Since Our Lord’s time, the Church has witnessed various Eucharistic miracles. These miracles attest to the Real Presence and have caused the conversion of many souls. In his work, The Blessed Eucharist: Our Greatest Treasure, Fr. Michael Mueller, CSsR records a few of these soul-stirring miracles.
Jesus Appears in the Form of an Infant
Padbert relates that a certain priest named Plegile asked of our Saviour the favor to be permitted to see Him with his bodily eyes in the Holy Eucharist. As this request did not proceed from unbelief, but rather from an ardent love, it was granted. One day during Mass this pious priest knelt down after the Consecration and besought Our Lord anew to grant his request. An Angel then appeared to him and bade him arise. He raised his head and saw our Divine Saviour in the form of an infant. Full of joy and reverence, he begged Our Lord to conceal Himself again under the Sacramental species, and immediately the Holy Eucharist assumed its usual appearance. This miracle was also witnessed by many other persons. (P. Favre).
Miracles at Turin
The Abbé Favre also relates a miracle which took place at Turin in the year 1453 during the pontificate of Nicholas V. One night a thief entered one of the churches of the city and stole the sacred vessels. He then loaded his horse with the sacred burden and attempted to leave the city at daybreak, but his horse fell on its knees, and with all his efforts the thief could not make it rise. The people at length began to suspect something, so they took off the burden from the horse and found, to their horror, the sacred vessels. A consecrated Host which had remained in the ciborium rose into the air to the height of about sixty feet.
The Bishop, hearing of this fact, went in procession to the place, accompanied by a great multitude. As soon as he arrived there, the holy Host descended into the chalice which he held in his hand and was carried to St. John’s Cathedral. A splendid church was erected on the spot in which this great miracle happened, and on the balustrade the following inscription is still to be seen: Hic stetit equus. (“Here the horse stopped”). This miracle is still annually commemorated by a festival kept throughout the whole diocese and by a solemn procession in the city of Turin. God was pleased to work this miracle to confirm the faith of the people against the errors of the Hussites and Albigenses, who were then ravaging that part of Italy.
A few years ago, during one of these annual processions, another miracle took place which is too remarkable to be omitted. An impious barber had the impertinence to ridicule a person, whom he was shaving, for wishing to assist at this procession. He then went into the street in order to insult the Catholics and to ridicule the Blessed Sacrament. He kept his hat on and would not take it off, though repeatedly ordered to do so. But behold! The moment that the Blessed Sacrament passed by him, he was struck by the Divine Justice and fell to the ground a corpse. This event made such an impression on the whole city that the commissary caused the body of the impious man to be exposed before the courthouse for thirty-six hours. A great many of the eyewitnesses of this fact are still living, among others, M. Raet, formerly Rector of Plancherine in the diocese of Chauberg, who was staying at Turin when this melancholy occurrence took place.
Bleeding Hosts
In 1369, the following incident occurred in the Netherlands. A Jew of Enghien named Jonathas, prefect of the synagogue, persuaded a Jew of Brussels named John de Louvain, who was apparently converted to Christianity, to bring him some consecrated Hosts. The latter, urged on by the promise of a large sum of money, entered one night the church of St. John the Baptist at Malembeck, which was situated without the city, took the ciborium containing fifteen Hosts and gave it to Jonathas.
This wicked Jew now began to offer every imaginable indignity and outrage to Our Blessed Lord in the mystery of His love. A few days after this occurrence, Jonathas was murdered. His wife, considering his death to be a just chastisement of God and fearing lest she might be punished in a similar manner, went to Brussels and gave the ciborium, with the Hosts, to some Jews, who preserved them till Good Friday of the year 1370. On this day they treated the sacred Hosts with every kind of indignity. At last they pierced them, and immediately miraculous blood began to flow from them. These impious wretches were so terrified at this sight that they fell to the ground. On recovering from their terror, they resolved to send the Hosts to the Jews of Cologne. A woman named Catherine was charged with this commission. She, however, full of fear and remorse of conscience, carried the Hosts to her parish priest at Aix-la-Chapelle and gave him an account of all that had happened. The priest then informed the duke and duchess of the whole affair. The impious Jews were arrested and tried, and having been fully convicted of the crime, they suffered the punishment they so justly deserved. This happened on the eve of Ascension Day, 1370. This history is recorded in the archives of the city of Brussels. The sacred Hosts are still preserved in the church of St. Gudule in the same city. There are also several pictures in this church representing this event.
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This article is taken from a chapter in The Blessed Eucharist: Our Greatest Treasure by Fr. Michael Mueller, CSsR which is available from TAN Books.
