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CajunRick
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5079 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Fri Jun 15th, 2007 12:04 am |
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By Irene Lagan
ROME, JUNE 14, 2007 (Zenit.org).- "This is a miracle," said the man standing beside me as we watched the Eucharist procession outside of the Basilica of St. Mary Major last Thursday.
The faith-filled exclamation expressed in real terms the immediate effect of the Eucharistic presence that inspired Pope Urban IV to declare the feast of Corpus Christi in 1264.
Thousands silently lined the streets of Via Merulana to meet the procession led by Benedict XVI, in much the same way as the faithful in 1263 processed with the miraculous bloodstained corporal from Bolsena to Orvieto, some 13 miles away.
The Eucharistic procession that takes place each year on the feast of Corpus Christi begins with Mass celebrated by the Pope at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, and ends with Benediction at St. Mary Major.
The spontaneous sentiment of the man standing next to me was a joy and reverence that was tangible, and not unlike the reverence that restored the faith of Father Peter of Prague.
In 1263, Father Peter of Prague was on a pilgrimage to Rome. Having lost faith in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, Father Peter was merely going through the motions of Mass.
At the time of consecration, the blood from the body of Christ trickled onto the corporal and floor beneath the altar. Needless to say, Father Peter's faith was restored. He stopped the Mass and went to nearby Orvieto, where Urban IV was residing.
As chance would have it, St. Thomas Aquinas was also in Orvieto, and was deeply impressed by the Eucharistic miracle and procession. It was St. Thomas Aquinas who recounted the details of the event, and wrote the hymns "O Salutaris Hostia" and "Tantum Ergo," which are still sung today.
A year later, Urban IV issued a bull e stablishing the feast of Corpus Christi to commemorate the miracle and to dispel widespread doubt about the Real Presence.
Aquinas' hymns eloquently express the transcendent unity accomplished through this mystery in which, as G.K. Chesterton once said, every man, prince or pauper, may recognize his high calling.
Last week's procession visibly moved Karen Hall, a visitor to Rome and convert to the Catholic Church.
"This is a real experience of God's transcendence, in such mundane and even profane surroundings," Hall remarked as Benedict XVI, who was kneeling in adoration, passed.
"I will probably never see these people again and can't speak a word of Italian, but in some ways I am closer to the people standing next to me now than I am to my family at home. This is for me a visible sign of our unity," she added.
An artist and writer, Hall said that watching the procession was like "watching the colors of the Church."
"It's such an unpalatable cast that is genuinely transformed into something beautiful. Grace is so palpably evident," she said.
Noting the camaraderie among strangers as the throngs began to disperse after Benediction, Hall remarked, "Only God can get a crowd like this to behave."
This experience stood in marked contrast to my experience several days later when a crowd less numerous than the one outside St. Mary Major banded together to protest globalization and war on the occasion of U.S. President George Bush's visit to Rome.
After the president's meetings with Benedict XVI, the Community of Sant'Egidio and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, riot police were forced to close off several main piazzas when protesters exhibited signs of violence.
In contrast to the silence that united those gathered around the Eucharist, the tenor of the quiet imposed by police following the near-riot was, to say the least, disturbing.
The above article is reposted with permission from Zenit.
____________________
Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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BettyBoopToo
Member
| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | Camas/Washougal, Washington USA |
| Posts: | 538 |
| First Name: | Betty | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Fist Baptist/Calvary Babtist/Secular Confusion/ Roman Catholic |
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Posted: Sun Jun 17th, 2007 04:06 pm |
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Rick
thank you for sharing this article!
Miracles of the Eucharist are an amazing testament to our Savior's Real Presence in our churches all over the world.
A couple of years ago, Father took a group on pilgramidge from our church to Orvieto, I had wanted to learn some more about these miracles, so I bought a couple of books by Bob & Penny Lord entitled; "This is my body, This is my blood, Miracles of the Eucharist."
I really enjoy some of the Lords books, they are very uplifting and passionate in their love of Our Lord. I recomend these books for others to read all the stories. I was not aware of so many miracles until I read about them.
Quite awhile ago I stumbled onto this video on a Eucharistic Miracle, I don't think that it's been approved by the church, so I take it as a possiblity and await whether the church approves it. Which I think takes quite a bit of investigation and I'm not sure how long.?
http://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/2006/08/video-eucharist-miracle-of-betania.html
it's just something I think about sometimes, It seems that most miracles happen when someone or a whole community has lost their faith, So I've always prayed that we never loose faith and he not have to show me a miracle and my parish family will always keep a strong faith in his real presence.
God Bless
Betty
____________________
Patience
"Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent."
St. John of the Cross
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