Eucharistic Miracle at Lanciano .

Eucharistic
Miracle
at Lanciano
by Thomas Peter Ng
was discovered. Five
pellets of coagulated
Blood different in sizes
and
shapes,
any
combination
weighs
the same total. In other
words, any one pellet
weighs the same as any
other one. A document,
in Greek and Latin,
certified the details of
this great Eucharistic
miracle. Since 1733,
the light brown flesh
has been enclosed in an
artistic
silver
monstrance and the
nuggets of Blood are
held in a chalice of
artistically
etched
crystal.
Authentications have
been
carried
out
throughout centuries.
However, only the
verification in 1970
was
the
most
scientifically complete.
The task was assigned
to Professor O. Linoli
of
anatomy
and
pathological histology.
It was performed under
strict scientific criteria
in
chemistry
and
clinical
microscopy.
He was also assisted by
Professor R. Bertolli of
human anatomy. The
main
conclusions
documented were:
Catholics and majority
of other Christians
believe
that
the
consecrated host during
the
Eucharistic
celebration
is
the
transformed Body and
Blood of our Lord
Jesus Christ. There
should definitely be no
doubt about it for
devoted
Catholics.
However, in the 8th
century around AD700,
at a monastery in a
small, medieval town
of Lanciano, Italy, a
Basilian monk had
some doubts of the
Lord's Real Presence in
the Eucharist.
He was celebrating
Mass and had just
spoken the solemn
words of consecration.
Suddenly, the host was
changed into a circle of
flesh, and the wine was
transformed
into
visible blood. The
congregation rushed to
the altar, wondering at
the sight. Soon, news
began to spread.
In 1574, testing was
done and phenomenon 1. The flesh is real
fresh and the blood
is real blood.
2. The flesh consists
of the muscular
tissue of the heart
(myocardium).
3. The flesh and blood
belong to the human
species and they
have the same blood
type (AB).
One significant point
is that: When we cut
ourselves and stain our
clothes, the chemical
properties of the blood
are gone within 30
minutes. If blood is not
refrigerated within an
hour, the composition
rapidly breaks down. If
blood is from a dead
person, it would lose
its qualities through
decay.
The relevant Blood
mentioned here is over
1200 years old and still
contains
all
its
properties, chemicals
and protein of freshly
shed blood. And yet in
the testing, it was
determined that no
preservatives of any
kind were found in the
Blood. So, is this event
a phenomenon?

THE MOST HOLY BODY
& BLOOD OF THE LORD
from Page 3
or CORPUS CHRISTI
I asked myself, “Which is - 22 June
teaching me more about the Art’s Healing Power
Sacred Space
kingdom of God—the mighty
basilica
with
al l
its
scaffolding or this little girl’s
joy at the beauty of the
world reflected in her
bubbles?” The little dog was
a reminder that as soon as
we try to take hold of the
mystery and pin it down into
our own categories, words,
and meanings, we destroy it.
If we think we have “got” it,
we will lose it.
If we think we have
“arrived,” we have gone
down a cul-de-sac.
Excerpted from
Simple Faith
by Margaret Silf
.
LOYOLA PRESS
A JESUIT MINISTRY
"The fact of death
should not sadden
us.
The only thing that
should sadden us
is to know that
we are not saints."
The Zaatari refugee camp
in Jordan is filled with
120,000 refugees from
Syria’s civil war, many of
them children who are
haunted by the extreme
violence
and
death
they’ve witnessed.
Enter
Samantha
Robison, a Washington,
D.C.-area
a r t ist
who
travels to war-torn parts
of the world on behalf of
an
organization
she
founded called AptART.
As stated on the group’s
website, they “empower
marginalized children to
express
themselves
through art, as well as
build awareness and
promote prevention of
issues affecting their
lives.”
Robison
told
th e
Associated Press, “There’s
a lot of violent tendencies
and negative energy
[here], so if you bring in
art and give [kids] a
positive activity, it helps
a lot.”
Children paint pictures
and murals on walls
using bright colours to
raise spirits. Says 12year-old Habeer, “I am
happy when I am
painting…I want to be a
teacher.”
That happiness can be a
vital resource in building
a better tomorrow for
t h e se
young
people and to deepen our
who’ve lost everything. relationship with the
It’s also a tribute to the Lord.
power of art and artists.
So God blessed the
The eye desires grace seventh
day
and
and beauty.
hallowed it, because on
Sirach 40:22 it God rested from all
the work that He had
Creator, help us to inspire
done in creation.
others through works of
Genesis 2:3
beauty.

