The year 1264 saw the proclamation of a new feast for the Church.
Years before, a holy nun had received a dream indicating the need for this feast. Various delays slowed its institution, until a Eucharistic miracle in 1263 finalized the Church’s decision to declare the feast. Its lovely Office—admired to this day by Protestants as well as Catholics—was written by St. Thomas Aquinas.
This feast is what we all know as Corpus Christi—the Feast of the Body of Christ.
Like the three previous feasts of Easter, Pentecost, and Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi solemnly celebrates one of the fundamental mysteries of the Church.
In the celebration of this feast, we honor Jesus as He is among us in the Holy Eucharist. The feast focuses specifically on “transubstantiation,” the miracle of the “change of substance” which the bread and wine undergo at Consecration.
The Church chose to set the feast on a Thursday because that is the day on which the first Mass was sacrificed. Just as every Sunday is a mini-celebration of the Resurrection, so every Thursday reflects the first Consecration.
Today, we adore Jesus—truly Emmanuel, God with us, through the Eucharist—telling Him with jubilance and solemnity how much we love Him.
On several occasions, the bread and wine have miraculously manifested themselves as what they are after Consecration—real flesh and real blood. A Cardiologist Examines Jesus takes five of these Eucharistic miracles and presents the scientific data backing them up. Fascinating and factual, this riveting book shows how all Eucharistic miracles are linked in one crucial way. Get your copy today at The Catholic Company!
