Eucharistic
Miracles
How to Receive Holy Communion
- On the Tongue or on the Hand? - Both Are Acceptable
How to Make a Spiritual Communion
*NEW*
What is
Eucharistic Adoration?
"I am the bread of life. No
one who comes to me will ever hunger; no one who believes in me will
ever thirst."
John 6:35
Jesus' Miracles of feeding the five thousand and walking on
water, the Bread of Life Discourse, popular rejection of his
teaching and Peter's confession of faith, and anticipates
his betrayal by Judas Iscariot - John 6
1. After this, Jesus crossed the Sea of
Galilee -- or of Tiberias-
2. and a large crowd followed him,
impressed by the signs he had done in curing the sick.
3. Jesus climbed the hillside and
sat down there with his disciples.
4. The time of the Jewish Passover
was near.
5. Looking up, Jesus saw the
crowds approaching and said to Philip, "Where can we buy
some bread for these people to eat?"
6. He said this only to put Philip to the
test; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do.
7. Philip answered, "Two hundred
denarii would not buy enough to give them a little piece
each."
8. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon
Peter's brother, said,
9. "Here is a small boy with five
barley loaves and two fish; but what is that among so many?"
10. Jesus said to them, 'Make the
people sit down.' There was plenty of grass there, and as
many as five thousand men sat down.
11. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave
thanks, and distributed them to those who were sitting
there; he then did the same with the fish, distributing as
much as they wanted.
12. When they had eaten enough he said
to the disciples, "Pick up the pieces left over, so that
nothing is wasted."
13. So they picked them up and filled
twelve large baskets with scraps left over from the meal of
five barley loaves.
14. Seeing the sign that he had done,
the people said, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come
into the world."
15. Jesus, as he realised they were
about to come and take him by force and make him king, fled
back to the hills alone.
16. That evening the disciples went
down to the shore of the sea
17. and got into a boat to make for
Capernaum on the other side of the sea. It was getting dark
by now and Jesus had still not rejoined them.
18. The wind was strong, and the sea
was getting rough.
19. They had rowed three or four miles
when they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming towards
the boat. They were afraid,
20. but he said, "it's me. Don't be
afraid."
21. They were ready to take him into
the boat, and immediately it reached the shore at the
place they were making for. 22. Next day, the crowd that had
stayed on the other side saw that only one boat had been
there, and that Jesus had not got into the boat with his
disciples, but that the disciples had set off by
themselves.
23. Other boats, however, had put
in from Tiberias, near the place where the bread had
been eaten.
24. When the people saw that
neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got
into those boats and crossed to Capernaum to look for
Jesus.
25. When they found him on the
other side, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come
here?"
26. Jesus answered: In all truth I
tell you, you are looking for me not because you have
seen the signs but because you had all the bread you
wanted to eat.
27. Do not work for food that goes
bad, but work for food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of man will give you, for on him the
Father, God himself, has set his seal.
28. Then they said to him, "What
must we do if we are to carry out God's work?"
29. Jesus gave them this answer,
"This is carrying out God's work: you must believe in
the one he has sent."
30. So they said, "What sign will
you yourself do, the sight of which will make us believe
in you? What work will you do?
31. Our fathers ate manna in the
desert; as scripture says: He gave them bread from
heaven to eat."
32. Jesus answered them: "In
all truth I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you
the bread from heaven, it is my Father who gives you
the bread from heaven, the true bread;
33. for the bread of God is
the bread which comes down from heaven and gives
life to the world."
34. "Sir,' they said, "give us
that bread always." 35. Jesus answered them: "I am
the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever
hunger; no one who believes in me will ever thirst.
36. But, as I have told you,
you can see me and still you do not believe.
37. Everyone whom the Father
gives me will come to me; I will certainly not
reject anyone who comes to me,
38. because I have come from
heaven, not to do my own will, but to do the will of
him who sent me.
39. Now the will of him who
sent me is that I should lose nothing of all that he
has given to me, but that I should raise it up on
the last day.
40. It is my Father's will
that whoever sees the Son and believes in him should
have eternal life, and that I should raise that
person up on the last day." 41. Meanwhile the Jews were
complaining to each other about him, because he had
said, "I am the bread that has come down from
heaven."
42. They were
saying, "Surely this is Jesus son of Joseph, whose
father and mother we know. How can he now say, I
have come down from heaven?"
