"The Eucharist Is the Cross Present in History"

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 20, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Is the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist a convention or a fact?

Archbishop Angelo Comastri, the Pope's vicar general for Vatican City State, has asked himself this question and responds in this interview, which comes as the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist draws to a close this Sunday.

"Some years ago, I published an investigation on Eucharistic miracles," he says. "To my surprise, I received a letter that challenged the documents collected, stating that the phenomenon of the Eucharistic Blood was the fruit of a naive age. …

"This affirmation made me suffer, and the reason was very simple: It wasn't so, and the facts speak unequivocally."

Q: What do you think of the accusation of obscurantism leveled against those who have devotion to the Eucharist?

Archbishop Comastri: Much more than being important, devotion to the Eucharist cannot be omitted. There is no Church if there is no Eucharist.

Moreover, we must not pay attention to what the newspapers write or what the first person we meet thinks.

We must listen to Jesus who has endowed the Church with the Eucharist as the greatest gift of this time of pilgrimage toward eternity, toward the new heavens and the new earth.

Jesus waited for the most overwhelming moment, when he was preparing to ascend the cross, to go to Calvary, the moment of greatest love.

In that moment, Jesus put in the hands of the apostles this enormous gift, in which he enclosed the act of love which is the root of the whole of salvation that exists in history; because the Eucharist is not an alternative to the cross; the Eucharist is the cross present in history.

It is the cross that, by a miracle that only God can bring about, is present throughout time, is broken in time, is present in time and saves it.

As believers, we understand these things immediately. What do we need other than the cross of Christ? What can save us other than the cross of Christ? Who can liberate us other than Jesus Christ?

In the Eucharist, that salvific act is present, which is the greatest good, the only true good in the history of humanity.

Q: What can you say about the Eucharistic miracles? Are they proofs for people of little faith?

Archbishop Comastri: Precisely because the Eucharist is the most precious gift, many miracles occur around it because of God's mercy. The Eucharist is the presence of Christ the Savior. I would be surprised if miracles didn't occur.

The greatest miracles are those of conversion, of the change of heart, of the healing of despair. Great miracles happen in persons who come into contact with the Eucharist.

Together with this, in his mercy the Lord wills to create, to effect other miracles that confirm us in the faith and make us understand that Jesus' words are absolutely true.

There have been very many Eucharistic miracles. For example, Marthe Robin, a living Eucharistic miracle, was nourished for more than 40 years only by the Eucharist. Theresa Neumann, in Germany, was nourished for more than 36 years only by the Eucharist.

Padre Pio of Pietrelcina was a man who had the miracle of the Eucharist imprinted on his body. It could be said that in his body was reflected, as in a mirror, the mystery that he celebrated on the altar, in order to say: "Believe in what is happening" -- just to cite three great contemporary miracles, but there are very many.

The problem is that many don't have the humility to look at the facts, to bow before history and to face these miracles.

Blaise Pascal was right when he said: "There is enough light in the world for those who want to believe, but enough shadow for those who do not want to believe."

The responsibility lies in not wanting to see, because the Eucharist is full of light, and if one wants to see, if one wants to open one's eyes and accept the light, one cannot avoid falling on one's knees and giving thanks to God.

The greatest miracles are those of conversion, of the change of heart, of the healing of despair. Great miracles happen in persons who come into contact with the Eucharist.

Scott Hahn’s The Lamb's Supper - The Mass as Heaven on Earth.
Foreword by Fr. Benedict Groeschel.
Part One - The Gift of the Mass

Hahn begins by describing the first mass he ever attended.

"There I stood, a man incognito, a Protestant minister in plainclothers, slipping into the back of a Catholic chapel in Milwaukee to witness my first Mass. Curiosity had driven me there, and I still didn't feel sure that it was healthy curiosity. Studying the writings of the earliest Christians, I'd found countless references to "the liturgy," "the Eucharist," "the sacrifice." For those first Christians, the Bible - the book I loved above all - was incomprehensible apart from the event that today's Catholics called "the Mass."

"I wanted to understand the early Christians; yet I'd had no experience of liturgy. So I persuaded myself to go and see, as a sort of academic exercise, but vowing all along that I would neither kneel nor take part in idolatry."

I took my seat in the shadows, in a pew at the very back of that basement chapel. Before me were a goodly number of worshipers, men and women of all ages. Their genuflections impressed me, as did their apparent concentration in prayer. Then a bell rang, and they all stood as the priest emerged from a door beside the altar.

Unsure of myself, I remained seated. For years, as an evangelical Calvinist, I'd been trained to believe that the Mass was the ultimate sacrilege a human could commit. The Mass, I had been taught, was a ritual that purported to "resacrifice Jesus Christ." So I would remain an observer. I would stay seated, with my Bible open beside me.

