In the year 1263, a Father Peter from Prague, was on his way to Rome, to make a pilgrimage to increase his Faith.  The priest had been plagued with doubts about many things, including the Holy Eucharist.  Fr. Peter was good man and had great virtue.  He had hoped that by going to Rome and praying at the tombs of St. Peter, his namesake, and St. Paul, one of the greatest sources of strength for our Church, that he would be filled with the Faith that he needed to remain in his ministry.  We don’t know much about Fr. Peter, not even his last name.  What we do know is, that on the way to Rome, he stopped to spend the night at the little village of Bolsema, about 70 miles north of Rome.  The next day, before he set out on the last leg of his pilgrimage, as was his custom, he prayed Mass for the grace that would give him Faith.  At the time of the Consecration of the Mass, as he elevated the host and said the words of consecration, the host began to bleed.  The blood ran down his hands and arms, and dripped onto the corporal, the white square cloth on the altar.  At first, Fr. Peter tried to keep what was happening, a secret and continue on with the Mass, but the Eucharistic Miracle became more and more visible to everybody at the Mass.  When the Mass was over, Fr. Peter sent word to the Pope, who was staying at the nearby town of Orvieto.  The Pope immediately dispatched the local bishop to investigate the miracle, and to bring the corporal to Orvieto.  The blood from the Sacred Host also dropped on the marble floor of the chapel.  It penetrated the marble, and you can still go and see the place today.  A beautiful Cathedral was built in Orvieto to house the corporal with the blood on it.  A year after Fr. Peter’s Host bled, Pope Urban IV instituted the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Feast of the Body and Blood of our Lord, which we still celebrate today, two Sundays after the Feast of Pentecost.  The Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsema, or Orvieto, as it is more commonly known, is well-documented and approved by the Church.

       Again, the Eucharistic Miracles are not the basis for our Faith.  Jesus’ teachings in the Gospels and through His Church are what we base our Faith on.  But once again, these Eucharistic Miracles certainly do back up our Faith, and give all of us reason to appreciate the Mass, and the opportunity that we get each week, and really each day, to receive the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The Eucharist is one of the greatest gifts that God has given us.  We don’t want to ever forget that as Catholic Christians.

       Today we continue our Bread of Life series from St. John’s Gospel.  Today the Jews are “murmuring” about what Jesus is saying.  His claim, that “He is the Bread of Life come down from Heaven”,  is too much for them to handle.  They don’t have the Faith necessary to believe in what Jesus is trying to teach them.  How’s our Faith in what Jesus taught?  Is it too much for us also?  Or have we really experienced what Jesus is talking to us about today?  Every time we go to Communion, it is an act of Faith.  As we come down these aisles, as we say “AMEN!” to the priest, or the deacon, or the Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, as we receive His Body and Blood, we participate in the ultimate act of Faith.  My brothers and sisters, that “Amen” is so important!  It our response to God’s great gift to us!  Our “Amen” at Communion, to both the Body and the Blood of our Lord, is one of the most important words that we say all week long.  We need to say it clearly and with conviction.  We need to say it like we mean it.  The Church says, if we don’t say “Amen”, then we’re not supposed to receive Communion.  It’s that big of a deal!  Thank God, that for most of us, we don’t need a bleeding Host to believe in what Jesus taught us.  We do have Faith.  Or at least we have enough Faith and trust, that receiving the Eucharist, strengthens what we have and give us that much more, to stay faithful Catholics.  Jesus comes to us every Mass, living and loving, and wanting to change our lives for the better.

       We don’t know what happened to Fr. Peter from Prague.  The Church has his testimony about the miracle at Orvieto.  But then he disappears into history, just as quickly as he appears.  I like to think that the Eucharistic Miracle at Orvieto changed his life and went on to be a Faith-filled priest who touched the lives of many people.  But we don’t really know.  We’ll have to find out when we get to Heaven.  What we do know is that we are given the same Eucharist nearly 800 years later.  And if we have Faith, we will see miracles too!

May God bless us this weekend,  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…AMEN !!!

St. Maria Goretti…Pray for us !!!