43. Jesus said in reply to
them, "Stop complaining to each other.
44. No one can come to me
unless drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will
raise that person up on the last day.
45. It is written in the
prophets: They will all be taught by God; everyone
who has listened to the Father, and learnt from him,
comes to me.
46. Not that anybody has seen
the Father, except him who has his being from God:
he has seen the Father. 47. In all truth I tell you,
everyone who believes has eternal life. 48. I am the bread of life.
49. Your fathers ate manna in
the desert and they are dead;
50. but this is the bread
which comes down from heaven, so that a person may
eat it and not die.
51. I am the living bread
which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats
this bread will live for ever; and the bread
that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of
the world."
52. Then the Jews started
arguing among themselves, "How can this man give
us his flesh to eat?" 53. Jesus replied to them:
"In all truth I tell you, if you do not eat the
flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you
have no life in you.
54. Anyone who does eat my
flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I
shall raise that person up on the last day.
55. For my flesh is real
food and my blood is real drink.
56. Whoever eats my flesh
and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in
that person.
57. As the living Father
sent me and I draw life from the Father, so
whoever eats me will also draw life from me.
58. This is the bread
which has come down from heaven; it is not like
the bread our ancestors ate: they are dead, but
anyone who eats this bread will live for ever."
59. This is what he taught
at Capernaum in the synagogue.
60. After hearing it, many
of his followers said, "This is intolerable
language. How could anyone accept it?" 61. Jesus was aware that his
followers were complaining about it and said,
"Does this disturb you?
62. What if you should see
the Son of man ascend to where he was before?
63. It is the spirit that
gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer. The
words I have spoken to you are spirit and they
are life.
64. But there are some of
you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the
outset who did not believe and who was to betray
him.
65. He went on, "This is
why I told you that no one could come to me
except by the gift of the Father."
66. After this, many of
his disciples went away and accompanied him no
more.
67. Then Jesus said to the
Twelve, "What about you, do you want to go away
too?"
68. Simon Peter answered,
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the message
of eternal life,
69. and we believe; we
have come to know that you are the Holy One of
God."
70. Jesus replied to them,
"Did I not choose the Twelve of you? Yet one of
you is a devil."
71. He meant Judas son of
Simon Iscariot, since this was the man, one of
the Twelve, who was to betray him.
Eucharistic
Miracles
photo of relic of the Host that transformed into
flesh in 1996
in
the church of Santa Maria y Caballito Almagro in
Buenos Aires Argentina
In
the church of Santa Maria y Caballito Almagro in
Buenos Aires, Argentina, there occurred 3
Eucharistic Miracles in 1992, 1994 and 1996.
Professor Ricardo Castañon Gomez was
called by the then Archbishop of Buenos Aires,
Jorge
Mario Bergoglio,
none other than our present Pope Francis, to
study the Miracle that occurred on August 18, 1996.
Learn more about these miracles by clicking on
the PDF Files below:
According to Pope Francis, receiving
Holy Communion on the tongue or on the hand ("as preferred ")
are both acceptable as long as the sacrament is received "with
respect and prudence".
Pope Francis stated as follows: "According to ecclesial
practice, the faithful approach the Eucharist in procession, as
we have said, and received it standing with devotion, or on his
knees, as the Episcopal Conference has established, receiving
the sacrament in his mouth or where allowed, in the hand, as
preferred."
As one
other individual commented on the "Pope Francis" video: "Where
is it actually established in Holy Scripture or Sacred Tradition
that our hands are less holy than our mouths? There's no real
reason why CITH should be seen as a 'sacrilege' as some
reflexively call it." In essence it is not right nor fair to
judge.
"Judge
not, that you may not be judged, For with what judgment you
judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it
shall be measured to you again." (Matthew 7:1-3)
According to Saint Faustina (and Jesus’own words), accepting
communion in the hand is acceptable and in fact very pleasing to
God.
The following passage from Saint Faustina’s diary supports this:
"When I was about to receive Holy Communion, a second Host fell
onto the priest’s sleeve, and I did not know which host I was to
receive. After I had hesitated for a moment, the priest made an
impatient gesture with his hand to tell me I should receive the
Host. When I took the Host he gave me, the other one fell onto
my hands. The priest went along the altar rail to distribute
Communion, and I held the Lord Jesus in my hands all that time.
