These weeks after Easter are a common time for First Communions to take place. Our youngest, in fact, was scheduled to receive her’s this Sunday. Unfortunately, because of the pandemic and the suspension of Masses with a congregation necessary to combat it, her First Communion has been delayed for the time being.
Nonetheless, this is still a good time to reflect on the gift of the Eucharist, a gift which many of us long for and — if you’re anything like me — realize that we’ve taken a little bit for granted.
The truth of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is something which is well-established in Scripture, Tradition and history. However, many people — including many Catholics — are unaware of another way in which it is well-established: through Eucharistic miracles, in which not only the substance of the bread and wine become Jesus (that’s what happens in “ordinary” circumstances), but the appearance of the bread and wine changes as well, into flesh and blood.
There are many such documented, scientifically-investigated and -verified miracles that have occurred in history, but like miracles in general, they are not things of the past: they continue to happen today.
To that end, this article discusses and offers further resources about four verified Eucharistic miracles that have happened already in the twenty-first century: two in Poland, one in India and another in Mexico.
While we wait for Masses with a congregation to resume, may we continue to deepen our faith in Jesus’ Real Presence in the Eucharist, so that once we are able to receive Him again, we can do so with greater fervor, ardor and faith.