Youth Apostles Online
Newsletter for Catholic Teens : August 2001
Contents:
Jesus in the Eucharist
Our Strength Lies in the Eucharist, by Mother Teresa
The Miracle of Lanciano
Jesus in the Eucharist
Dear Friends,
Hey you! Yeah, you sitting there at your computer! What if I told you that Jesus Christ--in the flesh, not just a symbol of Him--was truly present on this earth somewhere right now? Wouldn't you want to go see Him? What would you do if you saw Him? Would you just walk on by like "Oh, yeah, that Jesus dude. No big deal?" Or would you fall flat on your face in worship of your King and your God? I hope we'd all be humble and grateful enough to do the latter!
Well, check it out. This may throw you for a loop, but He is here... right now... truly present, body, blood, soul and divinity... in every tabernacle in every Catholic Church all over the world! The Eucharist is no symbol - it's really really Jesus Christ truly present. It's not like Jesus present in you or in me or in His creation or anything like that... it's really really Him!
And if it's really Him, the Eucharist is the source and summit of the strength we need to live the life. Go to Him! Mass is da bomb not just because we sing and hang out with fellow believers, but because Jesus comes down from heaven and humbles Himself to become present to us in the form of bread so we can take Him into our very own body! Whoa!!! Why not try to go to daily mass, not just on Sundays?
And Adoration rocks!!! What's that you may ask? It's the totally awesome privilege that we have to kneel or sit in front of our God truly present in the Blessed Sacrament and pray. The priest exposes the Eucharist in a beautiful gold stand called a monstrance so we can gaze upon Him and worship Him and soak up the rays of grace!! There are many Adoration chapels all over the United States where you can go, sometimes 24 hours a day, to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament exposed. "The church and the world have a great need for Eucharistic Adoration. Jesus waits for us in this Sacrament of love. May our adoration never cease." (Pope John Paul II)
If you're struggling with this concept, you're not alone. The apostles had a hard time with this teaching too, but Jesus wouldn't budge. He insisted that He was going to give us His true flesh and blood to eat and drink, not just symbols. Check it out in the Gospel of John, chapter 6. And there are tons of cool miracles to help us believe that the Eucharist is the real thing. Make sure you read about the Miracle of Lanciano below. It will blow you away!
Pray for an increase in faith because this is truly the greatest gift that God has given us on this earth and it will sustain us until we meet Him face to face one day in heaven. And share the awesome news! Try to inspire your friends to "see" this miracle with the eyes of faith. It will change your life and theirs!
Until next month, I remain...
Your Eucharist loving, Blessed Mother petitioning, rockin' Catholic Church obeying, Pope John Paul II devotee and fellow sinner in need of God's grace and mercy,
Michele TePas
Youth Apostles Online
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Our Strength Lies in the Eucharist
I know I wouldn't be able to work one week if it were not for the continual force coming from Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. In our society we begin our day with Mass and Holy Communion and we end it with one full hour of Adoration. We have permission from the different bishops to expose the Blessed Sacrament. All of us know that unless we believe and can see Jesus in the appearance of bread on the altar, we will not be able to see Him in the distressing disguise of the poor. Therefore, these two loves are but one in Jesus.
- Mother Teresa of Calcutta
The Miracle of Lanciano
In 700 A.D. in a monastery in Lanciano, Italy, a priest monk was celebrating the Holy Mass. He was struggling with doubts that the bread and wine were really changed into the true presence of Jesus’s body and blood. He had just spoken the words of Consecration when the Host was suddenly changed into a circle of flesh, and the wine was transformed into visible blood. The priest praised God for blessing him in such a way and invited all present to view the miracle. Word spread far and wide and thousands came to view the miracle.
The Flesh remains intact, with no preservatives whatsoever, and the Blood has hardened in the form of five pellets. Many scientific studies have been done to validate this miracle. The latest, in 1970, proved that the flesh is muscular tissue from the inner wall of the human heart. The flesh and the blood belong to the same very rare blood type, AB. The studies conclusively excluded the possibility of fraud. The flesh and blood pellets still exist today in the Church of St. Francis in Italy for anyone to see!
