Reading ACTS 7:51—8:1A
Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes: “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the Holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it.”
When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him. But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and Stephen said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together. They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”; and when he said this, he fell asleep.
Now Saul was consenting to his execution.
Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God. My trust is in the LORD; I will rejoice and be glad of your mercy.
Gospel John 6:30-35
The crowd said to Jesus: “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
"He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
So Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
So they said to Jesus, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
Reflection:
How much proof do we need to believe that Jesus is the Son of God? How much proof do we need that Jesus is the Bread of Life, truly present in the Holy Eucharist?
These are three Eucharistic miracles that have stood the test of time.
The miracle of Lanciano that occurred in the 8th Century. A priest was having doubts of the real presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. One day at the consecration during Mass, he saw the bread change into flesh and the wine change into blood. You can visit the church of San Francesco in Lanciano, Italy today to see the miraculous flesh and blood.
The miracle of the Hosts of Siena, Italy in the 18th Century. This miracle occurred on the eve of the Assumption in 1730 while the town was celebrating on the eve of the feast. Robbers broke into the church of St. Francis and stole a ciborium which contain at least a hundred hosts.
Several days later in a different church in Siena a priest discovered the hosts sticking out of an offering box. They were dirty so they were cleaned and returned in a ciborium to the church of St. Francis for veneration and to pray for reparation for the sacrilege committed. The priest at St. Francis decided not to consume the hosts but let them deteriorate on their own. Over the next few decades, the hosts did not decay. They still look fresh 285 years later. The hosts can be seen in the Basilica of St. Francis in Siena, Italy.
The miracle of Santarem in Portugal which happened in the 13th Century. A woman living in Santarem visited a sorceress about her husband. The sorceress demanded payment of a consecrated host for her service. The desperate woman went to Mass and instead of consuming the host, she took the host out of her mouth and wrapped it into her handkerchief and then put Jesus in her pocket. The host began to bleed. She brought the host home and placed Him in a trunk. Immediately, a miraculous light shone from the trunk and the woman went to her priest to confess. The priest went to her home to bring the Eucharist back to the church. The bloodied host is on display in the Church of the Holy Miracle to this day.in Santarem, Portugal.
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life;whoever comes to me will never hunger,and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
Do we need more proof?
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