right then we'll see." He took a slip of paper and wrote on it "I heard Mass for you." He then placed the paper on the scales and a tiny bone on the other side but nothing happened. Next he placed a piece of meat instead of the bone, but still the paper proved heavier. Both men were beginning to feel ashamed of their mockery but continued their game. A large piece of meat was placed on the balance, but still the paper held its own. The butcher, exasperated, examined the scales, but found they were all right. "What do you want my good woman, must I give you a whole leg of mutton?" At this he placed the leg of mutton on the balance, but the paper outweighed the meat. A larger piece of meat was put on, but again the weight remained on the side of the paper. THIS SO IMPRESSED THE BUTCHER THAT HE WAS CONVERTED, AND PROMISED TO GIVE THE WOMAN HER DAILY RATION OF MEAT. As for the Captain, he left the shop a changed man, an ardent lover of daily Mass. Two of his sons became priests, one a Jesuit and the other a Father of the Sacred Heart. Father Stanislaus finished by saying "I am the Religious of the Sacred Heart, and the Captain was my father." A father who advised both of his sons to offer Holy Mass well every day and never miss the Sacrifice through any fault of their own. 2

3 Among us there at 2 different kinds of people - those who will ASSENT IN FAITH TO THE STORY I've just shared with you and then there are those among us who will simply write it off as some fairytale. Every miracle that's ever been worked by Jesus when he was on earth, every Eucharistic Miracle that our Lord continues to hold in existence: will have the exact same effect on people throughout the world - MIRACLES ARE THE LINE IN THE SAND BETWEEN BELIEVERS AND NONBELIEVERS. Whether or not one believes the story, which, by the way is not a part of the Church s DEPOSIT OF FAITH in other words: unlike the Apostles Creed, which must be believed in its entirety by Catholics throughout the world, the story we just heard has no bearing on someone's eternal salvation whether or not they choose to believe it. However, one cannot deny the explosive like impact that some type of event had in the life a captain such that he became an avid LOVER OF THE DAILY MASS. One cannot deny that he had 2 sons - and that both of them became priests!! After all, it was through one of his sons, a priest that the story has been passed on CASE IN POINT: every miracle that's ever taken place and that will continue to occur until the sky is split into and the King of King returns to judge the living and the dead, every miracle impacts the individual who experiences it - but from there, it is meant to IMPACT THE LIVES of those surrounding that individual just like a volcanic eruption impacts the existence of nature surrounding IT! In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which DOES FORM PART OF THE DEPOSIT OF FAITH, in chapter 515 we are told that: From the swaddling clothes of his birth to the vinegar of his Passion and the shroud of his Resurrection, everything in Jesus' life was A SIGN OF HIS MYSTERY. 175 His deeds, miracles and words all revealed that "in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily." The miracles of Jesus attest before everyone that the God of Abraham has sent him on earth. THEY INVITE BELIEF IN HIM! Miracles exist to strengthen faith and bear witness to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. But the line in the sand continues to exist There will always be believers and there will always be nonbelievers. This truth affected our Lord so profoundly during the course of his ministry that it caused him to exclaims in Luke chapter 18 verse 8: When the Son of Man returns, will he find faith on earth? John Paul II, while addressing his General Audience concerning the reasons WHY there are nonbelievers, put it this way: It is clear that THE REAL OBSTACLE to their acceptance as facts of history and of faith is an antisupernatural prejudice. It is a prejudice of those who would limit God's power or restrict it to the natural order of things, (AS THOUGH GOD WERE TO SUBJECT HIMSELF TO HIS OWN LAWS.) This concept clashes with the most elementary philosophical and theological idea of God INFINITE, SUBSISTING and OMNIPOTENT BEING who has no limits except in regard to non-existence and therefore the absurd I like that: God, who Jesus Christ is, is an INFINITE, SUBSISTENT, OMNIPOTENT BEING who has no limits - such that even THE ABSURD is as natural to him as breathing is to us! The absurd We have before us an Official Exhibition from the Vatican comprised of 142 plasticized panels displaying the DIRECT ACTION OF THE CREATOR among history following his Sons ascent back to heaven where he now sits at the right hand of the power. 3

