There is a small town in Italy called Lanciano where, in the year 750, a priest was experiencing intense doubts about the Eucharist as he was saying Mass. Even as he prepared to say Christ’s words of institution, he found it impossible to believe that the elements of bread and wine could turn into the living Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus. As he pronounced the words, however, he noticed something strange. The wine in the chalice began to coagulate, and the bread in his hands turned into flesh. Amazed, the priest reported what had happened to his superiors. After an investigation, the miraculous elements were placed in a special container for the purposes of preserving them for public veneration. In the 1970s, Pope St. Paul VI commissioned a scientific analysis of the miraculous flesh and blood that had been kept on display in Lanciano for over 1200 years. The results of the analysis showed that the flesh and blood were still fresh, showing no signs of decomposition. Medical experts identified the flesh as human heart tissue. Moreover, the blood was type AB, the rarest blood type among humans and, interestingly, the same blood type found on the Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium of Oviedo.
The Eucharistic miracle of Lanciano is worthy of consideration this weekend, when we celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, but also throughout the week as we prepare for the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is this Friday. The classic image of the Sacred Heart shows a fiery heart, radiating Divine charity. It is crowned with thorns and bears a wound from the soldier’s lance, from which pours the Precious Blood that was shed for our redemption. When we contemplate the Sacred Heart we see, in the words of Bishop Erik Varden, that “His divine heart is vulnerable to our misfortune.” He continues: “When I commit sin, when I betray my promises, when I turn my back on God, I do not merely offend against an abstract, impersonal standard of justice. I strike a blow at my loving Father’s heart.”
The miracle of Lanciano, by connecting the Eucharist to the Heart of Jesus, helps us to see that devotion to the Eucharist is a powerful way to console the Sacred Heart, which suffered so greatly for love of us sinners. And if the blood type discovered in the miracle is AB positive, it serves as a reminder of the great thirst that Christ has for our love. For AB positive is the “universal recipient” blood type, which means it is compatible with the blood type of any potential donor. And so, Our Lord gives Himself a Heart disposed to receive the love of our hearts, no matter who we are. Knowing this, why would we withhold our hearts from Him?
Aware of the power of this devotion, the Bishops of the United States will consecrate our nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Thursday, June 11, the eve of the Solemnity. Bishop Caggiano has provided prayer cards that are available at Masses this weekend, which we encourage you to take and use to participate in the consecration. May they help us grow in our devotion to the Sacred Heart while intensifying our desire to love Our Lord in the Eucharist.
posted 6/7/26
The Parish of St. Cecilia-St. Gabriel 