I find my peace in You,

Father; slow me down.
MONDAY, 23 June

What’s That Summer
Vacation About?
TUESDAY, 24 June
The Nativity of St John
Summer vacation started the Baptist
because of work— farm An Inner City’s Home
work, in fact. In early U.S. Run
history, schools educated
mostly the children of In
October
2009,
f a r m e r s.
And so the Washington, D.C. police
school year had to end in officer Jason Medina
time to have those young heard gunshots while on
people free to help their patrol in Ward 7 near the
families on the farm, Clay Terrace housing
roughly May to October.
projects.
When
he
And while that may be arrived at the scene, he
true, the real reason the drew his weapon on the
students’ summer break shooter: a 15-year-old
st a y e d
around—long boy, who surrendered.
after most U.S. families
That incident brought
were farming—was to Medina back to his own
standardize
school troubled
y ou t h
in
schedules across the Harlem, New York, where
country. If all students a program called Harlem
had more or less the RBI (Reviving Baseball in
same schedules, testing Inner Cities) provided
and textbooks could be him with the confidence,
more easily administered work
e t h ic ,
and
and utilized.
opportunity to build a
Whether still in school better future. It’s time to
or long ago graduated, bring youth baseball to
each of us needs to Ward 7, Medina thought.
schedule down time—
He recruited coaches
time off from our labours and mentors, and cleaned
to
nurture
our up a local field filled with
relationships with others beer
bottles
and
h y p o d e r m ic
needles.
Local youth became
intrigued
by
the
possibility of playing
baseball.
Ward 7 Baseball has no
budget other than what
Medina and the coaches
contribute out of their
own pockets. But they’re
happy to be keeping kids
out of trouble. As Medina
told the Washington Post,
“Even if 10 years from
now we’re still on a
nothing budget, we’ll still
be here, as long as we can
keep paying it forward.”
Love one another as I
have loved you.
John 15:12
Help me pay forward old
kindnesses, Jesus.


WEDNESDAY, 25 June
Say Y.E.S. to Helping
Others!
In June 2013, Fulton
Street was teeming with
Y.E.S. (Youth Encounter
Service)
volunteers
rolling up their sleeves
and working to improve
this three-block area of
Saginaw, Michigan. Their
collective labour was
focused on repairing
three
h o u se s,
their
voluntary duties ranging
from painting rooms to
reconstructing wiring or
plumbing. Whether firsttime participants or
seasoned
veterans,
volunteers are always
happy they opted to say
“Y.E.S.” “I have definitely
learned to be more
grateful for what I have,”
said high school student
Erin Dwan of Blessed
Trinity Parish to Catholic
Weekly’s Mark Haney.
There is more to Y.E.S.
than physical labour,
though.
“Each
ye a r ,
young
people are shown how
difficult it can be just to
get something to eat in a
lower-income neighbourhood,”
a dds
Mark
Graveline, youth ministry
director for the Diocese
of Saginaw.
“Ultimately, we want
these young people to
experience
and
to
practice Catholic social
teaching, which involves
reaching out to the less
fortunate as an act of
love.”
Give to everyone who
begs from you.
Matthew 5:42
Dear Messiah, keep our
minds and hearts open to
those in need.

THURSDAY, 26 June
Welcome Back
There were “alohas” aplenty last year for
Father Stephen Macedo,
who returned to active
ministry in the Diocese of
Honolulu, Hawaii, after
an absence of 10 years.
The sentiment shared
by his bishop, his fellow
p r ie st s
and
h is
parishioners
was
unanimous: “Nice to have
you back!”
As reported in the
Hawaii Catholic Herald,
Father Macedo, 51, was
ordained for the Hawaii
diocese in 1993 and
se r v e d
in
several
parishes before leaving
the active ministry 10
years later. He had lost
to transfers the fellow
priests who had been his
friends
and
support
group, and was feeling
“ pr e t t y
demoralized”
over the clergy sex abuse
scandal.
A full-time fire-fighterEMT during his absence,
he never stopped going
to Sunday Mass and
never
married.
He
enjoyed the work but felt
something was missing:
“I missed preaching,
being part of sharing the
Good News. I missed
celebrating the Eucharist
and sacraments. I missed
most of all being part of a
parish community.”
Father Macedo never
lost touch with his faith.
And he was welcomed
back last year, with open
a r m s.
Let us return to the
Lord…He will heal us.
Hosea 6:1
May we always return to
your loving embrace, O
Christ, our Lord.