4 Thing is, this exhibition is not about 142 miracles involving all kinds of things - they are about 142 miracles involving the EVOLUTION if you will, of an already existing miracle made present among us each time The Holy Sacrifice Of The Mass is celebrated! I mean as if the POWER OF GOD'S SPIRIT TRANSUBSTANTIATING ordinary elements of bread and wine into the body, blood, soul and divinity of God's resurrected Son wasn't a miracle enough for us - we who have, according to the INFINITE, SUBSISTENT, OMNIPOTENT BEING - SO LITTLE FAITH. As if this gift wasn't enough, God out of his insatiable desire to be infinitely known and loved by his children has given to the world 142 miracles on top of an already existing miracle Let's look at one example - one example among 142 The year was 1263, a German priest by the name of Peter of Prague, stopped at BOLSENA while on a pilgrimage to Rome. Those who knew him said that he was a pious priest A pious priest who found it difficult to believe that Christ was actually present in the consecrated Host. It came to pass while he celebrated THE HOLY MASS above the tomb of St. Christina. He had barely spoken the words of Consecration when BLOOD STARTED TO SEEP from the consecrated Host and trickle over his hands onto the altar and the corporal. Upon seeing this, the priest attempted to hide the blood, but then he went on to interrupt the Mass and asked someone around him to take him to the neighboring city of Orvieto, the city where POPE URBAN THE FOURTH was then residing. The Pope listened to the priest's account and from there LAUNCHED AN IMMEDIATE INVESTIGATION. When the dust finally settled: Pope Urban IVth ordered the Bishop of the diocese to bring to Orvieto the Host and the linen cloth bearing the stains of blood. With Archbishops, Cardinals and other Church dignitaries in attendance, the Pope met the procession and, AMIDST GREAT POMP, had the relics placed in the cathedral. Should you make your way over to Orvieto today, you will still see with your own eyes the linen corporal bearing the spots of blood reverently enshrined and exhibited in the CATHEDRAL OF ORVIETO. Were not done yet - the fact that a priest named Peter of Prague experienced the miracle of BLOOD DRIPPING OVER HIS HANDS out of a consecrated host was like the face of a volcano erupting - what about the impact that this miracle has had on others? They say that soon afterwards, Pope Urban IV commissioned St. Thomas Aquinas to compose the Proper for a Mass and an Office honoring the Holy Eucharist as the Body of Christ. One year after the miracle, in August of 1264, Pope Urban IV introduced the saint's composition, and by means of A PAPAL BULL - he instituted a feast that we celebrate every year throughout the Universal Church: the FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI. Behold the Fruits of an AUTHENTIC MIRACLE: 1st it impacts the individual who experiences it - but from there it goes out to touch the hearts of countless souls for the sake of INCREASING FAITH IN THE SON OF MAN!! 4

5 This exhibition was not made in SOME GUY'S BASEMENT - this exhibition comes to us from the Vatican. And just so were clear as to not only why the Vatican exists, but what it represents for believers throughout the world, I need to highlight a few things. If ever you find yourself blessed to walk through the BEATING HEART of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the place where our faith pounds out of while making its way through the arteries of Christ's body known as other churches in communion with Rome - us included - should you ever be so blessed as to be there, take the time to observe the HUGE MOSAIC LETTERS found encircling the inside base of the drum of the BASILICA S DOME: a dome which is of Gargantuan Size, a dome that seems to be floating above the PAPAL HIGH ALTAR: Well those Mosaic Letters, which encircle the entire Papal Altar read: "TV ES PETRVS, ET SUPER HANC PETRAM ÆDIFICABO ECCLESIAM MEAM They re the words spoken to Peter from our Lord: "You are Peter and upon this ROCK I will build my Church." I want is just a hold that thought over here for a moment WHILE WE PEEL BACK something about our HISTORY and TRADITION We are told that in the year 64, the Emperor Nero began persecuting Christians by way of putting the blame on them for the great fire which destroyed 70% of the city. At that time, it just so happened that Peter was in Rome and he was fully aware how dangerous it was for him to stay there. As he was making his way outside of the city, tradition holds that our Lord appeared before him. Upon seeing the master, Peter asked: "Domine Quo Vadis? (Lord, where are you going?) To which the Son of Man replied: "I'm going to Rome in order to be crucified all over again History shows that Peter went back to Rome - he was soon captured and brought in to Nero's Circus, the place where St. Peter's Basilica now stands, there, in front of many people - BELIEVERS AND NONBELIEVERS ALIKE: Peter was crucified upside down I wonder if Peter, as he hung there with nails in his hands and his feet - suspended upside down between heaven and earth, I wonder if he heard our Lord's promise once again echoing through his mind: "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this ROCK I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it: I give to you the keys of the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN..." If he heard those words replayed within his brain, then he must've also wondered what kind of a deal he had signed up for - unbeknownst to him, Peter was fulfilling a prophecy spoken in the book of Isaiah chapter 27 verse 16: SEE, I am laying a stone in Zion, a stone that has been tested, a precious cornerstone as a sure foundation; HE WHO PUTS HIS FAITH IN IT SHALL NOT BE SHAKEN Soon after his death, Peter was buried in the hillside not far from where he died. The cemetery itself was very popular at the time and was known as a NECROPOLIS, which means the city of the dead. And while we don't have the time to go into the FASCINATING STORY of WHY and HOW St. Peter's Basilica now finds itself actually built on top of that Necropolis, (that's right, St. Peter's Basilica is built on top of the city of the dead -it would be a good idea to ask ourselves why? It would be a good idea to make some connections between death and Jesus Christ - for nothing in this world is by chance ) 5