As the Mass moved on, however, something hit me. My Bible wasn't just beside me. It was before me - in the words of the Mass! One line was from Isaiah, another from Psalms, another from Paul. The experience was overwhelming. I wanted to stop everything and shout, "Hey, can I explain what's happening from Scripture? This is great!" Still, I maintained my observer status. I remained on the sidelines until I heard the priest pronounce the words of consecration: "This is My body . . . This is the cup of My blood."

Then I felt all my doubt drain away. As I saw the priest raise that white host, I felt a prayer surge from my heart in a whisper: "My Lord and my God. That's really you!"

I was what you might call a basket case from that point. I couldn't imagine a greater excitement than what those words had worked upon me. Yet the experience was intensified just a moment later, when I heard the congregation recite: "Lamb of God . . . Lamb of God . . . Lamb of God," and the priest respond, "This is the Lamb of God . . ." as he raised the host. In less than a minute, the phrase "Lamb of God" had rung out four times. From long years of studying the Bible, I immediately knew where I was. I was in the Book of Revelation, where Jesus is called the Lamb no less than twenty-eight times in twenty-two chapters. I was at the marriage feast that John describes at the end of that very last book of the Bible. I was before the throne of heaven, where Jesus is hailed forever as the Lamb. I wasn't ready for this, though - I was at Mass!

I hope a lot of non-Apostolic Christians take a fresh look at the Mysteries of the Holy Eucharist.

Here's an honest question to pose:

Was Jesus' miracle at the Wedding of Canan significant to your Christian Faith? Did Jesus in fact turn that water into wine?

Or was it just a "symbol" of wine?

Or would you judge the wedding guests to be too drunk to know the difference (the shadow of doubt for those who never had any faith to begin with)?

Was the water really turned into wine?

ANSWER: Yes! Indeed, Christ has such power to work the miracle. So, how much "harder" is it to put Himself into a wafer and chalice--by the power of His Word and command for us to remember Him and His Loving Sacrifice.

Obedience, as directed by His Mother brought the Miracle of Canan. Obedience through the traditions of the Apostolic and Universal Church brings us the Mysteries and Salvation of the Holy Eucharist.

Why bread of wheat and wine from grapes?

I suppose (and please correct me if I'm wrong), that the fruit of the vine and the work of human hands have physical characteristics beyond the beautiful poetry of Biblical verses and references.

Bread dissolves in the mouth and our saliva has much to do with digesting starches, and starches have much to do with muscle growth. The Holy Eucharist, the Body of Christ, maintains the appearance of bread so that His Word has it's first action on our tongues before reaching the and satiating the desires of our body.

And wine?

The Holy Eucharist, the Blood of Christ, in the appearance of wine, is readily absorbed into our blood stream to purge our thoughts and cleanse our heart. We are filled with God's Spirit when we replace our bodily temples with Jesus, in Communion with the Holy Spirit.

The Blood of Christ fights the wickedness that would poison our minds and tempts our hearts. As much as the mythical "vampires" are beasts of sexual perversion, the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Blood of Christ will wash away our former faults to such vices and strengthen us against sin.

The above is why I understand Church Law to be very strict in governing the ingredients of what will become the Holy Eucharist ("to bring strength to mind and body").

This Miracle is also a reason why demonic forces influencing secular history (especially in America) has been very much against Catholics and the use of all alcohol. Certain laws and their enforcement go far beyond the need for discipline, good conduct, and order. Furthermore, the reversal of Prohibition brought on a bad attitude that encouraged a legalization of addicting drugs (Faulty logic: if alcohol was once banned by 'wacky' zealots, than shouldn't we be free to legalize pot, cocaine, crack, heroine?). Substance abuse restricts the soul from knowing the Truth in Communion, and this abuse keeps our bodies slaves to substances that doesn't bring Salvation. Drugs bring only rented happiness with a very taxing interest rate.

I'd hate to end on a sour note, but I'll speak from personal experience.

A devotion to the Rosary and Holy Eucharist has helped me reverse my life of bad habits. The deeper I search for an understanding to Our Blessed Virgin and the Mysteries of the Holy Eucharist, the less I find vices attractive. The Rosary has helped me forgive those who've hurt me, and the Eucharist helps me remember my faults (especially to those I've slighted). With a changin heart, I'm sensitive of my actions. I've become a child again, a child who sees the world and all it's beauty with a new splendor and a new life to discover. And more importantly, I see God in a Divine Mercy that I could not have seen when in the grip of sin. I see better how much He Loves us.

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