FRIDAY, 27 June
Most Sacred Heart of
Jesus
Your Guarantee of
Heaven
Author Dan Lord used to
see joy as a feeling you
experience when doing
something pleasurable.
But through a lot of trial,
error and soul-searching,
he’s come to see joy as a
c h o ic e .
During an interview on
Christopher
Closeup
about his book Choosing
Joy: The Secret to Living a
Fully Christian Life, Lord
explained that an adult
re-conversion experience
to the Catholic faith of his
childhood taught him
that joy can be found
through
building
a
relationship with Jesus
and following His whole
“seamless garment of
commandments” with an
open heart. Even grumpy
people,
whom
Lord
a d m it s
to
being
sometimes, can find joy
despite their natural
dispositions.
Lord explains, “Giving
ourselves to the people
God puts into our lives
actually frees you…But
the salvation that Jesus
gives us isn’t just a
golden ticket to heaven
like Willy Wonka. He’s
handing
y ou
a
responsibility.
He’s
saying, ‘This is your
guarantee of heaven if
you choose it every day.’
That’s the responsibility
that we have. Joy I take pleasure in three
blossoms in doing that.”
things, and they are
beautiful in the sight of
Shout for joy, all you God and of mortals:
upright in heart.
agreement
among
Psalm 32:11 brothers and sisters,
friendship
among
Help me reflect the joy of
neighbours, and a wife
loving You, Father.
and a husband who live

in harmony.

Sirach 25:1
SATURDAY, 28 June
Immaculate Heart of
In all times, I count on
Mary
your abiding love, O
Friends—Your
Loving Master.
Lifesavers
There are certain things
we know to do to stay
healthy—exercise,
eat
m or e
f r u it s
and
vegetables. And there are
the things we know to
avoid—smoking, stress.
But one cardiologist
suggests that when it
comes to overall health,
your friends can save the
day. “Friendship is a
powerful healing force,”
says Dr. Joel Kahn.
Studies have shown, in
fact, that peer support is
a positive force in making
healthy lifestyle changes.
Says Dr. Kahn: “There is
an African proverb that
states, ‘If you walk fast,
walk alone. If you want to
walk far, walk together.’
Grabbing
someone’s
hand
and
walking
together
through
challenges may be the
most powerful health
tool.”
So what are you waiting
for? Find a friend and
start walking!
Three Minutes a Day
THE CHRISTOPHERS
STORIES
TO MAKE
YOU THINK
In nearly all languages
there is some sort of
saying to the effect of
"Nobody
likes
a
gossip".
Although
there
is
nothing wrong with
talking about other
people, it is how we
talk about them that
really matters. It is so
easy to fall into a
pattern of unconscious
criticism
when
describing the actions
of others, especially
when they are not
there. Here is a
beautiful little story to
illustrate the power
and importance of how
we talk about other
people.
A Socratic Story
In
ancient Greece,
Socrates was reputed to
hold knowledge in high
esteem. One day an
acquaintance met the
great philosopher and
said, "Do you know
what I just heard about
your friend?"
"Hold on a minute,"
Socrates replied.
"Before
telling
me
anything, I'd like you to
pass a little test. It's
called the Triple Filter
Test."
"Triple filter?"
"That's right," Socrates
continued. "Before you
talk to me about my
friend, it might be a
good idea to take a
moment and filter what
you're going to say.
That's why I call it the
triple filter test. The
first filter is Truth.
Have
yo u
made
absolutely sure that
what you are about to
tell me is true?"
"No," the man said,
"Actually I just heard
about it and..."
"All
right,"
said
Socrates. "So you don't
really know if it's true
or not. Now let's try
the second filter, the
filter of goodness. Is
what you are about to
tell me about my friend
something good?"
"No, on the contrary..."
"So,"
Socrates
continued, "You want
to tell me something
bad about him, but
you're not certain it's
true.
You may still
pass the test though,
because there's one
filter left: the filter of
usefulness. Is what you
want to tell me about
my friend going to be
useful to me?"
"No, not really."
"Well,"
concluded
Socrates, "If what you
want to tell me is
neither true nor good
nor even useful, why
tell it to me at all?"
The Inner
Voice of Love
HENRY J.M. NOUWEN
WORK AROUND
YOUR ABYSS
There is a deep hole in
your being, like an abyss.
You will never succeed in
filling that hold, because
y o ur
needs
are
inexhaustible. You have t
work around it so that
gradually
the
abyss
closes.
Since the hold is so
enormous
and
y o ur
anguish so deep, you will
always be tempted to flee
from it. There are two
extremes to avoid: being
completely absorbed in
your pain and being
distracted by so many
things that you stay far
away from the wound
you want to heal.
Sacred Space
Review the day
I
was once sitting in a
little park in the small
town of Loyola in Spain.
Behind me was the
imposing basilica of St.
Ignatius, who was born
there. Its edifice at that
time was covered in
scaffolding and under
renovation. In front of me
was a small kiosk selling
newspapers, chocolate,
and other small items.
A man came along with
his small daughter and
their dog. The man
bought a newspaper for
himself and a little
container of soap bubbles
for his daughter to play
with. They sat down
beside me. The man was
engrossed
in
his
newspaper. The little girl
was delightedly blowing
bubbles,
clearly
entranced by the magical
coloured globe that each
bubble formed as it
caught the sunlight. The
dog jumped up after
every bubble and tried to
catch it, but as soon as
he seized the bubble with
his snout, the bubble
burst.
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