6 Well as things go, it was the year that's not so long ago - in 1939, workers were preparing a tomb for Pope Pius XI when they broke through a wall and discovered something that had long been buried and forgotten. In the words of the prologue found in J.R.R. Tolkien's the Lord of the Rings Some things that should not have been forgotten Were lost. History became legend Legend became myth - that is, until the year It took another 11 years of painstaking work, and in the year 1950, it was discovered: The Tomb of St. Peter was located!!! And were not done yet, it was another 18 years - that is in 1968, they discovered his bones... So where am I going with all this? Were talking about miracles Were talking about THE ABSURD being made present when all sense of reason tells us otherwise. And so here is a fact that you can see with your own eyes by taking the underground Scavi Tour offered at St. Peter's Basilica. On that day, you will see how the bones of St. Peter were found 33 feet underground (let's make another connection here - 33 feet? How old was Christ when he was crucified?) Oh yeah, that's right feet underground directly underneath the Papal Altar, which is directly underneath the HUGE DOME that has the Mosaic Letters encircling it: "You are Peter and upon this ROCK I will build my Church." Right there: you have the bones of the man St. Peter Even if someone tried to plan what has come to pass, it would fail miserably Christ's spoken word to St. Peter concerning how upon him he would build his church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it were not just words of faith They were words that have been fulfilled spiritually, historically, and literally!!! Behold the Fruits of an AUTHENTIC MIRACLE: 1st it impacts the individual who experiences it - but from there it goes out to touch the hearts of countless souls for the sake of INCREASING FAITH IN THE SON OF MAN!! But EVEN WITH ALL THAT with the Prophetic Promise once made to us by the Son of God in the Scriptures some 2000 years ago, with both a spiritual and a literal fulfillment of that promise many turn away from the Church, many start their own churches: as many of you know, there are well over 30,000 Christian denominations in our day and age. In case anyone is curious, there is no such thing as 30,000 truths - there is only ONE TRUTH just like there are believers and nonbelievers. Here's the thing, if we think that Christ's prophecy to Peter about building his church on him and it's coming to pass literally is one of those WWWHhoooo, AAhhhhh moments What about this prophecy? What about these following words: I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE: and unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. The world had to wait for 1900 years before we could see the LITERAL FULFILLMENT OF THE PROPHECY that Jesus spoke to Peter building his church upon him. When it comes to the Eucharist, our Lord made sure that his believers would not even have to wait one day for the literal fulfillment of the aforementioned prophecy. 6

7 For: At the time he was betrayed and entered willingly into his passion, he took bread and, giving thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take this, all of you and eat of it, for this is my body, which will be given up for you! In a similar way, when supper was ended, he took the chalice and, once more giving thanks, he gave it to his disciples saying: TAKE THIS, all of you and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins Do this in memory of me. LET ME COME AT IT FROM THIS ANGLE, the Canadian Government has the power to print colorful pieces of paper and assign to them monetary value. It's easy for us to see a Green piece of paper and know that it represents $20. It's easy for us to understand how the numbers printed upon that piece of paper happen to be a serial number, which means that it is but one of many bills that were printed at a particular time. Now, what if tomorrow, the Canadian Mint announced that the serial number of this bill is no longer valid as currency - what would that piece of paper suddenly be worth? NOTHING! If the Canadian government can issue new meaning to pieces of paper - paper that is here today and blown in the wind tomorrow how much more so can God INFINITE, SUBSISTING and OMNIPOTENT BEING change the substance of bread into the body and blood of his beloved son through his LIFE- GIVING SPIRIT?? The Spirit that sustains our very existence In Mark chapter 9 verse 24, we encounter the father of a son who has been possessed by a demon Jesus tells him: EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE for one who has faith The fact that we have Eucharistic Miracles - miracles built on top of an already existing miracle - demonstrates to the world OUR LACK OF FAITH AS BELIEVERS. Shameful And yet, through the providence of God, these double miracles have proven to be a blessing for countless souls throughout the ages. As such, here we are, here we are today gathered to take in this Eucharistic Miracle Exhibition... Here we are today just like the father of that young boy crying out: Lord, I believe - help my unbelief Let us pray: Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host - by the Power of God - cast into hell, Satan and all the evil spirits, who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit... 7