Fr. Mark Goring: In Luke, it says the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. This is the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. My question for you is: have you heard of the recent Eucharistic miracles? If so, what do you think of their significance?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Yes, there are, especially two miracles in Poland that have been recognized by the respective bishops. It is evident that these are extraordinary events. I would also add Blessed Carlo Acutis, the newly beatified young man, who created a website documenting Eucharistic miracles. I recommend visiting this website; it’s easy to find via Google.
These miracles are a grace of God, meant to confirm and strengthen our faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. They are also a help for those whose faith is weak, giving them encouragement and strength. I consider these miracles a merciful gift of our Lord, similar to how He helped the Apostle Thomas with his doubts about Christ’s resurrection. Thomas could touch the risen body of Christ and thereby confirm his faith.
Saint Gregory the Great explains that Thomas’ experience helped us more than the other apostles, who proclaimed the resurrection without witnessing the wounds directly. Likewise, these Eucharistic miracles are a merciful gift to our time, demonstrating the Real Presence of Christ.
Today, the Church is facing a kind of deep “Eucharistic illness,” or a crisis of the heart: a diminished faith in the Real Presence and in Transubstantiation. This crisis is linked to practices such as receiving Communion in the hand. From a phenomenological perspective, it diminishes the sublimity and sacrality of the Eucharist. Large-scale reception in the hand has reduced faith not only in the Real Presence, but also in the understanding that the bread truly becomes the Body and Blood of Christ.
We must restore the centrality of the Eucharist: faith, devotion, adoration, and gestures, both interior and exterior, that honor Christ visibly and appropriately in His Divine Presence in the small host. We should be profoundly thankful to the Lord for these miracles, which serve as reminders and confirmations of His presence among us.