When the priest approached me again, I raised the Host for him
to put it back into the chalice, because when I had first
received Jesus I could not speak before consuming the Host, and
so could not tell him that the other had fallen. But while I was
holding the Host in my hand, I felt such a power of love that
for the rest of the day I could neither eat nor come to my
senses.
I heard these words from the Host: ... "I desired to rest in
your hands, not only in your heart."
(Divine Mercy In My Soul,
Diary 160)
If You Can’t Receive Communion,
Make a Spiritual Communion
“Since I cannot at
this moment receive you sacramentally, come
at least spiritually into my heart.”
As the coronavirus
spreads, the list of cancelled events has
come to include even Catholic Masses. South
Korea closed churches and in Italy, the
Italian bishops’ conference announced that
all public Masses and liturgical
celebrations are suspended until April 3.
As people adjust their
habits to include more vigorous handwashing,
for Catholics, aspects of their church
worship are also being altered such as some
holy water fonts have been emptied,
handshaking and Communion from the chalice
suspended, and one diocese has banned
hymnals.
But altering the ways
of worship is nothing compared to canceling
the worship itself. No Mass means no
Eucharist. Jesus gave us his Body and Blood
on the cross and instituted the memorial of
this great sacrifice at the Last Supper. “Do
this in memory of me,” he told us. And so we
do at every Mass.
It is only during the
Mass at the consecration that the bread and
wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus
Christ. Thus, canceling Masses is
monumental. As explained in the Catechism of
the Catholic Church, the Eucharist is "the
source and summit of the Christian life. The
other sacraments, and indeed all
ecclesiastical ministries and works of the
apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist
and are oriented toward it. For in the
blessed Eucharist is contained the whole
spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ
himself, our Pasch," (CCC 1324).
Through this
sacrament, “we unite ourselves to Christ,
who makes us sharers in his Body and Blood
to form a single body,” (CCC 1331).
Holy Communion also
cleanses us from venial sins. (If a Catholic
is conscious of having committed a “grave
sin” he or she must go to Confession before
receiving Communion or he commits the
additional sin of sacrilege.) “For as
often as we eat this bread and drink the
cup, we proclaim the death of the Lord. If
we proclaim the Lord's death, we proclaim
the forgiveness of sins. If, as often as his
blood is poured out, it is poured for the
forgiveness of sins, I should always receive
it, so that it may always forgive my sins.
Because I always sin, I should always have a
remedy,” (CCC 1393).
Act of Spiritual Communion
The Church encourages
frequent, even daily, Holy Communion, but if
at any time we cannot go to Mass in or out
of this season of the coronavirus, we can
still unite ourselves to the Eucharist
through making a spiritual Communion.
By making an Act
of Spiritual Communion, we express our faith
in Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist
and ask him to unite himself with us. Here
is the Act of Spiritual Communion written by
St. Alphonsus de Liguori:
My
Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my
soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already
there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from
You. Amen.
Saints Made
Spiritual Communions
In the article “Follow
the Saints: Make a Spiritual Communion,”
Marge Fenelon explained that saints
throughout the ages have witnessed to the
value of spiritual Communion.
“In a vision,
Our Lord explained it to St. Catherine of
Siena by showing her two chalices: one made
of gold, the other of silver,” she wrote.
“He told her that her sacramental Communions
were preserved in the gold chalice and that
her spiritual communions were in the silver
chalice.
St. Teresa of Jesus wrote: ‘When
you do not receive Communion and you do not
attend Mass, you can make a spiritual
Communion, which is a most beneficial
practice; by it the love of God will be
greatly impressed on you.’”
Many of the saints
practiced this throughout the day such as
Padre Pio and also St. Josemaria Escriva who
encouraged everyone to do so frequently for
a closer union with God.
In 7 Secrets of the
Eucharist, author Vinny Flynn’s
explained, “If you practice the holy
exercise of spiritual Communion several
times each day, within a month you will see
your heart completely changed.” He also
related that “Saint Francis de Sales
resolved to make a spiritual Communion at
least every 15 minutes so that he could link
all the events of the day to his reception
of the Eucharist at Mass.”
