The Eucharist: miracles

Question: The Catholic Church teaches that during consecration at the Mass, the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus. You disputed this. How do you explain countless Eucharistic miracles that have occurred (for example, see the book 'Eucharistic Miracles' by Joan Carroll Cruz)?

Answer: There are numerous reports of miracles verified by observation and even laboratory tests in which the bread was changed into human flesh and the wine changed into blood. Now, the Catholic Church teaches that only the SUBSTANCE is changed while the bread and wine remain in APPEARANCE:

'If any one...denies that wonderful and singular conversion of the whole substance of the bread into the Body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the Blood - THE SPECIES (APPEARANCE) ONLY OF THE BREAD AND WINE REMAINING - which conversion indeed the Catholic Church most aptly calls Transubstantiation; let him be anathema' (Council of Trent)

Notice that the appearance of bread and wine remains. Thus, if the 'species' (appearance) of the bread is changed into flesh and the 'species' of the wine is changed into blood, then it is NOT transubstantiation according to the official definition. Rather than proving the Catholic doctrine, the Eucharistic miracles actually deny transubstantiation! 

Throughout history, people have appealed to miracles as evidence for every sort of doctrine (not only in the Catholic church but also in other religions). Unless we want to be deceived, we should build our faith on a surer foundation. The truth about the nature of Eucharistic bread and wine must be established from the study of the Word of God, the Bible.

In the history of salvation, God had authenticated His prophets and apostles, and especially His Son by genuine signs, wonders and miracles. Their message - the Word of God -  is now written down in the Bible and all that is required of us is to know and believe it. The same Bible warns us that the only signs and wonders left are lying and deceptive. Please read the following passage carefully:

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12).

The climax of this deception occurs when 'the lawless one will be revealed' but the same principle applies throughout the church era. The mystery of iniquity was already at work in the apostolic church, and continues to our day until the glorious return of our Lord. What happens to those who would not believe the truth? God judges their unbelief by confirming them in their error, even by allowing them to be deceived by signs and lying wonders. This is most serious!

Believe the truth spoken by Christ and his apostles, whose words are infallibly recorded in the Holy Scriptures, and do not be impressed even if a million miracles had to happen every day.

Believe God's Word lest you be deceived by 'signs and lying wonders.' The bread and the wine, which Christ called 'my body' and 'my blood' remain bread and wine (‘you eat this bread’ and ‘the fruit of the vine’ 1 Corinthians 11:26; Mark 14:24). We eat and drink in remembrance of Him for He is now corporally in Heaven, and we await His coming again. On that day we shall see him face to face and then we would not celebrate the Eucharist anymore because we shall be with Him. "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26).
 

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