I just have to relate something that happened in Mass today. While at Mass during the consecration something absolutely amazing happened. In fact it was I dare say miraculous. I witnessed the bread and wine transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. In fact another miraculous event also occurred. Even though through transubstantiation what was bread and wine had an actual change of substance the accidents remained – amazing! Two miracles for the price of one. Now I am not trying to pass myself off as special or other than another sinner striving for holiness, but this is not the first time I witnessed this miraculous event. In fact my timing has been perfect in that whether I go to weekday or Sunday Mass or whether I go to one parish or another exactly the same thing happens each time during the consecration! That each and every time through the eyes of faith I witness the same supernatural event. Scoff if you want, but I swear that it is all true.
Seriously though what I wrote above is trying to make a point about what we all can take for granted. That some will chase off towards any rumor of the latest apparition while at the same time the miraculous is constantly happening in our neighborhoods and cities everyday. I was thinking of this fact because I noticed a little heavier attendance at Mass today than normal. Today being the feast day of St. Blaise I am sure many were there to get the blessing of the throat. Not to diminish the effects of sacramental such as blessed candles, but it should be the Eucharist in and of itself that should draw us to Mass. I guess St. Blaise’s feast is similar in a smaller way to Ash Wednesday where if the Church uses a sacramental Catholics seem to find time to suddenly go to Mass. The great thing about the Catholic Church is that it is like a late night infomerical. Yes you get Redemption, forgiveness of sins, and the Eucharist. But wait there is more! Much more! Sacraments, sacramentals, indulgences, devotions, etc. We’re the sacramental superstore where God uses all he can to bring us to him.
On a side note ironically our priest celebrating the Mass today had a slight case of laryngitis and asked the pastor to bless his throat first. Though if Fr. Keene ever found out I used his picture in my Liturgy for Ignoramuses post I would probably really need a healing of the throat also.
20 comments
Jeff….I went to Liturgy for Ignoramuses…and the church you have there as a deterrent – that was five minutes from where I grew up LOL – a famous Austrian ATHEIST sculptor designed it.
Beautiful, Jeff, beautiful! Yes indeed, miracles all over the place: on the altar, in the confessional, at the baptismal font….
Dude: I went to confession the other day, and my sins were forgiven! Weird. So it got me thinking: Jesus Christ is alive, and in the sacraments I come in, like, contact with Him! I mean, He’s in heaven, and I’m on earth, but somehow we actually, you know, touch! Do you think this is allowed?
It’ll be a miracle if I can get up before noon to make it to Mass so as not to miss much of the Super Bowl. (I attend the evening Mass normaly).
Bingo! Precisely. Our church was packed today for the sacramental, which sort of left me shaking my head given that the Sacrament far exceeds the sacramental. Good to see someone saying exactly what I was thinking.
By the way, I think you mentioned the other day the unreadability of the Vatican website. The Pro Life google site re-published with in a more readable background/foreground:
http://prolifesearch.com/deus-caritas-est.html
Wow…you must be a heck of a lot holier than I am. I keep on going, but I never see this! I have to take someone else’s word for it. OK, I think that He is a reliable source, but even so, I can’t really say that I am a witness to this miracle. Please pray for me!
Don’t forget that today is ALSO a First Friday, and at my parish, the First Fridays are usually very well attended.
I agree, though, the feast of St. Blaise did bring in more people who wanted to recieve this blessing. It must have been standing-room only in the back of the chapel where we have Daily Mass.
About that miracle…I thought I was the only one! In all seriousness, I experienced a “conversion” (or “reversion”) experience during the consecration a couple years ago. It’s hard NOT to see this when God is RIGHT THERE and in person!
I was blessed to receive the blood of Christ and actually did drink blood! It was warm and had the taste and consistency of blood.
Just before receiving, I asked Jesus to come to me in a special way. I never expected that!!
Mass has never been the same.
Though I consume His Body, I too am consumed. I am consumed by the power of The Eucharist which leaves me totally at peace and so mellow that my feet don’t touch the ground the rest of the day and into the next. Am I the only one?
Yeah, seems we lose the ex opere operantis when we take the ex opere operato for granted.
Imagine this situation. Jesus is walking along. Thousands of people throng about Him. Hundreds need something, healing or some kind of relief. All need forgiveness. Hundreds touch Him, or at least brush His garments. Yet only one single person does this and is granted relief. What makes the difference?
Jeff, what a wonderful experience! I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to use your post in my CCD class. I know my 8th graders often don’t “get it” so maybe this will help.
God bless you!
I sent this one to our parish priest. Good one.
I agree with the post above, something magical happens when receiving Our Lord, peace from within like all is at peace in your mind
I was watching “web of faith” last evening and I love Fr Trugillio and Levis (for some reason they are not on any more and this was a repeat) and he talked about how due to the plague there were many men who were ordained who really should never have been, and hence Luther and the reformation sprung from some of the clergy doing things that we would not consider holy. One must wonder what was going through Luther, Calvin, Bucer and the rest of the reformers when they decided they were no longer, among many other things, no longer believe in transubstantiation, as I feel it is truly a miracle, of course when done correctly and reverently. We are all lucky to be Catholics
As a high school teacher, I marvelled during all-school masses at the profound absurdity of it: The Creator of the Universe– present, in the hands of the priest, under the basketball net in a dingy gymnasium… kids squirming on the bleachers… Jesus revealed in the most mundane place one could imagine. How we are loved! that God would stoop down to come into the gymnasium of our hearts!
We really need another Eucharistic Miracle just like the ones which occured in Lanciano(I think there is a video by the Church on this) etc… The world needs another Miracle to come to Christ and Catholics need the miracle to strenghten their faith which is constantly being attacked by Protestants and ideas from the secular world. God willing, may a Eucharistic Miracle come soon.
Wow, that is so way cool, and to read other accounts of the same thing. Amazing. I needed to hear/read these things–thanks for a great post and blog,
God power!
ELY
Yeah, but Jeff, some of us really really needed our throats blessed! If you’d had as many throat ailments as I had this past year….
Yet I for one missed it yet again. Sigh.
This is not to say that I’m unhappy about the whole eternal life thing. But a little earthly health would be good, too, especially since I’m a cantor.
Calling for Eucharistic miracles is an easy way out. Taking as certain what my Savior said in John chapter 6 should preclude any need for extraordinary signs, He can neither deceive nor be deceived. This generation gets only one sign-the sign of Jonah. I hold my Eucharistic Lord in my hands every day when I preside at Eucharist. His gaurentee is enough for me.