A beautiful way to
unite with Jesus is make a spiritual
communion before the Blessed Sacrament such
as during a holy hour. If it is not possible
to do so in person, there are 13 chapels
that broadcast adoration 24/7. Go to Online Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration
for a listing of sites. (Source: National
Catholic Register)
Prior to making a
Spiritual Communion, it is a good idea to
make a Confession Directly to God as
follows:
Confiteor
I
confess to almighty God
and to
you, my brothers and sisters,
that I
have greatly sinned,
in my
thoughts and in my words,
in
what I have done and in what I have failed to
do,
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;
therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
all
the Angels and Saints,
and
you, my brothers and sisters,
to
pray for me to the Lord our God
The Divine Mercy Shrine,
Stockbridge, MA
What is Eucharistic Adoration?
When
Catholics say they are “going to Adoration,” they
are typically referring to Eucharistic Adoration.
Which, in the most basic terms, is the worship of
the Eucharist outside of the Mass. The Eucharistic
Host is displayed in a monstrance on the altar so
that all can see and pray in the presence of Christ.
The
Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that, “Adoration is
the first attitude of man acknowledging that he is a
creature before his Creator. It exalts the greatness
of the Lord who made us and the almighty power of
the Savior who sets us free from evil. Adoration is
homage of the spirit to the “King of Glory,”
respectful silence in the presence of the “ever
greater” God. Adoration of the thrice-holy and
sovereign God of love blends with humility and gives
assurance to our supplications.” (CCC, 2628)
What
Do I Do At Eucharistic Adoration?
We can show our adoration to God in many ways, but
in Eucharistic Adoration, we spend time adoring the
true presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
As a
form of respect, you should always genuflect when
you see the Lord in the Host. Maintain an attitude
of respect, and if others are present, silence.
Kneeling, sitting, standing, and even laying on the
floor before the Blessed Sacrament are all
appropriate forms of prayer. Let your posture
reflect your worship of the King and do what is
comfortable for you.
You
really don’t have to “do” anything during Adoration.
You can just sit there and look at Jesus. Take the
time to be with Him. If you are the only person in
the chapel, don’t be afraid to pray or sing aloud.
This is your personal time with Christ.
The Saints Encourage Us To Go To Adoration
“Whenever I go to the chapel, I put myself in the
presence of our good Lord, and I say to him, ‘Lord,
I am here. Tell me what you would have me to do’ .
. . And then, I tell God everything that is in my
heart. I tell him about my pains and my joys, and
then I listen. If you listen, God will also speak
to you, for with the good Lord, you have to both
speak and listen. God always speaks to you when you
approach him plainly and simply.”
– St.
Catherine Labouré
The time
you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the
best time that you will spend on earth. Each moment
that you spend with Jesus will deepen your union
with Him and make your soul everlastingly more
glorious and beautiful in heaven, and will help
bring about an everlasting peace on earth.”
– St.Teresa of Calcutta
“Know also that you will probably gain more by
praying fifteen minutes before the Blessed Sacrament
than by all the other spiritual exercises of the
day. True, Our Lord hears our prayers anywhere, for
He has made the promise, ‘Ask, and you shall
receive,’ but He has revealed to His servants that
those who visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament will
obtain a more abundant measure of grace.”
– St. Alphonsus Liguori
O
Christ, let my greatest delight be to see You loved
and Your praise and glory proclaimed, especially the
honor of Your mercy. O Christ, let me glorify Your
goodness and mercy to the last moment of my life,
with every drop of my blood and every beat of my
heart. Would that I be transformed into a hymn of
adoration of You. When I find myself on my deathbed,
may the last beat of my heart be a loving hymn
glorifying Your unfathomable mercy.
Amen. – St. Faustina
(Source:
Becky Roach, General Editor for CL,
catholic-link.org/how-to-go-to-adoration-eucharist/)
How Not To Do Eucharistic Adoration
In
Eucharistic Adoration, the fundamental focus is
Jesus himself.
The
norms generally indicate
Exposition of the holy eucharist, either in a
ciborium or in a monstrance, leads us to acknowledge
Christ’s marvelous presence in the sacrament and
invites us to the spiritual union with him that
culminates in sacramental communion. Therefore it is
a strong encouragement toward the worship owed to
Christ in spirit and in truth.
In such
exposition care must be taken that everything
clearly brings out the meaning of eucharistic
worship in its correlation with the Mass. There must
be nothing about the appointments used for
exposition that could in any way obscure Christ’s
intention of instituting the eucharist above all to
be near us to feed, to heal, and to comfort us
(CDW.
Eucharistiae Sacramentum, 82).
