In 1263, a German priest, Peter of Prague, was traveling throughout Italy on a personal pilgrimage to Rome. Tradition tells us that Peter was a good and pious priest who was constantly striving for holiness in his life. In his ministry, however, he became quite troubled by the indifference of many of the faithful in terms of religious practices; he had also witnessed clerical immorality and a lack of reverence at Mass. Worse than that, he was afflicted with doubt about the holy Eucharist. He agonized over whether the bread and wine became the Body and Blood of Jesus at the words of consecration and wondered whether Christ was truly present in the consecrated host.
He understood what the church believed and taught that the bread and wine were transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ during the holy sacrifice of the Mass. Despite that, he still personally struggled to believe that it was truly Jesus. His deepest and sincerest prayer was for the Lord to increase his faith in the Eucharist.
While on his pilgrimage, Peter stopped in the town of Bolsena, about 80 miles north of Rome, to celebrate Mass at the tomb of St. Christina. During the Eucharistic Prayer, 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. At first, he wasn’t sure what to do and tried to hide the blood, but then interrupted the Mass and announced what had happened. The congregation became awestruck. He asked to be taken to see Pope Urban IV who was residing in the neighboring town of Orvieto.
The Pope listened to Fr. Peter’s account and absolved him. He then sent emissaries for an immediate investigation. When all the facts were gathered, he ordered that the host and corporal bearing the stains of blood be brought to Orvieto. With archbishops, cardinals and other Church dignitaries in attendance, the Pope met the procession and had the relics placed in the cathedral. Pope Urban then asked Thomas Aquinas to compose the Proper for a Mass honoring the Holy Eucharist as the Body of Christ. One year after the miracle, the Holy Father introduced the saint’s composition and, by means of a papal bull, instituted the feast of Corpus Christi, which we celebrate today.
To this very day, the linen corporal bearing the spots of blood from this Eucharistic miracle is still reverently enshrined and exhibited in the Cathedral of Orvieto. Every year on this feast, thousands of pilgrims gather in the town for a Eucharistic procession, ending with Adoration and Benediction in the Cathedral.
The story of the Miracle at Bolsena, as well as the countless other Eucharistic miracles that have happened throughout the world, are meant to be reassurances to us as Catholics that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist. It is not just a symbol of Christ’s spiritual presence; it is not just a reminder of Christ’s self-offering in the past. It is so much more than that! It is actually Jesus Christ truly present in this sacrament. It is His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. As the Catechism reminds us: “In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist, the Body and Blood, together with the Soul and Divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained” (1374). This makes the sacrament of the Eucharist the greatest of all sacraments.
Whenever I stand at this altar and pray the words of Consecration at Mass – as I take the bread in my hands and say: “Take this, all of you and eat of it, for this is my Body…” and when I lift the chalice and say: “…this is the Chalice of my Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant…” in those two moments, the most important moments in the celebration of every Mass, Jesus Himself, in a mysterious and sacramental way, becomes truly present under the appearances of bread and wine. This is what Jesus taught and what the Catholic Church has professed since the very beginning of our faith.
At every single Mass that happens throughout the world, another Eucharistic miracle takes place. At every moment of consecration, God shatters the limits of time and space. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross is brought about again. Jesus steps into the present; He steps into our lives in that moment. It’s the way that He reminds us that He is present with us in the struggles and challenges of our lives, that He is accompanying us in the moments of triumph and victory, that He is always with us. The Eucharist reassures of that.
In the Gospel, we’re told why Jesus chose to leave us His presence in this way, under the appearance of bread and wine. He tells us: “Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.” He gives us His Body and Blood as food for our Christian journey. He gives us Himself so that we can be brought to newness of life every time we receive Him. We are called to consume His Flesh and His Blood so that we can be united with Him and with one another as Christian brothers and sisters.
Whenever we come forward to receive the Eucharist, as the priest, deacon, or minister says, “The Body of Christ” or “The Blood of Christ,” our response is: “Amen.” In that one word, we are saying, “Yes, Lord, I do believe! I do believe that You are present in the Eucharist. I do believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, the One who was sent into the world to guarantee our salvation. I do believe that everything You taught was the Truth.”
In his homily for the Feast of Corpus Christi back in 2005, Pope Benedict XVI talked about what receiving Communion means for us as Catholics. He said: “The purpose of this communion, of this partaking, is the assimilation of my life with His, my transformation and conformation into He who is living Love. Therefore, this communion implies adoration; it implies the will to follow Christ, to follow the One who goes ahead of us. Adoration and procession thereby make up a single gesture of communion; they answer His mandate: ‘Take and eat’.”
In other words, whenever we come forward to receive the Eucharist, we are assenting to following the Lord and living our lives in accord with His commandments and the teachings of the Church. It brings us into communion and unity with God Himself but also with the Church and with one another.
Through the Eucharist, the pinnacle of our Christian worship, the source and summit of our faith, God sacrifices Himself to achieve that communion. It is through the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross that we have become reconciled with the Father. It is through our partaking of the Eucharist that we enter more deeply into that communion. As a Catholic community, that communion is also shared with one another whenever we gather around the altar to participate in the celebration of Mass.
It is this sacrament that teaches us the importance of community. St. John Chrysostom once said of the Eucharist: “Just as the bread comes from many grains, which remain themselves and are not distinguished from one another because they are united, so we are united with Christ.” The Lord chose these elements of bread and wine “in order to show us that we ought to seek union with one another, to allow the Holy Spirit to transform us into Our Lord Jesus Christ and to work with Him in the process. Christ is the Head and we are the Body, the members. Together we are one. That which unites us is our willingness to sacrifice our time and talents to God and our fellow members in Christ’s Mystical Body. This is symbolized by our sharing in the same Bread and the same Cup. Hence, Holy Communion should strengthen our sense of unity and love.”[1]
By our reception of Holy Communion, we agree to our mission of becoming Christ-bearers for others, bringing Christ to our families, coworkers, classmates, fellow parishioners and for building the bonds of unity and love amongst ourselves as a community of believers.
As we celebrate this great feast of faith, let us worship “the greatest miracle that Christ ever worked on earth” – His most precious, His most beautiful Body and Blood. In the greatness of this mystery, we recognize this great sacrament of devotion, this sign of unity, this bond of charity (St. Augustine). Let us also repeat the prayer of devotion written by St. Thomas Aquinas in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament: “O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament Divine! All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine!”
[1] Fr. Antony Kadavil, “Reflections for the Feast of Corpus Christi,” Vatican News. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2019-06/sunday-reflection.html
Photo: Priest Carrying Monstrance by Jacob Bentzinger. Used under Unsplash license.
Fr. Tom Pringle 