This Week
Corpus Christi
7/6/2026
June is the Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
This Sunday, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). The Church teaches that Jesus Christ is truly present in the Eucharist—Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity—and that the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. As we reflect on this great mystery, there is a well known Eucharistic Miracle from Santarem , Portugal.
In 1266, a woman struggling with jealousy was persuaded by a sorceress to steal a consecrated Host from Mass. After receiving the Holy Communion, she removed the Host from her mouth and hid it in a drawer. That night, both she and her husband saw a bright light shining from the drawer. Moved by what they witnessed, they confessed the truth to their Parish Priest and repented. The Host was brought back to the church, where it continued to display miraculous signs.
Today, the church of St Stephen in Santarem remains a shrine of this Eucharistic Miracle. It is still preserved there. It is also known that St Francis Xavier visited this shrine before departing on his missionary journeys to India and Asia.
For more information on Eucharistic Miracles , visit the website created by St Carlo Acutis:
http://www.miracolieucaristicorg/en/liste/list.html.
Let us remember that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist. As we receive the bread and wine, we should be mindful of whom we are receiving—the Body and Blood of Christ. Whether receiving on the hand or on the tongue, we should do so reverently and consume the Eucharist from the minister, as we receive Christ , we are called to be more like Him and share in his divine life.
In the miracle of Santarem, forgiveness and conversion came through witnessing a physical miracle. Yet the greater miracle is the transformation within. Let us believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and allow him to renew our lives.
Have a blessed week,
Fr Axcel
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