It is
also interesting to note that the word “monstrance”
(the large and usually golden sunburst in which the
Host is placed in order to be seen) comes from the
Latin verb
monstrare, meaning “to show.” Hence one
of the main points is to see the Lord, to see the
Sacred Host.
The word
“adoration” also bespeaks a very personal, intimate
relationship
between the believer and the Lord. As Pope Benedict
noted in the encyclical Deus Caritas Est, the word
adoration bespeaks a sort of kiss (ad
(to) +
oro (the mouth). Etymologically
then, adoration paints a picture of a kiss on the
lips. It thus bespeaks intimacy.
So the
key concepts
in Eucharistic Adoration are visibility and
intimacy.
Another
interesting historical fact is that until recently,
when preaching took place during Eucharistic
Adoration (say during the Forty Hours’ Devotion),
the Sacred Host was veiled while the preaching took
place. The thought was that when Jesus was so
visibly present in the Sacred Eucharist, it would be
irreverent to turn our attention elsewhere, in this
case toward a preacher. And while this practice is
no longer required, it is still widely followed, and
it emphasizes reverence and the kind of instinct
that our focus should be
wholly on the Lord when He is exposed for adoration.
The
purpose is “to focus the faithful on worshipping
God.” This would seem to
preclude chaotic activities that block the view of
the faithful and vie for attention with the Sacred
Host, Jesus, who is set forth to be seen and adored
and is the specific focus of Eucharistic Adoration.
The
norms from any era call for great reverence in the
Adoration of the Eucharist; let’s also show a little
reverence for one another, who are made in the image
of God.
But let
all things be done decently, and according to order
(1 Cor 14:40)
(Source:
Msgr. Charles Pope, blog.adw.org/2014/05/how-not-to-do-eucharistic-adoration/)
Eucharistic Adoration At The
Tabernacle ... This is one of those "times of grand
silence reserved for speaking only with Jesus."
There are souls with whom I
can do nothing. They are souls that are continuously
observing others, but know nothing of what is going
on within their own selves.
They talk about others continually, even during
times of grand silence, which is reserved for
speaking only with Me. Poor souls, they do
not hear My words; their interior remains empty.
They do not look for Me within their own hearts, but
in idle talk, where I am never to be found. They
sense their emptiness, but they do not recognize
their own guilt, while souls in whom I reign
completely are a constant source of remorse to them.
Instead of correcting themselves, their hearts swell
with envy, and if they do not come to their senses,
they plunge in even deeper. A heart, which thus far
is envious, now begins to be filled with hate. And
they are already at the edge of the precipice. They
are jealous of my gifts in other souls, but they
themselves are unable and unwilling to accept them.
(Diary 1717)
St. Faustina
tells that Holy Communion is the source of our
"strength, power, courage and light."
I find myself so weak that were it not for Holy
Communion I would fall continually. One thing alone sustains me, and that is Holy Communion.
From it I draw my strength; in it is all
my comfort. I fear life on days when I do not
receive Holy Communion. I fear my own self. Jesus concealed in the Host is everything to
me. From the tabernacle I draw strength, power, courage and light. Here, I seek
consolation in time of anguish. I would
not know how to give glory to God if I did not have
the Eucharist in my heart. (Diary 1037)
St. Faustina also tells us
that it alright to receive Holy Communion in the
hands as Jesus desires
"to rest in your hands, not only in your heart."
When I was
about to receive Holy Communion, a second Host
fell onto the priest’s sleeve, and I did not
know which host I was to receive. After I had
hesitated for a moment, the priest made an
impatient gesture with his hand to tell me I
should receive the Host. When I took the Host
he gave me, the other one fell onto my hands.
The priest went along the altar rail to
distribute Communion, and I held the Lord Jesus
in my hands all that time. When the priest
approached me again, I raised the Host for him
to put it back into the chalice, because when I
had first received Jesus I could not speak
before consuming the Host, and so could not tell
him that the other had fallen. But while I was
holding the Host in my hand, I felt such a power
of love that for the rest of the day I could
neither eat nor come to my senses.
I heard these words from the
Host:
I desired to rest in your hands, not only in
your heart. And at
that moment I saw the little Jesus. But when
the priest approached, I saw once again only the
Host. (Diary 160)
The Shrine of Divine Mercy in Kraków-Łagiewniki,
Poland
Chapel of the miraculous image of the Merciful Jesus and the
tomb of St. Faustina