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Eucharistic Miracles Exhibit highlights core belief in Roman Catholic Church
By LINDA M. LINONIS
YOUNGSTOWN
The Eucharistic Miracles Exhibit this weekend at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Basilica hall will reaffirm the belief of Catholics that Jesus is literally present in the Holy Eucharist.
Other people of faith will be intrigued by the documented miracles.
The exhibit features 140 laminated panels with text and photos that detail miracles of the Eucharist dating to 30 A.D. Jenny and Tim McAndrew are exhibit curators. The members of St. Patrick Church in Columbus are affiliated with Real Presence Association and Laity of Mercy ministry. They’ve been involved in this ministry for eight years.
“I hope visitors to the exhibit realize that the host is not just a symbol but the presence of Jesus,” Tim McAndrew said. The host is the bread wafer that people receive at Holy Communion. The son of God the Father is there in body, blood, soul and divinity under the appearance of bread and wine.
Maria Panozzo, a member of Mount Carmel for 23 years, said the idea for the exhibit was suggested by Mark Izzo, music director at Mount Carmel for 26 years who recently retired. Panozzo said Izzo saw the display as a good way to conclude the Year of Mercy that has been observed in the Roman Catholic Church from Dec. 8, 2015, to this Sunday. Pope Francis called for the Year of Mercy in which participants would reflect on and practice spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Evening prayer planned at 6 p.m. Sunday at St. Columba Cathedral, 154 W. Wood St., will close the year.
Panozzo said the display at the basilica hall also will feature different color vestments wore by priests during the liturgical year, 32 relics from the basilica and chalices for the Eucharistic wine and monstrances that are used for the exhibition of the Blessed Sacrament. The basilica has 24-hour, seven-day-a week veneration of the Blessed Sacrament.
The exhibition features Eucharistic miracles documented in 17 countries from Belgium to Venezuela. There also is information highlighting saints, mystics and the Eucharist. A sign asks for “reverent quiet” as viewers enter the display area.
One panel depicts the miracle with Marthe Robin, 1902-1981, of France who only consumed the Eucharist and no food.
Among miracles shown is one from 785 A.D. in Lanciano, Italy, where a monk doubted the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. The wine in the chalice formed into different-size globules, but each weighed the same. The material has been tested and is heart muscle and AB blood. A curious fact is that all the blood associated with the Eucharistic miracles is AB.
Another panel highlights the June 5 observance to honor the Holy Sacrament, noting Jesus’ presence in Holy Communion. It refers to the Matthew 28:20 passage: “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world.”
Another miracle is documented from Nov. 30, 1422, when Avignon, France, was deluged with rain that flooded the countryside. In a small church of the Gray Penitents in Avignon, perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament took place. When priests finally made it to the site, they found waters divided to the left and right. The Blessed Sacrament was untouched by water.
In 1461, a Eucharistic miracle documented the case of a 7-year-old boy who had been paralyzed and mute since birth. When he received Holy Communion on Easter Sunday in 1461, he was healed and able to walk and speak.
Panozzo said she hopes those who view the Eucharistic miracles display “will recognize the great gift in the Roman Catholic Church that when the host is consecrated, it is the living presence of Jesus in bread and wine.”
Visit www.OLMCSTA.com and www.feastofmercy.net.