miracle of lanciano

[Feanor]

I am confused regarding this miracle. Why would God transform this host into flesh when this doesn’t represent what actually happens at the Eucharist? When we receive Eucharist we receive the totality of the Glorified body of Christ, not a protion of his flesh. Does anyone have any insight regarding this issue. I guess we can say it is a mystery- it’s just confusing.

 

[LilyM]

I am confused regarding this miracle. Why would God transform this host into flesh when this doesn’t represent what actually happens at the Eucharist? When we receive Eucharist we receive the totality of the Glorified body of Christ, not a protion of his flesh. Does anyone have any insight regarding this issue. I guess we can say it is a mystery- it’s just confusing.

God did so, as the story goes, for the benefit of the priest celebrating the Mass who was doubting that the bread and wine truly changed into Christ’s Body and Blood.

Now I for one don’t think there’s any way possible for the bread to be transformed such that it could acccurately make visible what really happens. But God’s aim wasn’t to do such, his aim was to signify that the change was real and to restore the faith of the priest, which he achieved.

Rather like the Sacred Heart apparitions to St Margaret Mary. Jesus didn’t show her his heart in an utterly anatomically correct way - because that wasn’t the aim, and would in fact have been counterproductive by turning people off. The aim was to give us a concept and image that we could venerate and that symbolised his all-consuming love for us.